How to Play the Game of Love (Ladies of Passion) by Harmony Williams

Author:Harmony Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: historical romance, historical, romance, Harmony Williams, Ladies of Passion, Entangled, Select Historical, Enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, England, Ladies of Passion, Rose Wellesley, Lord Hartfell, Warren Hartfell, Leicestershire, romance, house party, party games, historical, regency, country, rural, 1800s, romantic comedy, funny, horses, horse-crazy, enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, forced proximity, sisters, family, steamy romance, lord, gentleman, peerage, marriage, love, games, proposal, blond, flirt, dancing, courtship, kiss, sexy, wild, dramatic, elope, matchmaker, engagement, secret engagement, debutante, spring, April
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC (Select Historical)
Published: 2016-09-22T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

The thrill from riding yesterday haunted me throughout the evening and into bed. I dreamed of vast fields, of the grasses blurring together as I flew over them, one with my horse. When Emily roused me for breakfast, I still couldn’t shake that feverish feeling in my veins.

“If you don’t hurry, you’ll miss breakfast again,” Emily whispered.

Sunlight streamed through the small window she’d uncovered on the far side of the bed. Its fingers didn’t quite stretch across the bedspread and into my eyes, but it was bright all the same. I shrugged as I pulled myself from the bed. My skin felt as though a thousand ants crawled beneath it, all urging me to go down to the stables. One last ride. No one would know.

I shook my head. “I can’t go down.”

Emily kneeled in front of me. A frown knit her face. She’d hidden her blond hair behind a scarf this morning while she did her chores. Without it, I supposed we didn’t look much alike. The bow of her lips was too pronounced, the lower lip too plump. Her cheeks were rounder, her blue eyes bigger. She had darker eyebrows than I did.

But we were close enough from afar. In fact, she’d been mistaken for me more than once, considering that she altered my cast-offs to fit her.

I narrowed my eyes.

She sensed the deviousness in them, for she recoiled. “No, miss. Whatever you’re thinking, I won’t have any part in it.”

Standing, I reached for the ties on my nightdress. “I want to go for a ride.”

She hedged. “That doesn’t seem like a terrible idea. But you don’t have any riding dresses.”

“That’s why I must do it without anyone realizing I’m gone.”

The ties pulled free and I shucked the nightdress, letting it fall to the floor. Emily drew me behind the dressing screen. She dipped a rag in water and stepped forward to give me a cursory bath. I waved her away. “No time. I haven’t gotten dirty since last night. Come dress me, quickly.”

Emily had already chosen the walking dress I would wear today, a sunny yellow frock. It wasn’t the best thing for riding, with its long, flimsy skirt, but none of my dresses were. After stepping into it, I lifted my hair from my back for Emily to fasten the ties.

“You’ll go down into the gardens this morning,” I told her. I didn’t bother asking; she would only argue.

In fact, she argued anyway. “I have my chores—”

“Forget them,” I told her. “There isn’t much for you to do while you’re here, anyway.”

Her voice turned prim. “I have to mend your dress from the other night.”

“That is beyond repair, as you well know. We’ll throw it out.”

“I’ll cut it into pieces for rags or handkerchiefs. It’s too beautiful to waste.”

I shrugged. She towed me to the vanity stool and bade me to sit while she fashioned my hair. Fortunately, she was quick. My hair didn’t have the natural, riotous curl to it that Violet’s or Francine’s did.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.