Read Online Loving Lady Marcia by Kieran Kramer - Free Book Online Page A

her sisters, almost as if they depended on her to set the tone, which had often happened in her life, long before she became a teacher and headmistress. She was the oldest girl in the family, after all, and before Mama had married Daddy, the oldest child.
    She’d had to grow up early, Mama once said with regret.
    It was rare that they talked about the spartan days after her father died and before the Marquess of Brady and his sons entered their lives. But Marcia remembered that time well. She especially recalled how much Mama had needed her to be strong for Janice and Cynthia.
    So at the Tower, she asked brisk questions of their guide and laughed when he made jokes, all because she couldn’t let her sisters know that her foundations had been shaken.
    “Shall we get some ices at Gunter’s?” Janice suggested when they were done ogling the Crown jewels.
    The Tower usually swarmed with gawkers, but it was early in the day and not a single person they knew was there, which is what Marcia had hoped. She wasn’t prepared quite yet to explain to any of her acquaintances why she was in Town. “It’s a bit early for an ice, isn’t it?”
    “Not at all,” said Janice. “And you haven’t been to Gunter’s this age. Perhaps we’ll see—” She abruptly stopped speaking and blushed.
    “See who?” Marcia asked.
    “Some of Janice’s beaus,” Cynthia chimed in, grinning. “She’s always looking for them.”
    “Not true.” Janice rolled a weary eye at her older sister. “I only meant that perhaps we’ll see”—she hesitated—“some of your old friends.”
    “She means your old beaus.” Cynthia giggled.
    “No I didn’t,” snapped Janice.
    “Yes you did,” Cynthia retorted.
    Janice attempted to send her younger sister a discreet warning look, but Marcia saw it, plain as day.
    Poor Janice. She was trying to protect Marcia’s feelings.
    Cynthia looked puzzled. “Who are your old beaus, Marcia?”
    There was a long silence.
    Marcia swallowed and shrugged. “I have none.”
    Janice made a face at Cynthia, and Cynthia bowed her head. “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
    “It’s perfectly all right.” Marcia sent a reassuring smile to them both.
    “But you can acquire some beaus by going to balls,” Cynthia said with enthusiasm. “Mama, Daddy, Janice, and Gregory go to them often. Peter avoids them at all costs, of course.” Her face brightened. “I think there’s one tonight at the Livingstons’.”
    “It’s a bit too soon for me,” Marcia said. “But thanks for letting me know. Do you really want to go to Gunter’s?”
    “Yes, let’s do,” Cynthia said. “I especially love the lemon ice.”
    Marcia loved ices herself, but indulging in one seemed a paltry thrill at the moment.
    Janice linked arms with both her sisters, and with the maid trailing behind them, they began to stroll toward Daddy’s best carriage. “We’ll go,” she said, “even though you don’t want to, Marcia. It will cheer you up. You look much too serious.”
    “But I’m fine,” she answered. “And now that I think about it, Gunter’s sounds lovely.”
    Janice stopped, and they were all forced to stop with her. “You can’t fool us.” She gazed at Marcia with knowing eyes. “For once, lean on your sisters. Let us take care of you .”
    “Yes.” Cynthia’s eyes were shiny with tears. “That’s what sisters are for.”
    Marcia said nothing for a moment. The girls were so concerned and kind. She had to make a supreme effort not to believe, along with them, that she was a victim of a tragedy.
    Not yet, at any rate.
    “Very well,” she said, with an appreciative smile.
    *   *   *
    Some minutes later, after another carriage ride, Janice and Cynthia grabbed Marcia’s hands and pulled her into the interior of Gunter’s, where she immediately came face-to-face with one of Mama’s friends.
    “Why, it’s Marcia Sherwood!” the lady crowed in delight. She was with two other stylishly dressed