The Bachelor Trap 2 by Thornton Elizabeth

Author:Thornton, Elizabeth [Thornton, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: General, Fiction
ISBN: 0553587544
Publisher: Dell
Published: 2006-04-25T07:00:00+00:00

Marion dressed for the reception with particular care. Her white stockings were of the finest silk. Her new stays nipped in her waist and pushed up her bosom to give her the fashionable silhouette. She’d worn the gown before, but only once, because it was a dress for special occasions, and the sheer gauze over its lavender under-dress was extremely flattering to her gray eyes and fair hair.

But it was her new shoes that sent her into transports of delight. They were lavender silk evening pumps, tied with ribbons, with heels that added precious inches to her height. Ash Denison had found them for her in a shop on Ship Street when she told him that she hadn’t a thing to wear. That they pinched her toes and made walking difficult did not detract from her pleasure one bit.

It was the thought of Lady Veronica and all the other beauties who had graced Brand’s arm at his grandmother’s fête that made her take such pains with her appearance. Mrs. Chandos would be there and, no doubt, Miss Lacey, Miss Byrd, and Miss Stead as well. Marion was Brand’s betrothed and, though it was only playacting, she meant to do him proud.

Playacting made her think of Hannah, and she sighed.

“I’m sorry, milady.” Doris, her maid, put down the comb she’d been using to tease little curls and strands of hair to frame Marion’s face. “Did I hurt you?”

“Not at all.” Marion smiled into Doris’s anxious eyes. “I was concentrating on breathing. Perhaps you could let out my stays a little?”

Doris, who could not have been more than eighteen, shook her head. “Not unless you wear a different gown. The waist is very small.”

“Mmm,” said Marion. “I’d forgotten that there is a price to pay for a woman’s vanity.”

“Shall I choose another gown?”

“Certainly not!” Marion rose and surveyed her reflection from every angle. Her eyes seemed to reflect some of the lavender of the gown; her skin seemed softer. The amethyst drop earrings, her only jewelry, were the perfect complement to the curls framing her face. And her waist was as tiny as a man’s handspan.

“I’ll have a tantrum if you try to take this gown away from me,” she said.

Doris laughed. “You look lovely, milady. I’m sure that Mr. Hamilton won’t be able to take his eyes off you all evening.”

Marion didn’t want to deflate her maid’s enthusiasm, but she knew better. There would be no dancing at this reception, since its primary purpose wasn’t pleasure. It was a political gathering of the faithful, and Brand would be right in the thick of it.

She was putting on her long white gloves when someone knocked at the door. Doris ran to open it and Brand stepped into the room. He was looking at his watch. “We’re running late,” he said.

Marion gave a thin smile. “And you look very nice, too,” she said.

In fact, he looked gorgeous in his dark fitted jacket, and the tiny scar below his brow gave him a decidedly rakish air.

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