Read Online Rendezvous by Amanda Quick - Free Book Online Page A

tomorrow morning."
    Harry jerked his gaze away from the satin roses and glanced down at the highly polished toes of his Hessians. In spite of the growing heaviness in his groin he managed to keep his voice free of any inflection. "I see."
    "Please believe me, my lord, it was an honest mistake on my uncle's part. I questioned him carefully and he was quite certain you meant to offer for me. You know how he is. He lives in a different world most of the time. He can remember the name of every one of his ancient Greeks and Romans but he can be distressingly vague about the names of the members of his own household. I expect you can understand that."
    "Hmmm."
    "Yes, I thought you would. You no doubt suffer the same problem. Now, then." Augusta swung around, her cloak sweeping out behind her like a dark velvet sail. "All is not lost. It will be difficult for both of us tomorrow when the news bursts upon the world, but never fear, I have a plan."
    "God help us," Harry said under his breath.
    "I beg your pardon?" She pinned him with a glare.
    " 'Twas nothing, Miss Ballinger. You said something about a plan?"
    "Precisely. Listen closely, now. I know you have not had much experience with schemes and such due to your interest in scholarly matters, so you must pay strict attention."
    "I assume you have had experience with this sort of thing?"
    "Well, not this sort of thing precisely," she admitted, "but with schemes in general, if you see what I mean. There is a knack to carrying out a good scheme. One must be bold. One must act as if nothing at all is out of the ordinary. One must be calm at all times. Do you comprehend me, my lord?"
    "I believe so. Why don't you go over your plan briefly so that I can get the general outline of it?"
    "Very well." She frowned intently and studied a map of Europe that hung on the wall. "The thing is, once the notice of our betrothal is in the papers, you cannot honorably withdraw your offer."
    "True," he allowed. "I would not think of doing so."
    "Yes, you are quite trapped. But I, on the other hand, can exercise a lady's privilege and cry off. And that is what I shall do."
    "Miss Ballinger—"
    "Oh, I know there will be a lot of gossip and I shall be called a jilt, among other things. I may have to leave town for a time, but that is neither here nor there. In the end you will be free. You will have everyone's sympathy, in fact. When the storm has died down, you may ask for my cousin's hand, as you had originally intended." Augusta looked at him expectantly.
    "That is the whole of your scheme, Miss Ballinger?" Harry asked after a moment's thought.
    "I fear so," she said in a worried tone. "Does it seem a bit too simple, do you think? Perhaps we could elaborate on it somewhat and make it more clever. But on the whole, I am inclined to believe that the simpler a scheme is, the easier it will be to carry it out."
    "Your instincts in such matters are no doubt better than mine," Harry murmured. "Are you so very anxious, then, to get yourself unbetrothed?"
    She flushed a telltale shade of red and her eyes slid away from his. "That is not the point, sir. The point is, you did not intend to get yourself engaged to me. You were asking for Claudia's hand in marriage. And who could blame you? I understand completely. Although I must warn you I am not certain it will be a good match. You are both too much alike, if you see what I mean."
    Harry held up a palm to halt the flow of words. "Perhaps I should clarify something before we go any further with your scheme."
    "What is that?"
    He gave her a slight, quizzical smile, decidedly curious to find out what would happen next. "Your uncle did not make a mistake. It was your hand in marriage I requested, Miss Ballinger."
    "Mine?"
    "Yes."
    "My hand? You asked for
my hand
in marriage, my lord?" She gazed at him with dazed eyes.
    Harry could not stand it any longer. He straightened away from the desk and deliberately closed the short distance between them. He came to a halt