Read Online Miss Pymbroke's Rules by Rosemary Stevens - Free Book Online

not know what I should have done.”
    Lady Hyacinth sighed dreamily and patted her red hair. “Yes, isn’t the marquess spectacular? Such legs.”
    Verity compressed her lips into a thin line.
    Unknowingly echoing Louisa’s earlier thoughts, her ladyship continued, “He impresses me as the sort who would strip to advantage. Puts me in mind of the Earl of Marsh back in 1777. Or was it ’78? No matter. Not that I ever saw the earl without his clothes, but he knew to a nicety how to diddle with a gel’s … well! Most pleasing.”
    Verity made her excuses as fast as possible after Lady Hyacinth’s improbable reminiscences and fled to her bedchamber where she bathed her hot cheeks with cool water.
    The sisters had given her a lovely room, done in olive green with white and peach accents. Verity seated herself at a satinwood dressing table.
    The same maid who’d accompanied Verity to the theater was flipping through the gowns in a large armoire. She was the only servant Verity had taken from the house next door. “What will you be wearin’ to the playhouse this evenin’, miss? There’s nothin’ here that’s right for such a grand evenin’. You’ll want to look your best for his lordship. Ever so handsome, he is.”
    “Fustian!” Verity exclaimed, out of reason cross. Must everyone expound on the marquess’s attractive person? No doubt, he would share their views if he but heard them.  Betty, I am not going to the playhouse to impress his lordship, thus it matters not what I wear. I... I am going on the hope I might perceive some clue as how best to reach the actresses spiritually. So far, I have not been successful in convincing any of them of their folly.”
    Betty looked doubtful. “Yes, miss.”
    “The lavender with the black trim will serve,” Verity informed her. The gown she selected was another severe style of half-mourning, with long sleeves and a high neck.
    The maid helped her mistress undress. Verity stood clad only in a scant, very lacy shift. For one whose clothes were modest in the extreme, the garment was vastly out of character.
    But Verity’s one vanity was that she adored feminine undergarments. After washing in rose-scented water, she pulled on fine silk stockings and lashed them tightly to her legs with a pair of red silk garters.
    Betty’s suggestion that Verity soften her hairstyle for the evening was swiftly refused. After scraping a final pin through her hair, to be certain not a single tendril escaped its knot, Verity hurried out of the room, leaving Betty to heave an exasperated sigh.
    Out on the landing, Verity stopped short, and her mouth dropped open in surprise at the sight of her sister who was preparing to descend the staircase. Louisa was clad in an ice blue satin gown, its bodice cut low, revealing an indecent amount of flesh. About her neck flashed an expensive diamond necklace.
    “What is it, Mouse?” Louisa inquired, her gray eyes reflecting a cynical amusement at her sister’s appraisal.
    Verity closed her gaping mouth and stepped closer to her sister. As she did, she saw Louisa had darkened her pale eyelashes with lamp black. Cosmetics! Verity’s lips pursed in disapproval.
    The sounds of Bingwood admitting a caller reached their ears. Wishing to make her entrance in front of the marquess alone, Louisa said, “Run on down, Verity, I have forgotten my shawl.”
    “Thank goodness you intend on wearing something to cover yourself,” Verity murmured, but Louisa had turned on her heel and headed in the direction of her room, missing the comment.
    As Verity walked down the stairs, her mind reeled with questions. Where had Louisa obtained such lavish finery? That necklace must be worth a fortune.
    And she must speak with her sister about her appearance. While there was no doubt in Verity’s mind Louisa was the beauty of the family, she needed to adopt a more chaste mode of dress. Verity knew it was her duty to explain to her sister that, while she was certain it was