Read Online Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness by Deb Marlowe - Free Book Online Page B

in Town, old man.”
    “Ashburn.”  He stood and greeted his old school friend.  “Good to see you.”
    They sat for a bit, shared a drink, talked over old times and news of old friends.
    “Listen, will you see Gardiner before tomorrow, do you think?” Ashburn eventually asked.
    “Likely.”
    “Will you tell him that if he likes, he can meet Vickers and the others at the Borough High Street?”  He brightened.  “You should come along, Brodham—it’s an impromptu picnic up at the Richmond house.   Worthe and his fiancé convinced me to host a group—just an informal gathering.  We’d love to have you there.”
    All the hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention.  “Worthe and his fiancé, did you say?”
    “Yes.  Lovely girl.  Can’t say no to a happy bride-to-be, can you?”
    “Who else is coming?”  But he already knew the answer, didn’t he?
      “Oh, just a few friends.  Vickers is invited.  He might actually have a good time if you are there.  Miss Charlotte Ridgley, and that American girl, too.  Don’t worry, it’s to be small, not anything like my mother gets up.  She’s still recovering from the time Cotwell threw her garden party into a frenzy by proposing in the midst of the roses.  Heard about that?”
    He went on to tell the tale, but Brodham wasn’t listening.  He was too busy marveling.  She’d almost done it.  Liberty Baylis, that beautiful, sneaky chit of an American girl, had very nearly outmaneuvered him.  His pulse danced loud in his ears.
    It wasn’t over. 
    Unfamiliar chaos whirled inside of him.  If he hadn’t been sitting down, it might have staggered him.  He was used to dealing with the frothy mess of other people’s emotions, never his own.
    Annoyance, respect, a warm glow of affection.  A pounding thrum of anticipation.  He couldn’t wait to see what she had planned, to surprise her with his presence, to engage her in battle.  He couldn’t wait to see her.
    Perhaps for the last time.
    That triggered a wave of a different kettle of emotions.  He squashed them.  It was time.  They would have a last call to arms and a proper goodbye. 
    He was prepared.  Soon this all would be over.  Peter would likely marry.  Liberty would depart for home.  He’d be left to a calm and quietly busy existence at Cateswood.
    Just as he’d always wanted. 
     

 
    Chapter Seven
     
    Ashford’s butler greeted him without apparent judgment for the lateness of his arrival.
    “The party has gathered to dine al fresco on the lawn, my lord,” he intoned.  “I’ll show you the way myself.”
    Tardiness was part of his strategy.  He wanted to give Liberty the same sort of shock she’d dealt him. 
    He tried to focus on the house and gardens as he followed the servant.  The entire estate exuded a light, welcoming feel.  He wanted, suddenly, to accomplish the same effect at Cateswood.  It had been years since he’d been back, and he wondered how he’d find it.
    Safe.  Comfortable .
    He’d thought of those words with longing not so long ago.  Now they were colored in his head with a tone of feminine scorn. 
    Ignoring it, he increased his stride as they crunched along the gravel paths of the formal garden terrace.  There.  On a flattened bit of lawn beyond the low stone border, the company had assembled.  They were seated in groups on brightly colored linens.  The spot was lovely, the lawn sloping gently down to the river, but Brodham had caught sight of Liberty Baylis.  Her laughter floated toward him on the breeze.  She was seated between two gentlemen.  Vickers, it looked like.  And another gentleman he didn’t know, one who stared at her with an assessing, slightly calculating gaze.
    “A newly arrived guest, my lord,” announced the butler.  “Lord Brodham.”
    Her head snapped around.
    “Glad you could make it after all!”  Ashburn rose to pump his hand in greeting.
    He nodded and watched her.  That first, brief moment when