Lady Luck and the Lyon by Bowlin Chasity

Author:Bowlin, Chasity
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2022-02-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Hatchards was livelier than she’d expected, with fashionably dressed people coming in and out of the establishment at a remarkable pace. Then again, it was as much a place to see and be seen as to shop. It was the sort of place where Ellis had never been able to do more than browse. Pin money or an allowance had not been something her father believed in. He fed and clothed them, after all, so the notion of having money of her own to purchase whatever she desired with—well that was the height of luxury and decadence for her. She’d never owned a book of her own. Everything she read was obtained from the Minerva Library. In truth, they had the best selection of the types of books she preferred to read—gothic novels and romantic fiction. Still, when Garrick had broached the subject of her allowance over breakfast, informing her that he’d put, what was to her an exorbitant amount of money into an account for her, she’d been stunned.

She’d assumed it was a sort of general housekeeping fund, but then he’d informed her that the housekeeper had all of that well in hand. The money was hers to spend or save as she wished. So she’d asked if she might treat her sisters to a day out. He’d shrugged, once again telling her that it was entirely her choice.

Having sent a note round to her sisters that morning, she waited patiently for them to arrive. Finally, after a moment, she saw Leighton waving from across the street. Merritt and Parker were with her but neither looked quite as thrilled to be seeing her as Leighton did. She could see Parker eyeing her new day dress with its matching spencer, one of the many items that the modiste had sent over after only slight modifications. It was both flattering and fashionable and would likely be cause for great envy.

As the other girls crossed the street to greet her, she smiled warmly at that. “Oh, I’m so happy to see you all.”

“You’re looking well,” Merritt stated somewhat stiffly.

“Easy enough to do when one has a wealthy and generous husband,” Parker snarked.

“Hush, Parker,” Leighton admonished. “Need I remind you that our dear sister married a man who was a veritable stranger to her so that we might be free to get out into society and find husbands of our own? I for one am quite grateful that the viscount appears to be kindly disposed toward her. It certainly seemed otherwise on the day of the wedding.”

“It was only a slight misunderstanding from the past,” Ellis said dismissively. “We’d encountered one another at a ball months back and… well, as I tend to do when nervous, I put a foot wrong forward.”

“Both feet, ankles and likely in it up to your waist,” Merritt mused under her breath.

“Just so,” Ellis agreed readily. “But things are better now… his lordship and I have reached… well, an understanding.” Only Leighton raised her eyebrows at that.

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.