Read Online Courtesan's Kiss by Mary Blayney - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Mary Blayney
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philosophical difference between insults and snubs.” The subjectseemed like dangerous territory to him. Most likely, they would end up demonstrating insults on each other.
“Lord David, I live for the day when you decide any time or place is suitable for conversation.”
She left him feeling the same confusion he thought the Belforts must have felt. Had she snubbed him or simply ended the conversation as she thought he wished?
David watched Miss Castellano speak to the groom and the coachman, offering them something from a box but not offering him any of the treat. Finally, Miss Castellano climbed into the carriage without another glance his way.
If she was in a bad humor, it lasted only three hours. Or at least that was how long quiet reigned. Not that he actually timed it, but they had reached the first sign directing them to Stafford shortly before she called to him. For once they were on time and should arrive at Sandleton before dusk.
“Lord David!” Miss Castellano leaned out the window at a precarious angle. He rode back beside her and she settled safely on her seat. “Do come and ride inside the carriage awhile. It is so very boring with no one to talk to. We can compare insults we have received and given.”
“That seems a subject that will invite discomfort, and there is nowhere for you to run off to.”
“Then I will thank you for rescuing my shawl and book and then we can discuss some other subject of which we both have knowledge.”
“Miss Castellano, I think we would find it difficult to agree on what color the sun is.”
“Gold, of course.”
“Yellow,” he answered.
“You are deliberately being difficult, but I am so desperate for something living to talk to that I will overlook it.”
David rode into the woods and pulled a branch of wild roses from a wildly blooming plant. They were almost the color of her costume.
He shoved them through the window of the coach onto the seat opposite her. “Here is something living. Talk to it.”
Her long-suffering expression mirrored exactly how he felt, but then she smiled and gave her attention to the flowers.
“Oh, good afternoon, Miss Rose. You and your friends are such refreshing company. It’s so lovely of you to call, and the scent you are wearing is delightful. Spending time with you always lifts my spirits.”
She waited as though listening.
“How kind of you to say so. And I think that blushing red suits you marvelously as well. The white near the center only emphasizes the depth of the hue.”
The conveyance bumped over a root and settled as quickly. “Yes, you see all your friends are nodding in agreement.”
She listened again.
“I know. He quite swept you off your feet, or from your branch.”
David stared off into the woods so that she would not see him smile.
“He is a fine figure of a man but, I must tell you, my dears, his manners leave much to be desired.”
Silence again.
“Oh, I suspect that there is more there than you think, but it will not be anything but the most mundane experience.”
She said the last as though it were the worst criticism one could make of a man. David rode ahead, sure that more insults were to follow. She could be charming, but like the roses there were thorns hidden in the most unexpected places.
After a while the sound of her voice faded and he actually looked around for another flower to stir her imagination. He decided against it, afraid she would misinterpret his gesture.
The sun heated the air, hot even for July. And humid. Over the next hours, as they headed steadily for the Great North Road, David had to fight to keep his eyes open. He jerked himself awake and turned back to see how the rest fared.
The coachman was nodding as well, and David turned his horse back to the carriage just as the man fell from his box and hit the ground with a sickening thud. The horses sensed the lack of control instantly and picked up their pace. The grooms, both of them, jumped from the back of
“Lord David, I live for the day when you decide any time or place is suitable for conversation.”
She left him feeling the same confusion he thought the Belforts must have felt. Had she snubbed him or simply ended the conversation as she thought he wished?
David watched Miss Castellano speak to the groom and the coachman, offering them something from a box but not offering him any of the treat. Finally, Miss Castellano climbed into the carriage without another glance his way.
If she was in a bad humor, it lasted only three hours. Or at least that was how long quiet reigned. Not that he actually timed it, but they had reached the first sign directing them to Stafford shortly before she called to him. For once they were on time and should arrive at Sandleton before dusk.
“Lord David!” Miss Castellano leaned out the window at a precarious angle. He rode back beside her and she settled safely on her seat. “Do come and ride inside the carriage awhile. It is so very boring with no one to talk to. We can compare insults we have received and given.”
“That seems a subject that will invite discomfort, and there is nowhere for you to run off to.”
“Then I will thank you for rescuing my shawl and book and then we can discuss some other subject of which we both have knowledge.”
“Miss Castellano, I think we would find it difficult to agree on what color the sun is.”
“Gold, of course.”
“Yellow,” he answered.
“You are deliberately being difficult, but I am so desperate for something living to talk to that I will overlook it.”
David rode into the woods and pulled a branch of wild roses from a wildly blooming plant. They were almost the color of her costume.
He shoved them through the window of the coach onto the seat opposite her. “Here is something living. Talk to it.”
Her long-suffering expression mirrored exactly how he felt, but then she smiled and gave her attention to the flowers.
“Oh, good afternoon, Miss Rose. You and your friends are such refreshing company. It’s so lovely of you to call, and the scent you are wearing is delightful. Spending time with you always lifts my spirits.”
She waited as though listening.
“How kind of you to say so. And I think that blushing red suits you marvelously as well. The white near the center only emphasizes the depth of the hue.”
The conveyance bumped over a root and settled as quickly. “Yes, you see all your friends are nodding in agreement.”
She listened again.
“I know. He quite swept you off your feet, or from your branch.”
David stared off into the woods so that she would not see him smile.
“He is a fine figure of a man but, I must tell you, my dears, his manners leave much to be desired.”
Silence again.
“Oh, I suspect that there is more there than you think, but it will not be anything but the most mundane experience.”
She said the last as though it were the worst criticism one could make of a man. David rode ahead, sure that more insults were to follow. She could be charming, but like the roses there were thorns hidden in the most unexpected places.
After a while the sound of her voice faded and he actually looked around for another flower to stir her imagination. He decided against it, afraid she would misinterpret his gesture.
The sun heated the air, hot even for July. And humid. Over the next hours, as they headed steadily for the Great North Road, David had to fight to keep his eyes open. He jerked himself awake and turned back to see how the rest fared.
The coachman was nodding as well, and David turned his horse back to the carriage just as the man fell from his box and hit the ground with a sickening thud. The horses sensed the lack of control instantly and picked up their pace. The grooms, both of them, jumped from the back of
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