Read Online Miss Goodhue Lives for a Night by Kate Noble - Free Book Online Page B

tonight,” Cecilia murmured as a green satin gown was held in front of her. The ladies’ maid cocked her head to one side, and then dismissed it.
    A regal eyebrow rose. “I have discovered that such lessons work on men too. Perhaps it would be useful with Mr. Hudson.”
    Cecilia’s eyes met Phoebe’s in the mirror. “I . . . I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”
    â€œMy husband told me that he’d recruited Mr. Hudson for this particular endeavor because he has spent time in Manchester, and he might know the family.” Phoebe glanced down at the baby, sleeping peacefully. “Then I watched you leave his jaw on the floor of the carriage as you walked up the steps when you came back today. And I do believe my husband is more right than even he realizes—which is a rather annoying habit of his.”
    Cecilia felt her stomach drop all the way past the footstool and to the floor. She felt as green as the gown that had just been thrown aside. It was difficult enough to turn up at the doorstep of an earl and his countess, asking for aid in searching for her errant cousin, then not only be confronted with a man— the man from her past—but to have the lady of the house deduce it . . . Well, suffice to say her embarrassment was akin to the time that she was seven and was getting a leg up on climbing a fence from Johnny Westmore, when she discovered she had forgotten to put on her petticoats that day.
    â€œMr. Hudson . . .” she began, but then coughed and started again. “Mr. Hudson and I knew each other a long time ago.”
    â€œAnd?” Phoebe prompted. Even the ladies’ maid paused in sorting gowns to hear the exchange.
    â€œAnd we don’t know each other now,” she said, surprised to find her voice a little sad.
    It was true. They didn’t know each other now. He didn’t know how she had spent the past ten years. No amount of telling could make him know. About the quiet, and the littleness of it all. Of the propriety, and how she would let herself get caught up in the breathless gossip of the town because it was the only way to pass the time. About how she still dreamed of a bigger life, and loved those dreams, even though she had little hope of achieving them.
    And she knew nothing of him. He had spent a decade in London, becoming a lawyer, building a life . . . although, had he? He had not spoken of a wife or children. And the way that he had kissed her implied their nonexistence.
    At least, she prayed for their nonexistence. The kissing was confusing enough. If on top of that, he was married . . .
    No. She shook her head. He wasn’t. She knew it instinctively. Wholly. Like she knew the press of his hand over hers.
    Perhaps they did know some things about each other.
    â€œTime shifts people, but not away from their center,” Phoebe said contemplatively. “At their core, people remain the same. You just have to learn new ways in. That is, if you want to.”
    â€œI . . . I don’t know what I want,” she replied. “Mr. Hudson—he hurt me. Long ago. If I were a romantic I would say he broke my heart.”
    â€œAnd you?” Phoebe’s eyebrow rose. “Did you hurt him too?”
    â€œI . . . I don’t know what I did to him. I used to think that my moderate dowry offended him. But now . . .”
    Now, Theo hadn’t blinked at handing over a twenty-pound note for the tickets to the ball. He practically waved her off when she offered to pay for it. And who on earth carried a twenty-pound note? Not someone who had to scrounge for pennies to piece together a living. The way he had looked when she said she had her own funds . . . as if he was surprised she had any funds at all.
    â€œHe was so very terse when I fibbed to Colonel Birmingham, and when I spoke with the other officers with interest,” she