Free Gypsy Lady by Shirlee Busbee

"Your cousin lives near there, don't she? Lives very quietly with her
mother?"
    Elizabeth nodded and,
disliking the question, said dryly, "Very. She and Rachael are still in
the year's mourning for my uncle." She would have preferred to speak of
something else only Harris, taking a sudden and unexpected interest in the
subject, continued, "Fetching little thing, your cousin Catherine."
    " Oh, and how do you know that, Harris?" Clive asked curiously.
    "Went
to school with my sister Amanda. Used to take them into town at Bath and buy them
cream cakes."
    "I see. How pleasant
for you," Clive said, his tone implying just the opposite. Apparently
feeling enough had been said about the absent Catherine, he raised his voice to
be heard above the noise of the crowd and asked, "Will I see you three at
White's tonight?"
    "No. We're spending a
bachelor's evening at Freddy's, playing cards and cracking a bottle or more to
send them properly off on their journey," Jason said. Politely he added,
"Would you care to join us?"
    And Clive surprised them
all by saying, "Thank you. I should like to. Freddy, you will have to give
me the time and directions."
    Hiding his dismay, Freddy
did so, replying in a voice pitched to be heard over
the increasing babble of the many voices nearby. And a few minutes later after
Clive and Elizabeth had drifted away, he turned on
Jason and growled, "Why the devil did you do that? That
sly boots will ruin the entire evening."
    "What
else could I do?" Jason replied, adding truthfully, "I certainly
didn't expect him to accept."
    "Well,
damn it, he did! And now we're saddled with him," Freddy grumbled.
    Jason
shrugged and changing the subject asked Tom, "Shall I stop by for you this
evening?"
    Suspiciously,
because Jason had a disconcerting habit of walking unnecessarily, Tom queried,
"You walking— or riding?"
    Smiling,
Jason admitted, 'Tom, Freddy lives a bare three blocks away, and if the weather
today is anything to go by, it should be a lovely night, so I shall walk. Won't
you keep me company?"
    Decisively
Tom shook his head no. And it was then that Jason again had that peculiar
feeling that someone behind him in the crowd was either staring at him or
listening closely to their conversation. He spun around quickly, but there
appeared to be no one paying any attention to them.
    "What
the devil is the matter with you?" Barrymore asked irritably.
    "Sorry,"
Jason apologized and added to cover his action, "I just thought of
something I wanted to ask Elizabeth, but I don't see her anywhere."
    "Good thing, too! I
tell you, Jason, you had best travel light with that baggage. She sails close
to the wind and so far hasn't been involved in outright scandal, but it's only
a matter of time until she ruins herself. Stick to Covent Garden bawds for
entertainment and let that little ladybird find someone else to gull,"
warned Barrymore.
    Looking
amused, Jason said, "My friend, I am not so green
as all that! I have been handling my misalliances with ease for some years
now."
    "Thing
is," Tom broke in earnestly, "she gambles!" he said in a voice
of doom. "Went through her husband's estate in a
twelvemonth. Her father had to settle her debts and demanded she return
home. Common gossip is that she's after a rich husband."
    Gravely,
hiding a twinkle in his green eyes, Jason assured them, "Believe me, I
will take due caution that I do not find myself in the parson's mousetrap with
the likes of Elizabeth Markham."
    Not
content with that, Barrymore finished, "You had best step lively, Jas, for
it's obvious she's attracted to you —and your money."
    At
the same moment Clive was saying something of a similar nature to Elizabeth.
They were seated comfortably in his tilbury traveling back to London, and Clive
was making no effort to conceal his displeasure. "You were being a bit
obvious, weren't you? All big eyes and pouting mouth," he sneered.
    "And
what else was I to do? You said to be agreeable to him," she returned
hotly, her eyes