Free Double Deception by Patricia Oliver Page A

it dislike? Athena asked herself, calming her sudden agitation with the familiar motions of pouring tea and passing the cup to the Beauty, now seated demurely at her side on the Chinese settee. No, that was patently impossible; they had only just met. Or was it annoyance at being thrust into the company of a strange female so soon after her arrival? Or perhaps contempt, Athena reasoned, suddenly conscious that her simple green afternoon gown paled in comparison to the Beauty's profusion of pink rosebuds.
    Or perhaps she had imagined that sullen glare in those intense blue eyes? Yes, she told herself firmly. She was being uncommonly sensitive over a casual glance that probably meant nothing at all. She turned to Miss Rathbone, with a friendly smile.
    "I trust you will enjoy your stay in the country," she remarked, determined to draw the girl out.
    "I hate the rain," came the faintly petulant response. 
    "Oh, this drizzle is only temporary, they say," Athena countered. "We have had simply glorious weather for the past week, and Lady Sarah has organized an outing to the ruins of a Norman abbey for tomorrow afternoon. I am quite looking forward to it myself."
    "Will the earl be one of the party?"
    Athena looked at the Beauty sharply, but the luminous eyes were downcast and the face expressionless. "Oh, yes. Lord St. Aubyn was the one who suggested exploring the ruins, which are reported in the Guide Books as picturesque as well as of historical value." 
    "And his son?"
    Athena paused, her cup suspended midway between the saucer and her lips. It was not the question so much as the inflection of the Beauty's voice that triggered a warning note in her head. Of course Peregrine would be there, she thought. He had promised to guide her through the dark and—according to his highly dramatic version of the Abbey's history—dangerous passageways to the dungeons beneath the stone floors of the chapel. She had been looking forward to spending a delightful afternoon in his company.
    "Yes, naturally Viscount Fairmont will accompany us," she answered shortly. "And I advise you to wear sensible shoes, Miss Rathbone," she added on impulse. "The ground may be rough."
    "I hate sensible shoes," came the pettish reply. "And I do not intend to do any walking. I shall sit in the shade and drink lemonade." She paused for a moment, as though considering the prospect.
    "You may be bored," Athena suggested. 
    "If the viscount is with us, I shall not be bored," the Beauty remarked confidently. A faint smile—oddly sensuous for one so young—curved her shapely lips, and Athena felt a rising sense of unease.
    "I hear he is dashingly handsome," Miss Rathbone remarked in her bell-like voice. "Would you not agree, Mrs. Standish? You must know him well."
    The deep blue eyes regarded her coyly from beneath indecently long lashes.
    Yes, Athena thought crossly, how could she not agree that Peregrine—her own darling Perry—was blindingly handsome in the first flush of his youthful innocence? But before she could find a suitable set-down for this impertinent miss, the Saloon doors swung open and the object of her thoughts appeared in the doorway, a wide grin on his flushed face.
    Perry's gaze sought her out, but a movement from beside her drew his gaze to the Beauty. With no little amazement, Athena saw that an elegant pink fan had appeared mysteriously in Miss Rathbone's white hand and was being used with consummate grace to draw the gentleman's eyes to her lovely face.
    The wanton minx was actually flirting with her betrothed! Athena could only watch in horror as Perry's grin slipped into a fatuous grimace, and his eyes glazed over as he continued to stare at Miss Rathbone, an idiotic expression on his handsome face.
    A movement behind Peregrine distracted her, and Athena found herself gazing into the blue-black eyes of Lord St. Aubyn. When he raised one rakish eyebrow and treated her to a lazy smile, Athena knew the earl had seen her distress, perhaps