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

matrons, all of whom let loose with a barrage of questions:
    “Where have you been, Lady Marcia?”
    “Are you here for good at last?”
    “You’ll not sit out any dance, I’m sure, my dear. Are you going to the Livingstons’ ball?”
    She did her best to answer, but then she caught a glimpse of Lysandra, of all people, and her stomach seemed to fall through the floor. All those terrible feelings she’d had last night threatened to come back, full force.
    She wasn’t ready to see the widow so soon.
    Lysandra sat at a corner table with two elegant women and gazed at Marcia with ill-concealed disdain. Marcia’s face instantly heated as she remembered the horrible things the viscountess had said about her yesterday.
    But she couldn’t afford to indulge in despising Lysandra, could she?
    No.
    She needed to win her over. How to do so was the unanswerable question at the moment, one that she would delay pondering until later.
    “ Will you be there?” one of Mama’s friends asked her in pointed fashion.
    Oh, dear. She’d been caught off guard. “Yes. I think so … what was the question?”
    The tallest matron pursed her lips. “We all want to know how long you’ll be in Town and whether you’ll be at the Livingstons’ ball.”
    “Oh.” Marcia threw the trio an embarrassed grin. “Sorry. I’m not exactly sure. Yet …” She trailed off, feeling foolish.
    “My goodness,” said one of the women, her chin drawn in.
    “I see,” said another one faintly.
    Janice linked her arm through Marcia’s and squeezed. “We’re so happy to have her back. She hasn’t had an ice this age. And she’s absolutely exhausted from her journey. We really must sit.”
    The ladies took the hint well, moved to the door, and wished the two older girls—especially the recent weary arrival—a glorious remainder of the Season.
    “I’ll send my Norbert over to call on you before you leave—or don’t leave,” one of them promised Marcia. “He’s got ginger hair and no eyelashes to speak of, but he tells a good joke.”
    “And don’t forget my cousin Frank,” said another. “He’s this close to inheriting an earldom.” She pinched a thumb and index finger together.
    The ladies laughed—it meant Frank’s distant cousin was soon to die, of course.
    Marcia sent them off with a demure wave. “I’d forgotten how absurd high society can be,” she whispered to Janice when they’d gone.
    “Indeed,” her sister said back with a grin. “Welcome to my world.”
    “Mine, too,” Cynthia remarked over her shoulder before making a beeline for the counter displaying the ices. Several of her good friends were there, so she immediately got involved in conversation.
    Marcia and Janice exchanged amused glances.
    “She hears everything,” Janice said. “And hates being left out. You’ll have to remember that, now that you’re back.”
    Marcia squeezed her arm. “You’ve been a huge help already. Thank you.”
    “Really?” Janice beamed.
    “I mean it,” said Marcia.
    And she did. She was ashamed to admit that she’d nearly forgotten over the past four years that she wasn’t alone, that the other members of the House of Brady were ready and able to support her.
    “I’ve missed you, Janice,” she said amid the low buzz of conversation all around them. “Seeing you in the summer at Ballybrook when there’s nothing stressful going on isn’t the same as being together here in London amid all this.”
    She glanced about the shop, skimming quickly over Lysandra’s table. Gunter’s was filled with the crème de la crème of the ton, and many of them were eyeing her with undisguised interest.
    “Then no more pretending,” Janice urged her. “Tell me right here in Gunter’s exactly what was said between you and Lady Ennis and what you plan to do about your situation. Cynthia is happily occupied for the next few minutes. We can sit at a table and wait for her.”
    “Very well.” For the next few minutes, Marcia