Read Online Shattered Dreams by Laura Landon - Free Book Online

heavy. “That would be lovely.” She paused. “But only because I intend to soundly beat you in our rematch. I’ve been planning my strategy all day.”
    His threw back his head and laughed. The sound was so natural and carefree it sent a wave of warmth rushing over her. And drew a threatening glare from Harrison.
    “Shouldn’t you be inside?” her brother said as he marched Lady Lathamton past them.
    “We thought we’d wait for you, Harrison,” she said placing her hand back on Charfield’s proffered arm.
    “Afraid I might commit murder?” her brother said over his shoulder.
    “The thought did cross my mind.”
    Harrison gave her a look that had the power to destroy a weaker person. Elly just gave Cassandra her most reassuring smile, then she and Charfield followed them into the dining room.
    In her dreams, when she was on the arm of a man as handsome as the Earl of Charfield, she was whole again, and her limp was hardly evident. But that was in her dreams. In reality, her gait was decidedly uneven, her limp as noticeable as ever.
    Her imperfection remained a blatant reminder not to allow herself to imagine her dreams might be within reach. They weren’t and never would be.
    She shifted her gaze from Cassie and Harrison to Charfield. This promised to be a very interesting two weeks. Charfield added a complication she hadn’t counted on, but everything else was going as planned.
    ___
    Harrison looked down the table at the long line of guests seated to his left then brought his gaze back up the right side. His eyes avoided the person seated beside him. He wasn’t ready yet to look at her for any length. Tonight was the first time he’d seen Cassandra since before she’d become the Marchioness of Lathamton more than four years ago.
    Tonight was the first time he’d seen her or talked to her since the night she’d left his arms only to be discovered a few hours later in Lathamton’s bed.
    He stabbed his braised beef tip as if he were practicing for the murder Elly feared he might commit. He was appalled that Cassie not only had the nerve to show up at his home, but that she had every intention of staying.
    His gaze wandered down the long table again and lingered briefly on each of his brothers and sisters. One of them was responsible for Cassie being here and whoever it was had outmaneuvered him to a fault.
    His blood ran cold and he stabbed at a small potato boiled in crème sauce. He missed his target and the potato slid across his fine china plate, up the small rise, then over the gold rim. It landed on the white linen tablecloth beside his empty wine glass.
    Cassandra, who’d seemed to be totally engrossed in a conversation with Jeremy Waverley, her late husband’s cousin and only relative, stopped her conversation. With a barely suppressed grin, she motioned to the closest footman and whispered something in his ear. The servant rushed to the sideboard, then returned with a wine decanter and filled Harrison’s wine glass.
    “If you wanted more wine, Fellingsdown, all you had to do was motion to one of your staff.” Lady Lathamton popped an asparagus tip into her dainty mouth and chewed. “There’s no need to shoot food at your glass.”
    Harrison gave her the most glaringly hostile look he could manage then lifted the fresh wine to his lips and drank. He noticed that everyone at the table watched him with renewed interest – everyone except Charfield, who couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Elly.
    When he noticed the ease with which Elly conversed with London’s most notorious rake, he wasn’t sure he’d made the wisest decision by inviting Charfield to make her forget the admirer the twins had invented for her.
    He took another sip of his wine and vowed to remind Charfield one more time of the conditions they’d agreed to. The object of inviting him had been to keep Elly from being hurt, not put her in greater jeopardy.
    He took a larger swallow of wine than usual and set his glass down on