Free The Brahmin Ball (A Sweet Historical Romance Novella) (Brahmin Brides Book 1) by Julianna Blake Page B

appear that she was spending time with Mr. Gladstone, with Clara as a chaperone. If Mr. Gladstone was indeed engaged, and people talked, her mother would have a fit.
    “This is my uncle’s sleigh,” Mr. Gladstone said. There was an awkward moment of silence. “I wouldn’t want you to think I was going about, pretending it was mine.”
    “It’s not my business whose carriage or sleigh you make use of, Mr. Gladstone.” Madeline deliberately made the conversation difficult—probably to the point of rudeness—but she was so angry for Grace’s sake, she found it difficult to stop herself.
    “Yes. Well…” he cleared his throat. “I’ve been eager to…no, forgive me, I should let you speak first. You said you wanted a word with me?”
    He cast her a sideways glance, and the tension in his jaw told Madeline that he might have an inkling that she wanted to give him a dressing-down.
    “I did.” She took a deep breath, steeling herself to be bold. “You embarrassed my sister the night of the ball. You promised her a dance, then cut out in the middle of the ball, with not so much as a word of apology. One could forgive it, should there have been an excuse, such as illness. But I hear you’re doing well. In fact,” she tilted her chin higher, piercing him with a look, “I hear you’re doing quite well. Am I to understand that congratulations may soon be in order?”
    She caught Clara out of the corner of her eye as she watched Gladstone—she was shrinking down in the back seat a bit, in embarrassment.
    Gladstone turned his head sharply, his expression a mixture of shock and confusion. “Congratulations? I’m not sure what you could mean.”
    Madeline’s certainty wavered. “Are you not courting Felicity Browning? I apologize if I’m being presumptuous, but it sounds as if the announcement will come any day…”
    Irritation passed over his face as he drew himself up in indignation. “You are indeed being presumptuous, Miss Barstow. And I’m surprised that any sister of Miss Grace Barstow would take part in such gossip. It’s no one’s business to make any assumptions about my visits to the Browning home, unless or until I or the Brownings disclose the reason for such visits.”
    “I…I didn’t mean…” Madeline had lost her footing, and didn’t know how to stand her ground. He was right. She’d made assumptions and listened to gossip, and even if it was true, it wasn’t her place to ask about any of it. But that didn’t make his treatment of Grace any more excusable.
    “What did you mean, then?” he said in a clipped manner. “And why do you accost me for ignoring your sister, when it is clearly the other way around?”
    Madeline and Clara gasped in unison.
    “How can you say such a thing,” Clara demanded, “when you abandoned her and ran off with your former fiancée? She was devastated!”
    “Clara!” Madeline chided. Grace would be humiliated if she knew they’d revealed the depth of her pain.
    “I didn’t abandon her, I gave her a message through one of the servants. She was all the way across the room, and I had no time to spare.”
    Madeline put gloved fingers over her mouth to cover her shock. She’d forgotten all about the footman who had approached Grace after Gladstone’s quick exit.
    “Did he not deliver the message?” Mr. Gladstone prompted.
    “He did. That is, he tried to, but…oh dear.” She had the feeling her embarrassment was about to deepen.
    “Are you saying Grace never heard the message? That explains it!” He slapped a hand on his knee, holding the reins with the other. He shook his head. “I thought she must have changed her mind about me. I asked him to give my regrets, and told him to ask Grace for her address, so that I could call on her later in the week. When I tried to ask Uncle’s footman the next day, I couldn’t find the man. The servants informed me that he’d been fired the evening before.”
    “Fired?” Clara asked. “For