Free Emily Hendrickson by The Scoundrels Bride Page B

distaste.
    “I vow, ‘tis as plain as she is. Where could she hide that pad of paper Mrs. Robynhod mentioned seeing? Surely she’d not take it to the bookshop.”
    Then Elinor espied a stack of what appeared to be drawings on the dressing table. Darting to quickly peruse them she suddenly let out a horrified gasp. When she viewed herself as a sleek mongoose who looked ready to consume the nearest snake in the grass Elinor’s eyes grew huge with outrage.
    “She will pay for this,” Elinor vowed. “I shall make her wish she had never been born.”
     

Chapter 5
     
    Chloe peered about the bookshop to see if Laura was there.
    “Around the corner,” Ellen counseled.
    Hatchards was crowded with book lovers and most likely a few others who were there like Chloe, to meet a friend. The area in the front of the shop was full of gentlemen engaging in pleasant debate. Chloe hurried around the stack of books to find her confidant.
    “You survived,” Laura exclaimed softly when she saw Chloe’s face peering over a stack of books.
    “I do believe I gave Grandmama something to think about, for I repeated what you told me regarding you-know-who’s fortune, not to mention the family jewels. She had the most peculiar look on her face before she went up for her afternoon rest.” Chloe shared a pleased look with her friend over her tiny victory.
    Laura beamed a smile of satisfaction at Chloe, then said, “Allow me to pay for this book of verse, then perhaps we might go for a stroll along the edge of Green Park?”
    “Afraid of the cows?” Chloe said with a gurgle of laughter knowing her friend would never venture close to the animals that roamed in the park.
    “I have never liked animals larger than I am,” Laura said with a twinkle in her pretty dark eyes. “And, yes, that includes horses.”
    Once outside, the two girls, with their maids close behind them, strolled along the border of the park, admiring the scenery and animals from a safe distance.
    “How does your drawing proceed?” Laura asked after a time.
    “I have completed all the patronesses at Almack’s and quite a few others. Oh, Laura, it is such fun. I study a person to see what part of his or her character stands out in my mind, or perhaps how they appear to me. Then, I simply draw a likeness of that animal, bird, or whatever and bestow the facial likeness on it. For instance. Lady Jersey is a beautiful butterfly.”
    “Delightful. And what about me?” Laura said with some hesitation.
    “You are the dearest of kittens, the sort one loves to pet and cuddle.”
    “How lovely,” Laura cooed with delight. “I’d give a shilling to know how you portray Mr. St. Aubyn.”
    “A lion rampant, but you need not look at me like that. He feels sorry for me and desires to help, nothing more,” Chloe said with a prim nod in a voice that warned Laura not to tease.
    “Oh, do not look now, but there is Sir Augustus Dabney approaching. I cannot believe he is walking! Gracious, he must have sold his carriages and horses to pay his gaming debts,” Laura confided in a soft undertone.
    “Perhaps he wished to merely take the air?” Chloe offered, not wishing to impugn Sir Augustus, for he had been very kind to her.
    “Do you never think ill of another?” Laura said with a hint of impatience.
    “Indeed—my grandmama often, and my aunt Elinor every now and again, and Lord Twisdale constantly. But they are an exception, you know. I tend to think good of someone until shown otherwise.”
    Laura shifted her parasol to her other side so she might have a better look at the gentleman who approached. Chloe closed hers up and then swung it to and fro by the handle on her left side.
    “Ah,” exclaimed Sir Augustus, as he met them on the walk. He raised an ornate quizzing glass to one eye to survey Chloe. “May I wish you happy, Lady Chloe? If I must, I shall be utterly devastated.”
    Chloe bestowed a confused look on him. “No, indeed, sir. Wherever did you acquire such