Read Online Christina Hollis by Lady Rascal - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lady Rascal
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overmuch by getting in this state, are you?’
At once his entire attitude changed. Horror flooded his face and he sat upright.
‘My God! Mother! You won’t tell her about all this, will you, mademoiselle? She doesn’t know how much I loathe estate work—and if she as much as suspected that I’d taken out loans—’
‘I won’t say a thing. And the details of your little assignation with Miss Kitty will stay a secret from her, too.’
‘Thank you, mademoiselle.’
The look of relief on his face was so great that Madeleine laughed and stood up to go.
‘Don’t mention it, Master Philip!’ With an impetuous gesture she bent and kissed him full on the lips as Kitty had done. To her amazement his reaction this time was quite different. His arms slipped about her waist and she was held firmly. Drawing back in astonishment, she found he did not release her.
‘Please—don’t go, Madeleine. Not yet...’ he breathed unsteadily into the night.
Madeleine knew she should cry out and wake the whole house. She also knew she could not allow herself to do so. To disgrace Master Philip when she had openly invited herself into his room—it would be unthinkable.
She swallowed, hard, and tried not to look into his shadowed grey eyes with their unspoken question.
‘I—I must...’
‘No.’
Standing up, he seized her in an embrace that was painfully persistent. Before she could cry out, Madeleine’s mouth was stopped by a kiss so eager for possession that the blood began to pound in her ears. In a confusion of laces and frills Adamson began pawing at her frantically.
‘Madeleine—I’ve been longing —’
Suddenly he fell to the floor, his suffering enhanced by a swift knee in the parts that were longing the most. As he gasped and cursed and tried to catch his breath, Madeleine took the glass of water from beside his bed and knelt to offer it.
‘I’m sorry, sir. I should never have come in here in the first place.’
‘You—you...!’ Unable to think of anything wicked enough to call her, Adamson refused the water and hurled himself on to his bed.
‘I’ve said I’m sorry, sir!’
‘There’s a name for girls like you,’ he muttered angrily. ‘You kissed me!’
‘I only did as I had seen Miss Kitty do earlier, sir. I thought it must be an accepted thing among the English.’
Madeleine put down the glass and took a step back. There was no need. Adamson was still fuming, but the hand he raised did nothing more than push a lock of dark hair back out of his eyes.
Standing up in silence, he pulled at the bedclothes then threw himself down into the bed. There he lay in rigid and perfect silence.
Madeleine considered herself dismissed.
Next morning Madeleine was up before sparrow-cough and out in the already warm city. She still had a few sous left from the change Mistress Constance had given her, and she had some shopping to do.
Her return was greeted with a surprising amount of rejoicing. Mistress Constance was squeaking from the stairs, clad in a violently purple dressing-gown and with her hair still set in rags.
‘Oh, Madeleine! Thank goodness you’re safe! Wherever have you been? We’ve been hearing that all sorts of dreadful things are going on...’
‘The raid on Invalides? It’s all over. The people have got the guns they were after—it’s ammunition they want now. The news is they’ve marched off to the Bastille to get it. And about time, too,’ she finished in an undertone.
Mistress Constance shrieked and started running back upstairs.
‘It’s all right, madame! We’re quite safe while they’re so far away. And it was quite a peaceful march, they say.’
‘But guns? Ammunition?’
‘They are being threatened with violence by thirty thousand armed soldiers, madame! They can hardly defend themselves with sticks and stones, can they?’
Mistress Constance hesitated, saw that Madeleine was genuinely unconcerned, then began to creep down the stairs.
‘It’s very early to
At once his entire attitude changed. Horror flooded his face and he sat upright.
‘My God! Mother! You won’t tell her about all this, will you, mademoiselle? She doesn’t know how much I loathe estate work—and if she as much as suspected that I’d taken out loans—’
‘I won’t say a thing. And the details of your little assignation with Miss Kitty will stay a secret from her, too.’
‘Thank you, mademoiselle.’
The look of relief on his face was so great that Madeleine laughed and stood up to go.
‘Don’t mention it, Master Philip!’ With an impetuous gesture she bent and kissed him full on the lips as Kitty had done. To her amazement his reaction this time was quite different. His arms slipped about her waist and she was held firmly. Drawing back in astonishment, she found he did not release her.
‘Please—don’t go, Madeleine. Not yet...’ he breathed unsteadily into the night.
Madeleine knew she should cry out and wake the whole house. She also knew she could not allow herself to do so. To disgrace Master Philip when she had openly invited herself into his room—it would be unthinkable.
She swallowed, hard, and tried not to look into his shadowed grey eyes with their unspoken question.
‘I—I must...’
‘No.’
Standing up, he seized her in an embrace that was painfully persistent. Before she could cry out, Madeleine’s mouth was stopped by a kiss so eager for possession that the blood began to pound in her ears. In a confusion of laces and frills Adamson began pawing at her frantically.
‘Madeleine—I’ve been longing —’
Suddenly he fell to the floor, his suffering enhanced by a swift knee in the parts that were longing the most. As he gasped and cursed and tried to catch his breath, Madeleine took the glass of water from beside his bed and knelt to offer it.
‘I’m sorry, sir. I should never have come in here in the first place.’
‘You—you...!’ Unable to think of anything wicked enough to call her, Adamson refused the water and hurled himself on to his bed.
‘I’ve said I’m sorry, sir!’
‘There’s a name for girls like you,’ he muttered angrily. ‘You kissed me!’
‘I only did as I had seen Miss Kitty do earlier, sir. I thought it must be an accepted thing among the English.’
Madeleine put down the glass and took a step back. There was no need. Adamson was still fuming, but the hand he raised did nothing more than push a lock of dark hair back out of his eyes.
Standing up in silence, he pulled at the bedclothes then threw himself down into the bed. There he lay in rigid and perfect silence.
Madeleine considered herself dismissed.
Next morning Madeleine was up before sparrow-cough and out in the already warm city. She still had a few sous left from the change Mistress Constance had given her, and she had some shopping to do.
Her return was greeted with a surprising amount of rejoicing. Mistress Constance was squeaking from the stairs, clad in a violently purple dressing-gown and with her hair still set in rags.
‘Oh, Madeleine! Thank goodness you’re safe! Wherever have you been? We’ve been hearing that all sorts of dreadful things are going on...’
‘The raid on Invalides? It’s all over. The people have got the guns they were after—it’s ammunition they want now. The news is they’ve marched off to the Bastille to get it. And about time, too,’ she finished in an undertone.
Mistress Constance shrieked and started running back upstairs.
‘It’s all right, madame! We’re quite safe while they’re so far away. And it was quite a peaceful march, they say.’
‘But guns? Ammunition?’
‘They are being threatened with violence by thirty thousand armed soldiers, madame! They can hardly defend themselves with sticks and stones, can they?’
Mistress Constance hesitated, saw that Madeleine was genuinely unconcerned, then began to creep down the stairs.
‘It’s very early to
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