Read Online Lord Beast by Ashlyn Montgomery - Free Book Online Page A

embrace as one.
    “It’s so good to see you,” Dani
mumbled against her friend’s shoulder.
    Vicky pulled away and grinned.
“And you!” She bounced happily a moment before dragging her over to the sofa
which she had energetically vacated.
    The thing about Victoria was that
she was a bundle of vibrant energy whereas Dani… was not. It wasn’t that she
couldn’t keep up with her friend, but more that her back just wouldn’t let her.
    “How have you been? Oh, I’m so
sorry to hear of your mother, truly I am.”
    “It’s alright, Vicky,” Dani said
earnestly. “I’m fine.”
    After a moment, Vicky pinned a
beauteous smile to her lovely face. “We’ve got a lot of shopping to do,” she
said cheerfully. “Starting right now. I hope you’re ready to go-”
    “Vicky, you didn’t specify when
exactly this ball is-”
    “Oh, silly me! Gabriel’s been
keeping me so busy of late-”
    Dani narrowed her eyes at
Victoria and the raven-haired woman blushed. “Well,” she mumbled, “that’s not
really important, is it? Anyway, the ball is two nights hence.”
    “That is hardly any time at all!”
    Vicky gave her friend a blank
look. “So?”
    “Vicky, that’s hardly enough time
to get costumed!”
    The other woman shrugged her
shoulders nonchalantly. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said breezily. “Gabriel
loaned me plenty of money to sort out both my costume and his.” Her expression
turned positively naughty. “I’m thinking of making him go as a pumpkin!”
    “You’re too cruel,” Dani
admonished, recalling vividly Gabriel Sinclair as a dark and serious individual
who would not find humour in being dressed like a big, orange vegetable.
    Vicky laughed. “Oh, no I’m not. I
simply adore him. But as I was saying, he gave me all this money for our two
costumes and they’ll never surmount to that, so he agreed to let me have the
rest as spending money-”
    “How generous of him.”
    “You’re mocking me, Dani,” she
said slowly. “But, anyway, I was just about to tell you that I’d like nothing
more than to spend some of that money securing a costume for you because I know
that you could use some excitement for one night out here in the country and
that you won’t be at the next season-”
    “Victoria, you’re babbling.”
    She grinned wryly, wrinkling her
nose. “I know. Dreadful habit. Gabriel says-” At Dani’s dry look, she cleared
her throat delicately. “I do love him, you know.”
    “I know,” Dani assured her friend
with a demonstrative pat on her hand.
    “I hope that, someday, you’ll
find somebody to love as much as I love Gabriel.”
    She involuntarily thought of Rhys
but shoved the man from her mind. It was becoming increasingly clear that she
would not be able to see him today, so there was no point in letting the
expectation suffocate her. She was going to enjoy her day with Victoria
immensely and then tonight… she smiled secretively… well, tonight she’d pay him a visit.
     
    It didn’t take long for Dani to
realise that Victoria was intent on exhausting her. The blasted woman had too
much energy for her own good and Dani was fatigued after two hours spent at
Truro’s popular modiste. Unfortunately for Gabriel, he would be going as a pumpkin,
after all.
    However, most of the time was
spent deciphering what Dani would wear to the ball and yards of dark fabric
were brought forth, held up against her, pinned and pricked into her skin and
so on.
    Having firmly come to the
conclusion that she was averse to shopping altogether, Vicky promptly dragged
her to several other outlets all of which she was required to spend several
further hours in each.
    By the time the carriage bearing
the two ladies rolled back to Dani’s cottage, it was dark and her back was in
agony again. Carriage rides did not agree with her.
    She allowed herself to soak in a
hot bath for well over an hour before she had a bite to eat and set out for
Falmouth Castle.
    The same procedure