Read Online Lessons from a Scandalous Bride by Sophie Jordan - Free Book Online Page A

day,” Hamilton remarked as he came up alongside of her.
    She forced a bright smile and blinked, blinded by his garishly bright purple cravat. Apparently the ton dressed more colorfully for garden parties. He wasn’t the only one present wearing colors to rival a peacock’s plumes.
    “Indeed,” she agreed with stiff politeness.
    “Even if you are here,” he returned.
    She congratulated herself when her smile didn’t falter at his jab. “The day is remarkably warm. I so feared it would rain.”
    He smiled tightly, no doubt annoyed she hadn’t risen to his bait. “Would rain have kept you away then? Perhaps I should issue forth a quick prayer for a downpour so that I may be delivered from you.”
    She snorted, doubting the good Lord even heard this devil’s prayers. Even as she thought this, she held her tongue and glanced around, hoping for rescue. There wasn’t a friendly face anywhere amid the elaborate flower arrangements and yellow-striped linens.
    “Looking for my uncle? I believe he had an accident.” His voice dropped on the last word and he motioned near the front of his trousers so that she had no confusion to what he was referring. Mortifying heat crept over her face. “He has those problems, you know,” Hamilton continued with a tsk of his tongue. “A man his age . . . he has a great many . . . ailments. Incontinence. Impotence.”
    If possible, the heat in her face only intensified. “How dare you speak of such matters to me? You go too far. Your uncle would not appreciate it.”
    In the distance she spotted Thrumgoodie walking in his wobbly gait along the buffet table and her anger only burned hotter. “I see you were making sport. Your uncle is over there.”
    “Oh, so he is.” Hamilton shrugged. “Doesn’t alter anything I told you. Marry him and you’ll only be getting half a man.”
    “I realize you’re only speaking out of concern.” Her voice dripped sarcasm. “You’re such an altruist.”
    At her tone, his mocking smile vanished to be replaced with a very nasty sneer. “Oh, make no mistake. I’m not a nice man. Heed me well. Stay away from my uncle. Go sniff after some other title. If you think we don’t rub on well now, just wait and see what happens if you actually marry my uncle.”
    Cleo sipped from her flute before saying, “Hmm, let me consider this scenario. Me . . . marrying the earl. What would happen? Oh, I remember,” she exclaimed with false brightness. “I get half of your inheritance.” Smiling sweetly, she whirled away. But not before a muttered bitch stung her ears.
    She fought to keep the smile on her face until she was certain he could no longer see her. Lifting her skirts, she descended the stone steps into the garden, past the milling guests. She walked until the chatter, clink of crystal and harp strings were but a distant song.
    She bypassed a maze of hedges and veered off the pebbled path into a press of trees that crowded one side of a pond. Doddingham’s estate was only just outside the city, but it felt as though she were lost amid the country. Far away from the city. The ton and all its watching eyes. She inhaled a deep breath, smelling the leaves and loamy earth. Some of the tension ebbed from her shoulders. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized her eyes stung. She rubbed at them until the sensation faded.
    Heedless of the snags it might give her gown of buttercream silk, she expelled a great breath and leaned against a thick oak tree. Staring out at the pond’s glassy surface, she wondered if she should not heed Hamilton’s warning and focus her attentions elsewhere. Although finding another man to meet her criteria might prove a challenge.
    The words she’d uttered to her mother—the vow she’d made to herself—weighed on her. She’d dallied long enough. She needed to see her mother and all her siblings properly cared for. Roger had made it clear she was short on time. No more gnawing hunger. No wretched sickness. No