Read Online It Takes a Scandal by Caroline Linden - Free Book Online Page B

door opened once more. She heard a measured step, with just a hint of tap indicating a cane, and then he stepped through the door. His hair was brushed back, and he wore a deep blue coat, and Abigail felt the strangest urge to run to him and stand at his side.
    “Mr. Vane!” Mama went to him, her hand outstretched. “I am so pleased to make your acquaintance at last. Thank you for coming.”
    “I ought to have done so sooner, Mrs. Weston, to welcome you to Richmond.” He bowed over her hand.
    She smiled. “Nonsense! I put little stock in trivial formalities. Come, Abigail, greet our neighbor, since you’ve already made his acquaintance.” Mama beckoned her toward them.
    “Good day, Mr. Vane.” She curtsied. He bowed, his deep brown eyes never veering from her face. “How kind of you to call.”
    Abigail wished she could read his thoughts; his expression gave away nothing even though he studied her so intently, it seemed he must want to say something. “Good day, Miss Weston,” he said after a small pause. “I trust you are well?”
    Now that you’ve come. She blushed at the unbidden thought. “Very well, sir, thank you.”
    “I am glad to hear it.” He hesitated again, that intense gaze seeming to caress every inch of her face. “I’m very pleased to be so welcome.”
    “Of course!” Mama resumed her seat on the sofa and waved one hand at the opposite chair. “Please sit down, Mr. Vane. May I offer you some tea?”
    “Thank you.” He lowered himself with only the slightest tensing of his jaw. Abigail realized he had propped the cane against the back of the chair and walked around it unaided. She sat on the other end of the sofa, offering Milo a piece of rope James had knotted into a toy for him. The puppy took it between his paws and settled down on the cushion, happily chewing away.
    “You own Montrose Hill, do you not?” Mama prepared a cup of tea and handed it to him. “We have a fine view of the house from the lawn, and I have often admired it.”
    “Yes.” He glanced around the room. “I might say the same about Hart House. It looked so lonely after Lady Burton’s death. I’m glad to see it bright with life again.”
    Mama smiled. “Thank you, sir. My husband assured me it would be an ideal refuge from London, and I must confess he was entirely correct.”
    Mr. Vane nodded. He still hadn’t smiled, and aside from that moment of almost intimate appraisal, he hadn’t looked at Abigail, either. “I’ve lived here my entire life, ma’am, and have always found it preferable to town.”
    “As do I,” Abigail put in, determined not to be ignored. “It’s so peaceful.”
    He barely glanced at her. “Indeed, Miss Weston.”
    “I owe you a great thanks for saving my dear Milo, Mr. Vane. Abigail told me how you rescued him from the woods.” Mama scratched her pet’s chin, and he gave a little yap before tearing at the rope again. “I don’t know what I would have done had he been lost.”
    “I merely pulled him from the brambles, Mrs. Weston. Your daughter deserves more credit for his rescue. She tracked him into the woods.” Still unsmiling and grave, he darted a glance toward Abigail.
    “And she was very pleased not to have to chase him further.” Mama’s tone was light as she petted her dog, but her eyes were sharp and inquisitive as she looked at Abigail, as if she could sense her daughter’s tension. “It spared her favorite gown, I understand.”
    “Yes,” she said with a smile. “I’m very grateful. We could have found a new dog, but that dress was one of a kind.”
    Her mother gasped in affected outrage. “Milo, don’t believe a word!” The puppy wagged his tail at the sound of his name. “I shall pretend I didn’t hear that.”
    “I trust the pup suffered no harm from his adventure,” said Mr. Vane.
    “None that a brisk bath couldn’t cure,” Mama assured him.
    “Mr. Vane suggested you cut his coat, Mama, so he wouldn’t get caught in any thorn