Read Online Gentlemen Prefer Mischief by Emily Greenwood - Free Book Online

strolling the garden without him.
    As soon as the men were out of earshot, Eloise linked her arms with Delia’s and Lily’s and leaned her head in close to theirs. “I must tell you,” she said, “that I shall probably, before the autumn has come to an end, have broken my heart for Ivorwood.”
    Delia blinked at this poetic confidence. “You mean the earl?”
    Eloise sighed exquisitely. “I do. Oh, he is divine. Handsome, debonair—even his voice is heavenly.” She gave a heavy sigh. “But I’m afraid he has yet to really notice me.”
    “But, Eloise,” Delia said, “I don’t see how any man could not admire you.”
    A twinkle lit Eloise’s eyes. “I will confide that I enjoyed some enthusiastic attention this Season from certain gentlemen. I’d rather hoped Ivorwood would take notice of them, and me.”
    “You mean that he would be jealous?” Delia said. This talk of enticing men was slightly wicked, compared to what life in the country had been like for Delia and Lily. “How thrilling! It’s just like a novel. Did it work?”
    “Unfortunately, no. But I haven’t given up.”
    Listening to their chatter, Lily was amazed at how free Eloise was in discussing her attraction to Ivorwood. Lily had never breathed even one word to anyone in her family about her feelings for Hal, and though he might have said something to her brothers years ago, she didn’t think he had, because neither of them had ever said a thing to her.
    She realized that Eloise was squeezing her arm. “I was hoping to do you a favor, Lily.”
    “A favor?”
    “Yes. About that journal of yours.”
    Lily blinked. Well.
    “What journal?” Delia said.
    Eloise looked surprised. “Don’t you know about how Hal took Lily’s journal when she was our age?”
    Delia looked at Lily with something bordering on accusation. “No.”
    Lily sighed. “That’s because I wanted to forget about it. It was four years ago.”
    “Yes, but your personal journal! It had to have been embarrassing.”
    “Rather,” Lily said, wanting only for the subject to be dropped.
    “Anyway,” Eloise said, “it’s been forgotten all this time at Mayfield. But I think he’s found it, because I saw him coming out of one of the guest rooms with a volume. I could tell it upset you, his reminding you about it yesterday.”
    “Well, I suppose I can get him to give it back to me soon,” Lily said, though she believed nothing of the sort.
    Eloise bit her lip. “My brother has the best heart in the world, but I’m afraid he’s always been a terrible tease. And I rather think he might not give the book back if you asked. But I thought that I might secure it.”
    Lily wasn’t willing to allow that Roxham had anything like a good heart. But the thought that Eloise might get hold of her book—well, she didn’t know if it was better or worse than Roxham having it. It was so private, and Eloise was so… not. She forced herself to be casual. “So have you had a chance at it?”
    Eloise’s pretty lips pressed together in disappointment. “Unfortunately, no, because the door to his room was locked. Which it never is. But,” she said with a little grin, “here’s what’s amusing. There’s a nest in the tree outside his window, and I saw a bird fly into his room just as our carriage was pulling away to come here. So it will be only what he deserves if desperate things have happened in there because no one could get in to chase the bird out.”
    Delia gasped with naughty glee, which caused Roxham, still speaking with the manager, to glance their way. The ladies quickly stepped to the side of the path to inspect a white rosebush.
    Lily whispered her thanks to Eloise for trying, but she hardly knew what words she used because she was so excited by something Eloise had just revealed.
    “Well,” Delia said, “I suppose you’d like to have the journal back without any blemishes, Lil. But just think that if the bird has spoiled it, no one will want to read it