Read Online Catch a Falling Heiress: An American Heiress in London by Laura Lee Guhrke - Free Book Online

satisfaction, despite the rather dire circumstances. The mother, if not the daughter, had some degree of taste and judgment. “Good heavens, you were conducting a midnight rendezvous with Frederick Van Hausen?”
    As if hearing his name, the other man stirred, causing the girl to kneel beside him with a sound of relief. “Frederick?” She shook his shoulder. “Oh, Frederick, do wake up. My mother’s here, and you have to explain.”
    Van Hausen moved to sit up, but the moment he did, his eyes crossed and rolled back in his head, and Jack couldn’t help grinning as the American gave a groan, slumped back to the floorboards, and once again passed out.
    “Dear me.” Mrs. Holland studied him with distaste. “Is he drunk?”
    “Of course not.” The girl jumped to her feet and strode forward to face her parent. “He was in the midst of proposing to me when that man—” She paused to jab a finger in Jack’s direction. “Interrupted us, picked a fight, and struck poor Frederick unconscious.”
    “Frederick Van Hausen was proposing to you?” Mrs. Holland sounded even more appalled than before. “But I saw you kissing Lord Featherstone.”
    “I did not kiss him. He kissed me.”
    “I think,” Jack murmured, leaning closer to her, “your mother would deem that a distinction without a difference, my darling.”
    She turned to give him a scowl at the endearment before returning her attention to her parent. “What you and Mrs. Dewey saw won’t matter, even if she tells everyone in Newport about it, because I shall be marrying Frederick. My reputation will not suffer any lasting damage if our engagement is announced right away. Everyone will think it’s just a misunderstanding.”
    Her mother didn’t seem impressed by that. “Mrs. Dewey will never think what she saw was a misunderstanding. As for Frederick, he is unconscious, and you are not at liberty to speak for him. And even if his intentions were honorable, it doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t dream of allowing you to marry him.”
    “What?” The girl’s cheeks, flushed from the warm night and the heat of the moment, went pale. “Are you saying that because he isn’t a British peer? Even after I’ve told you what happened, you would still—”
    “Nationality and titles have little to do with it now,” her mother cut in. “I cannot allow you to marry Frederick Van Hausen when you have already been seen committing improprieties with another man, and the witness to this is one of Newport’s biggest scandalmongers. Don’t be absurd, Linnet.”
    Jack let out a sigh of profound relief, but the girl’s next words told him he wasn’t out of the weeds quite yet.
    “But, Mother, what’s the alternative? You can’t expect me to marry this man. He’s a complete stranger to me.”
    “Not such a stranger,” Mrs. Holland reminded. “Not after what Abigail and I witnessed here.”
    “I already explained that.”
    “And I’m explaining to you, my dear daughter, that how this came about isn’t as important as the fact that it did. There is only one thing that can be done.” Mrs. Holland waved a gloved hand in Jack’s direction. “It was Lord Featherstone who damaged your reputation, and it is his responsibility to repair it.”
    The girl gave a huff of exasperation. “You’re insisting on this because it fits with your plans. We both know you want me to marry a peer, but as we have discussed many times before, I don’t share your ambitions for my life. And I’ve got Daddy on my side. Unlike you, he has always wanted me to marry an American.”
    Jack tensed. If the girl’s father ended up taking Van Hausen’s part, all was lost. But Mrs. Holland didn’t seem worried. “You think your father would approve of Frederick?” she asked.
    “Of course. Why wouldn’t he?”
    “Why, indeed. Let’s find out, shall we? He needs to be told at once what has occurred, for I shudder to think what he’ll say if he hears the news of your conduct from