Read Online It Happened One Midnight (PG8) by Julie Anne Long - Free Book Online
Authors: Julie Anne Long
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little. “Trouble de Ballesteros? That very ordinary ginger-haired female?”
She didn’t stop talking. But her mouth quirked at the corner, and her shoulder turned every-so-slightly toward them, like a weathervane.
He’d known she was listening.
Argosy swiveled on him. “Are you mad? ” he said on an indignant hush. “Just look at her skin. Like amber and cream! And her hair is . . . oh God, don’t say another word she’s coming she’s coming over here she’s coming she’s coming . . .”
She had indeed graciously extricated herself from her conversation and was now gliding toward them.
They bowed to her, and she curtsied with the grace of a silk handkerchief fluttering to the ground. She was in white muslin today, her hair dressed in the Grecian style, and her neckline, as usual, could only be described as adventurous, for which every man in the room was grateful.
A far, far cry from yesterday’s big bonnet and homely shawl.
“Mr. Redmond. If you brood any more darkly I may need to eject you, lest you blot out all the light in the room like an eclipse and people begin speaking of omens. Although some women consider brooding picturesque, and perhaps that is why you do it? Something to do, perhaps, with the maintenance of your mystique? Or is it perhaps related to that little bruise you’re sporting?”
Jonathan listened to this with a faint smile. He let a strategic little silence go by. “Have you seen any dukes lately, Miss de Ballesteros?”
She smiled tolerantly, as if he’d said something whimsical.
Her eyes, however, flashed a warning.
His smile broadened to indicate how very little he cared about her warnings.
“Perhaps it’s just that you haven’t had enough to drink, Mr. Redmond?” she suggested. “It’s early, but champagne is a bit like drinking sunshine. It ought to do you and the rest of us who must look upon you good.”
Argosy intervened. “You must forgive my friend, Miss de Ballesteros, but he’s been deprived of his allowance, you see, which would darken the mood of any man. I’m certain a moment or two of basking in your charm will set him right. Your presence could make any man forget his troubles.”
Tommy wordlessly watched Argosy’s mouth move.
When he was done, she said, “Oh . . . you, ” she finally said, and gifted him with a tap from her fan.
Jonathan stifled a laugh.
She made a three-quarter turn and pointed herself at him. “I thought I heard the word ‘silks.’ ”
She sounded shockingly businesslike.
“Do you like silks? I’ll buy a shipload of them for you,” Argosy volunteered casually.
“Be a pet and do that,” she encouraged him just as casually over her shoulder.
Jonathan coughed a laugh into his fist. “You heard ‘silks,’ Miss de Ballesteros, because I invested in a cargo of them.”
“And . . . ? Surely that isn’t how the story ends. Entertain me, Mr. Redmond. Make me laugh or weep.”
“ And I doubled my profits.”
She sighed. “I do love a happy ending.”
“I suspect it’s just the middle of the story. I invested those profits in another cargo of silks.”
“And now . . . ?” Tommy prompted, starry-eyed, like a child being told a favorite bedtime story.
“And now we wait.”
“In other words, it could very well become a never-ending story. Like Scheherazade and The Arabian Nights .”
“You catch on quickly. Investment is just that enchanting. A fairy tale come to life.”
She laughed. And now the rest of the room shifted restlessly because her laugh was husky and genuine, and called to mind bells and Spring and mating and all sorts of things that stirred a man, and they all wanted to be the one to make her do it.
“The last time you were here, Mr. Redmond, I believe you mentioned something about a color printing press.”
She had a fixed gaze, he noted. Quite a green one, when observed in close proximity, the iris traced in a circle of silver. Almond-shaped eyes, like a Gypsy or a
She didn’t stop talking. But her mouth quirked at the corner, and her shoulder turned every-so-slightly toward them, like a weathervane.
He’d known she was listening.
Argosy swiveled on him. “Are you mad? ” he said on an indignant hush. “Just look at her skin. Like amber and cream! And her hair is . . . oh God, don’t say another word she’s coming she’s coming over here she’s coming she’s coming . . .”
She had indeed graciously extricated herself from her conversation and was now gliding toward them.
They bowed to her, and she curtsied with the grace of a silk handkerchief fluttering to the ground. She was in white muslin today, her hair dressed in the Grecian style, and her neckline, as usual, could only be described as adventurous, for which every man in the room was grateful.
A far, far cry from yesterday’s big bonnet and homely shawl.
“Mr. Redmond. If you brood any more darkly I may need to eject you, lest you blot out all the light in the room like an eclipse and people begin speaking of omens. Although some women consider brooding picturesque, and perhaps that is why you do it? Something to do, perhaps, with the maintenance of your mystique? Or is it perhaps related to that little bruise you’re sporting?”
Jonathan listened to this with a faint smile. He let a strategic little silence go by. “Have you seen any dukes lately, Miss de Ballesteros?”
She smiled tolerantly, as if he’d said something whimsical.
Her eyes, however, flashed a warning.
His smile broadened to indicate how very little he cared about her warnings.
“Perhaps it’s just that you haven’t had enough to drink, Mr. Redmond?” she suggested. “It’s early, but champagne is a bit like drinking sunshine. It ought to do you and the rest of us who must look upon you good.”
Argosy intervened. “You must forgive my friend, Miss de Ballesteros, but he’s been deprived of his allowance, you see, which would darken the mood of any man. I’m certain a moment or two of basking in your charm will set him right. Your presence could make any man forget his troubles.”
Tommy wordlessly watched Argosy’s mouth move.
When he was done, she said, “Oh . . . you, ” she finally said, and gifted him with a tap from her fan.
Jonathan stifled a laugh.
She made a three-quarter turn and pointed herself at him. “I thought I heard the word ‘silks.’ ”
She sounded shockingly businesslike.
“Do you like silks? I’ll buy a shipload of them for you,” Argosy volunteered casually.
“Be a pet and do that,” she encouraged him just as casually over her shoulder.
Jonathan coughed a laugh into his fist. “You heard ‘silks,’ Miss de Ballesteros, because I invested in a cargo of them.”
“And . . . ? Surely that isn’t how the story ends. Entertain me, Mr. Redmond. Make me laugh or weep.”
“ And I doubled my profits.”
She sighed. “I do love a happy ending.”
“I suspect it’s just the middle of the story. I invested those profits in another cargo of silks.”
“And now . . . ?” Tommy prompted, starry-eyed, like a child being told a favorite bedtime story.
“And now we wait.”
“In other words, it could very well become a never-ending story. Like Scheherazade and The Arabian Nights .”
“You catch on quickly. Investment is just that enchanting. A fairy tale come to life.”
She laughed. And now the rest of the room shifted restlessly because her laugh was husky and genuine, and called to mind bells and Spring and mating and all sorts of things that stirred a man, and they all wanted to be the one to make her do it.
“The last time you were here, Mr. Redmond, I believe you mentioned something about a color printing press.”
She had a fixed gaze, he noted. Quite a green one, when observed in close proximity, the iris traced in a circle of silver. Almond-shaped eyes, like a Gypsy or a
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