Free An Unsuitable Bride by Jane Feather Page A

it? But then, he reflected, perhaps she didn’t show it to anyone else. Now, that was an intriguing thought. Could it be that in his company, the lady found it hard to resist revealing her other self? Just as he found it impossible to resist trying to ferret that other self out of the burrow in which she had so thoroughly buried it? The reflection put a spring in his step and a smile on his lips, although it did nothing to answer the question of why she needed to pretend to be someone she wasn’t.
    “Did you enjoy your stroll with Mistress Hathaway?”Marcus asked as Perry rejoined them in the yellow drawing room.
    “Not much,” Perry confessed, picking up his neglected sherry glass. “For some reason, the lady refused to open her mouth beyond the barest platitudes. Maybe she allows herself a certain quota of words a day, and she reached that already.” He shook his head with a resigned shrug and sipped his sherry. Whatever his suspicions about Mistress Hathaway’s true incarnation, he was prepared to keep them to himself. She must have her reasons, and until he knew for certain that they were not good and sufficient for this game she was playing, he would not risk exposing her.
    “She’s an odd creature, I grant you that.” Marcus brought over the decanter to refill his glass. “Can’t make her out at all.”
    “She seems very shy,” the Dowager Lady Douglas put in, waving the vial of sal volatile beneath her nose. “But her background is rather obscure. She’s clearly from a rather bourgeois family, but at least she doesn’t give herself any airs. I might cultivate her, when I feel a little stronger.” She wafted the vial languidly. “I can’t imagine why a parent would ruin a girl’s chances of marriage by educating her out of the market. But then, I doubt a respectable parti could have been found for her. Such an unfortunate appearance . . . that crookback and the birthmark.” She shuddered. “Poor woman, to be cursed in such a way.” She set aside the vial. “I shall be kind to her, offer her a little distraction. It will helpto pass the time. Marcus, assist me into the morning room. I told Baker to lay out a light repast, and I’m feeling a little faint.”
    “Of course, Mama.” Marcus helped his mother rise from the sofa in a soft billow of silks. “I doubt Perry and I could manage another mouthful. We had an enormous second breakfast up at the Abbey with the fruits of our morning on the river, but we’ll be happy to keep you company.”
    “Indeed, ma’am,” Perry said hastily. “More than happy.”
    He was amused to see how Lady Douglas interpreted a light repast. The dining table in the morning room groaned under an array of savory tarts, a glistening ham, a dish of scalloped oysters, and a marzipan confection with crystallized fruits. The dowager took her place, accepted a cup of watered wine, and began languidly to eat her way through the offerings. Perry gazed in growing astonishment at the food that disappeared into that dainty mouth. On her insistence, he toyed with a cheese tartlet and drank a glass of claret. Marcus followed suit, while Lady Douglas ate and engaged Perry in a detailed examination of his family history.
    “Your brother, the earl, he’s recently married, I understand.” She nibbled a piece of marzipan.
    “Yes, ma’am. And my twin brother also. I’m the only bachelor among us now.” He tried for an easy smile to accompany the statement but found it difficultto produce. It brought to the forefront the one issue he was trying to forget, at least for this weekend.
    “Oh, yes, you have a twin. The Honorable Sebastian, is it not?”
    “Yes, ma’am.” He sipped his wine and tried to change the subject. “How long has Mistress Hathaway been in residence at the Abbey?”
    “Oh, a few months, I believe. But tell me, how do you find your brothers’ wives, Peregrine . . . I may call you Peregrine, may I not?”
    “Of course, ma’am . . . I wonder how Sir