Only a Promise by Mary Balogh

Author:Mary Balogh
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2015-04-22T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

“A minor crisis,” Ralph explained to his mother and two of his sisters at breakfast. “Chloe decided to cut her hair last night and did not like the results. The matter has been taken to committee and will be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction, I have no doubt.”

He found himself having to repress a grin. It was not amusing for poor Chloe, especially when one considered why she had done it. But the memory of the rather large female delegation outside his bedchamber door and of Chloe inside it, her chopped hair standing out from the sides of her face and the back of her head, the cross look on her face turned to one of dismay, was worthy of any farce. He could not remember a time when he had been better entertained.

It was doubtless an inappropriate response.

And he had been happy enough to make his escape.

“Chloe has never liked her hair,” Sir Kevin Muirhead said. “She has always been annoyed with the ancestor of mine who passed the bright color on to her. And the more it has been admired, the more she has hated it.”

“Red hair does suggest a certain . . . flamboyance of character,” Ralph’s eldest sister, Amelia, observed.

“Then one can understand why the duchess is uncomfortable with it,” Flavian said. “She is reserved and dignified and quite the opposite of f-flamboyant.”

“She does you proud, Ralph,” Hugo agreed. “Since you have persuaded us to stay another day, Vince and I are going to explore the park this morning, if we may. His dog will make sure we do not get lost in all the vastness. Is there any particular feature we ought to see?”

“I could hear what sounded like a waterfall yesterday when we were out at the chapel,” Vincent said. “We will find that, Hugo.”

“There is a lake, is there not?” George asked. “Lady Keilly, Lady Harrison, you must be familiar with the park. Would you care to show me the way while Hugo and Vincent strike out on what sounds like a more strenuous search for the waterfall?”

Ralph looked with gratitude from one to the other of his friends, who had deflected the conversation away from Chloe and her red hair. He wished there was more time to spend with them than just today and was tempted to ignore his other responsibilities and lead the way to the falls himself. But they were not the only ones who would be gone tomorrow.

The gentlemen rose to their feet as his grandmother, his great-aunt, and Mrs. Nelson came into the dining room.

“Lady Trentham’s maid is at work upon Chloe’s hair,” Great-Aunt Mary reported. “Lady Trentham swears that she is competent with the scissors. The consolation is that the girl certainly cannot make Chloe look worse than she looked when we knocked upon your bedchamber door, Ralph. Someone fetch me coffee before I expire.”

Ralph saw that his grandmother was looking wan but composed this morning. He wondered if the worst was behind her or ahead of her.

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