Scandalous Lord, Rebellious Miss by Deb Marlowe

Author:Deb Marlowe
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2013-12-01T22:00:00+00:00

In fact, it turned out to be a very near thing. Before long the rooms began to fill. Milkmaids mixed with kings, pirates led medieval princesses onto the dance floor. Miss Ashford’s young ladies began their performances and the silver bowls at each vignette began to fill.

Except at Sophie’s tent. Lady Dayle sat for Dunyazade. The Duchess of Charmouth told Sophie to draw her in her new ballroom. No one else ventured close. People gawked, whispered, and walked repeatedly past, but no one entered.

‘What is it, Lady Dayle?’ Emily asked from her post at the entrance to the tent. ‘Why aren’t they coming in?’

‘There’s talk of Sophie’s trousers, but even the highest sticklers cannot refute that she’s more than decently covered,’ the viscountess answered, her voice troubled. ‘But there is another problem. Someone is spreading rumours, accusing Sophie of being difficult and temperamental, of trying to outshine the other young ladies.’

‘I feared something would happen,’ moaned Emily. ‘What are we to do?’

In the end, they did not have to do anything. Charles’s cousin, Theo Alden, of all people, saved the day.

He didn’t mean to. He entered the lavish tent with malice, intending to take advantage of the wave of malicious gossip and take the impudent Westby chit down a notch or two. He settled in the chair with bad grace and pictured Sophie’s downfall instead of his own piece of heaven.

Sophie gave it to him anyway. His jaw dropped and his heart swelled when she handed him his picture, effectively expelling all of his ugly intentions.

She’d drawn him strutting in the park, dressed to perfection in an elegant, only slightly showy ensemble, while jealous dandies and worshipful females looked on.

‘The green of the coat exactly matches my eyes,’ he exclaimed. ‘The pleat in these pantaloons showcases the length of my limbs.’

He tore his gaze from the drawing. ‘I have wronged you, Miss Westby. You have the eye, the soul, of an artist. I will take this to my tailor tomorrow and have it exactly replicated.’

Sophie smiled. ‘I’m glad you approve.’

‘What shade of gold would you call this waistcoat?’

There were no more problems after that. Theo’s set crowded in and soon there was a line waiting to sit in Dunyazade’s chair. Sophie drew until she thought her fingers would fall off. The bowl outside her tent filled and had to be replaced. She hadn’t had a rest or a dance all evening, but she barely noticed. Always she kept one eye on her latest subject and the other trained for any sign of Charles.

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.