Regency Bride Series by Laura Locke

Author:Laura Locke [Locke, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

The drawing-room was quiet. Outside the windows, the streets were swallowed in the ink blue curtain of dusk, lamps swimming out of the darkness along with the rattle and scrape of coach-wheels as people hied home for the night.

Pauline tucked her feet up under her where she lay on the chaise-lounge. She had a kerchief soaked in mint tea on her head, an antidote to headaches. She was exhausted.

“At least the drawing-room is quiet,” she murmured to herself. She closed her eyes, letting her mind lose focus, trying to ease the tension that gripped her.

Spending time with Cornelius is becoming ever harder.

The more insistent and monopolizing he became, the more wearing his company was. The touch of his lips repelled her, as did the way his hand gripped hers, confident and dominating. He was almost convinced of their marriage. Pauline wondered how encouraging her mother had been when she received the invitation. Something must have happened to make Cornelius believe marriage was certain.

It isn't as if I convince him.

She chuckled. A subtler man would have been put off by her thinly-veiled sarcastic remarks. But Cornelius was oblivious to it. It would take a cannon-ball to break the wall of his stubbornness.

Somewhere, someone ran their fingers over the keys, playing the introduction to a Mozart sonata. Pauline opened one eye.

“Cousin?” Cornelia said.

Pauline closed her eyes. She was fatigued. The thought of Cornelia, exuberant and lively, was more than her consciousness could take.

“Yes?” she said ambivalently.

“Are you going to wear your yellow dress to the recital?”

“What recital..? Oh!” Pauline sat up. The sudden movement hurt her head and she winced, closing her eyes. “That recital.”

“Yes! The one at Lady Priscilla's this evening.”

The invitation had arrived two days before. Had she remembered it, the trip to the theater would have been rescheduled. Now, Pauline opened her eyes to look at her cousin's pretty, earnest expression.

“I think I'll wear white,” she said. “At least, I don't think I'll wear yellow. If you need to take the short gloves, you must please take them.”

“Oh!” Cornelia smiled. “I hadn't thought of that. Thanks, cos. I only asked because...oh, Pauline? You won't be vexed?”

I'm not likely to be,” Pauline said hesitantly. “Try me.”

Cornelia looked scared, her mouth a round “o” of hesitance. She sat beside her. “Pauline...do you recall Captain Westcote?”

“I might...his name was Francis; yes?” Pauline supplied the name, as she tried to remember. A face – young, friendly and open – swam before her.

“Yes!” Cornelia nodded vigorously. Seeing the way her eyes kindled when she mentioned the name, Pauline immediately guessed the rest. Cornelia is in love with Francis Westcote.

“Well, what of him?” she asked. Partly it was teasing – she knew very well what would come next. Francis is in town. She wondered, then, how long Cornelia had known that. If that was not, after all, the main motivation in her coming here.

“Well,” Cornelia looked away. “He's coming to the recital. And I do want to look pretty. And...and I know he's not suitable, Pauline, but please? Let me talk to him?”

Pauline smiled.

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.