Free A Lady by Chance (Historical Regency Romance) by Cheryl Bolen Page A

without you."
    "Such a difference has come over him since his marriage," Kate added. "He is most certainly not the brother we have always known."
    "Oh, not at all," Charlotte agreed. "What ever happened to that stern, tight-fisted brother of ours I am sure I cannot say."
    "I beg you not speak ill of your brother," Anna said. "If he seemed parsimonious, it was because he worried excessively about providing well for all of you."
    "It is so sweet to see how devoted you two are to each other," Charlotte said. "I hope the Season brings me a man as besotted over me as Charles is over you."
    "He is indeed that," Cynthia concurred.
    Anna wanted to protest. Charles certainly was not besotted over her. If he were, he surely would be with her every day instead of trudging off to his office. She had to admit she satisfied his. . .what had he called it? His sexual needs. But nothing more.
    When the coach stopped in front of the milliner's, Anna urged, "Do hurry, girls, for I must be back in time to ride in the park with Charles." She fully intended to dress to perfection, hoping she could make him proud, fondly recalling his words the night before. "This will be my first opportunity to display my lovely wife," he had said.
    "Do you mean to say Charles is actually going to stop working to take you to the park?" Kate uttered in shocked tones.
    "He must be besotted," Cynthia added as she stepped from the coach.
    The three girls purchased nearly every bonnet in the shop, so many that the coachman was obliged to make another trip after depositing the ladies at Haverstock House.
     
    Colette's deft hands fashioned ringlets about Anna's face as Anna watched the artistry in her looking glass. From time to time, Colette would be seized by a coughing spell and have to stop.
    "That's a terrible cough, Colette," Anna said, concern in her voice. "You've never been susceptible to taking a chill."
    "Never before have I slept in so cold a room," Colette said, sniffing.
    Anna spun toward her abigail. "Surely you don't mean there is no fire in your room."
    Colette nodded.
    "Come, show me your room," Anna instructed, her eyes flashing with anger as she leaped to her feet and headed toward the door.
    Colette led Anna to a tiny, dark chamber on the fourth floor. Anna looked over the musty smelling quarters with dismay. The floors were of cold stone, with no rugs. A tiny straw bed took up most of the small room, which had just one casement, where cold air whistled through a jagged crack. There was no fireplace.
    Her lips compressed in anger, Anna said, "This will never do."
    Amidst a flurry of French protests from Colette, Anna stormed toward the dowager's royal blue chamber, where she found Lydia joining her mother, doing needlework before a crackling fire. The dowager directed a frosty gaze at Anna as her daughter-in-law entered the room unannounced.
    "My lady," Anna said breathlessly, "I must speak to you about an important matter."
    The dowager did not ask Anna to sit. She merely cast cold blue eyes at her, then continued with her sewing. "And what is that, pray tell?" She ran her needle into the linen as she spoke.
    "Of the sadly inadequate room that has been allocated to Colette."
    "To whom?" the dowager asked calmly.
    Anna, knowing very well the dowager knew to whom she referred, bit back a derogatory retort. Honey, not vinegar, Anna cautioned herself. She would use honey to get what she wanted. "My dear maid, my lady. I fear I have spoiled her excessively these many years. She is unused to staying in a chamber where there is no fire. Her constitution is rather delicate. If you cannot find a servant's room with a fireplace, then I may have to insist on moving her into the guest room down the hall."
    An amused smile crossed Lydia's face at this announcement, Anna noted, but Lydia stifled it before her mother noticed.
    The dowager raised her brows at Anna's suggestion. "I am unused to French customs. Your servants mingle with their betters?"
    Anna fought