Kiss Me Again by Cecilia Gray

Author:Cecilia Gray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gray Life, LLC
Published: 2017-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

By late afternoon, while some of the guests remained in the ballroom to dance, a good portion had been persuaded by the bright sun and the cool breeze to adjourn outdoors and lounge beneath the tents as they availed themselves of the picnic spread. The outdoor musicians had struck up a merry tune, and all manner of conversations could be heard while guests enjoyed the cold meats and sweet pastries.

Charlotte, unfortunately, was finding it very hard to enjoy either.

Reece Crawford had procured them a very nice spot in the shade of the tent with a view of the lake and some sweet-smelling flowers nearby; however, they were soon joined by her admirers from the ballroom, as well as an entirely new wave of gentlemen. The conversation had turned to questions about her that she was never quite able to answer, as one gentleman would assume he knew the answer already, only for another to disagree. When she felt left out of the conversation entirely, she would attempt to nibble on something, only to be asked another question.

“Tell us, Miss Belle, whom do you favor in a fair bout? Myself or Mr. Crawford?”

She couldn’t remember the name of the gentleman who had posed the question. He was a peacock sort, with excessive feathers about his coat. Was it Montrief? He stood and leaned against the pole of the tent with his arms crossed over his chest.

Just as she was going to say it didn’t matter, as a bout of fisticuffs between them would be pointless, the other gentlemen spoke up in her stead.

“Miss Belle is too civilized to think of such matters.”

Well, that wasn’t true.

“Miss Belle would surely select Mr. Crawford, as he is her relation by marriage, and therefore, she owes him her loyalty.”

“Miss Belle would merely need to ask the advice of her brother-in-law, Mr. Hughes, to assist her in making the selection.”

Of all the things to bother her pugilist brother-in-law about, that certainly wasn’t one of them. She chewed hard on a dry cracker and saw relief approaching in the form of Dinah. No one could disband a group of simple gentlemen faster than she, who so easily pointed out which of them were idiots that no man who wanted his ego intact ever stayed to hear it confirmed.

“Ah, Lady Abernathy approaches,” the Peacock said. “We should leave them to discuss womanly things.”

There were grunts of assent as the men got to their feet, all except Reece, who stayed by her side and shared a small, secretive smile with her. He must have heard about Dinah’s unique talents from Robert.

Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief until she realized that Dinah was motioning for the gentlemen to resume their seats. “Gentlemen,” Dinah said, “please, do be seated. I have an announcement to make. A first for the Belle birthday crush, and you are all invited to participate.”

Charlotte did not begrudge the men their wary looks, but to their credit, they all settled back into their places. Some of those

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