Scandalous Scions Three by Tracy Cooper-Posey

Author:Tracy Cooper-Posey [Cooper-Posey, Tracy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stories Rule Press Inc.
Published: 2013-07-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

There were twelve people at the luncheon table, all of them strangers to Eleanore, except for Cian. Everyone was polite and kind. Eleanore struggled to remember the names which went with the faces, because they were not the names she knew from society. Many of the people here had pet names used only by the family. Or they use a middle name. Otherwise everyone called each other by their first names.

The only other person whom Eleanore called by their first name was James, which was unique within her family. Her mother thought the practice crude.

The first person in Cian’s family Eleanore met who insisted she used their first name was Cian’s mother, Natasha.

Natasha was a beautiful woman. She had black hair made distinctive with a thick white streak which ran from the temple to the crown of her head where the rest of her curls were pinned.

Natasha’s gaze wandered over Eleanore speculatively. However, she smiled warmly. “You must call me Natasha,” she said, as she spread her napkin over her lap.

Eleanore blinked. “If you are sure…”

“Oh, you will grow used to it quickly,” Natasha said. “I am Natasha and this is my husband, Raymond.”

The man sitting beside her nodded. “We met at the door,” he said. His smile was easy. “Do you play croquet?”

Eleanore relaxed a little. It would have been natural at this point for Raymond and Natasha to ask her about her family and her antecedents. They would be within their rights to cross-examine her on her relatives and her reputation.

They had done neither. Instead Raymond was asking her about croquet.

“I have never played croquet,” she confessed.

“It is a perfectly acceptable sport for ladies, these days,” Natasha said.

“That is probably why I have never played it,” Eleanore said. She felt her jaw slacken. What on earth had made her say such a thing?

Raymond laughed. “Oh, you will fit in well here.”

The middle-aged woman sitting on Eleanore’s right had blonde hair and wore spectacles. She had blue eyes. She turned to Eleanore with a smile. “We also met at the door,” she said. “However I am sure you have forgotten everyone’s name by now. I am Annalies.”

“Princess Annalies…”

“Yes, that is me,” Annalies said. She raised a brow. “Has someone been talking about me?”

“Cian has told me much about everyone here,” Eleanore confessed.

The man beside Annalies, with high cheek bones and a hawk-like nose, looked interested. “Oh, and what did Cian tell you about us?”

Eleanore chose her words with care. “He described you, Mr. Davies, as one of the best lawyers in England. Cian tells me you are a bluestocking in disguise, Princess.”

Annalies laughed.

“And what did he say about me?” Natasha asked

Eleanore shook her head. “He may have said something, only I have quite forgotten. Whenever I have contemplated meeting you, Lady Natasha, all I remember is that you are Cian’s mother, and that you saved the estate when he was young. Also, that you are a most admirable woman.”

Raymond shook his head. “It’s a polite response. I am glad to see you are a cautious one, too.

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