Read Online Born of Persuasion by Jessica Dotta - Free Book Online

anticipated.

    “Open!” A man beat his fist against Am Meer’s door, in the dead of night, then shouted, “Open, I say!”
    I sat up in my bed, gasping as dogs’ frantic howls reverberated through the cottage. I made a movement to slip from my bed, but sheets entwined my legs.
    “I said open up!” The man clanged on the door knocker.
    “Hold your horses,” the manservant, Harry, shouted as he passed my door. His feet slurred over the floor and I envisioned him buttoning trousers. “I’m coming, I’m coming, you filthy bog trotter.”
    Recovering from my shock, I rose and pulled on my wrapper, unable to fathom what was happening, for no catastrophe could merit waking us in such a manner. Am Meer was too far from the village to be disturbed over a fire, and the Windhams had no family close enough for it to be a death announcement. Hearing Mrs. Windham’s voice at the end of the hall, I procured a light and proceeded to her.
    She stood at the entrance, reading a missive by candlelight. A single, brown braid threaded with silver hung from beneath her nightcap. Her bare toes with thick, yellow nails protruded from beneath her nightgown. Elizabeth clung to her arm, reading over her shoulder. The coming years melted as I gauged how altered Elizabeth should appear twenty years hence.
    Elizabeth looked up first, her face ghostly. “Oh, Julia.”
    I eyed the note, fear tingling through me. “I’ve been ordered to Scotland, haven’t I?”
    “Scotland?” Mrs. Windham looked over her note, her puffy eyes squinted.
    “Worse.” Elizabeth left her mother to link her arm with mine. “Her ladyship has ordered us to attend dinner with her on Thursday. She desires . . . to meet you.”
    I clutched my wrap tighter. Even in the murkiness, I recognized the distinct ivory stationery. “Lady Foxmore sent you a note at two o’clock in the morning?”
    “Like as not, she has indigestion and wishes us to suffer alongside her,” Elizabeth whispered, causing Harry to choke on laughter.
    Mrs. Windham looked over the page at her manservant and hall boy, both swallowing back grins. Her eyes narrowed as she waved Elizabeth and me back down the hall.
    “All right, all right. Back to bed, everyone. Nothing to make such a fuss over.”
    But when we turned the corner, she grabbed Elizabeth’s arm and hissed, “You must never forget how terrible servants’ gossip is. Imagine what her ladyship would think if she heard.”
    “As if Harry would repeat anything.”
    Mrs. Windham released her and addressed me. “Do not trouble yourself over meeting Lady Foxmore. Put the thought from your mind and go finish your slumber, like a good girl.”
    At my bedchamber, Mrs. Windham left us and returned to her own room, still reading the note.
    “This is the fifth time,” Elizabeth whispered, “that her ladyship has seen fit to send a message in the dead of night. One would gather we’d imposed the acquaintance on her and this is our punishment. I’m convinced she instructs her footman to wake the entire household. Don’t you dare start giggling. There’s nothing humorous about it.”
    “What did the note say?” I asked, unable to keep the amusement from my voice.
    “It was dreadful. First, she berated Mama for not seeking her counsel before allowing you to live here.” Mirth crept into Elizabeth’s voice despite herself. “She wrote that she is uncertain as to whether Mama is adequate for the task, and she shall determine on Thursday whether she approves of the scheme.”
    I covered my mouth to restrain my laughter.
    “You haven’t heard the worst yet,” Elizabeth chided. “The dinner is at Auburn Manor.”
    Aghast, I looked anew at Elizabeth, then sank in a chair situated at the desk. “Why there?”
    “Because she’s the most horrid woman alive. Worse than even Miss Pitts. It’s her own brand of tormenting Mama. She’s perfectly aware that Lord and Lady Auburn found one of my love letters to Henry and no longer receive