Read Online The Kiss of a Stranger by Sarah M. Eden - Free Book Online Page A

boxes currently on the sitting room floor. “I hope Catherine’s gown for tonight is among these.”
    “Gown?” Crispin looked around as if in confusion. “Is Catherine expected to wear a gown tonight?”
    “Very funny. I have the most delicious plan, Crispin.” Lizzie waved her servant upstairs. “My abigail, Mary, is a wonder with hair, and I want her to arrange Catherine’s for tonight.”
    “And sacrifice your own? Lizzie, you are truly a martyr.” He knew full well Lizzie didn’t make a move in society without a proper coiffure.
    “That is the reason I am here so early,” Lizzie said as if it should have been obvious. “I’ve brought my gown and everything I need. Mary can attend to us both and be done in plenty of time.”
    Crispin raised an approving eyebrow. Enlisting his sister’s aid had proven an ingenious move, provided she didn’t overwhelm Catherine right into the swoon Jane had earlier predicted.
    “Is not this the most spectacular plan, Catherine?” Lizzie crossed the room and clasped Catherine’s hands in her own. “You’ll be radiant, I’m certain of it!”
    Catherine smiled, though Crispin could tell she didn’t believe a word of Lizzie’s declaration.
    “Except we only have two hours!” Lizzie said.
    “Would not two hours be sufficient?” Catherine asked.
    “Hardly!” Lizzie dragged Catherine from the room. “We have ever so much to do!”
    “But I need to clear these.” Catherine glanced back at the room and the pile of parcels left behind. “They’ll be in Crispin’s way.”
    “Oh, hang Crispin! The footmen will have it cleared before he’s earned any right to be bothered by it.”
    “Your thoughtfulness, sister, astounds me.”
    “Oh, pish!”
    Crispin chuckled as the ladies disappeared down the corridor. Lizzie, it seemed, had developed an instant liking for Catherine. Not that Lizzie could have helped herself—Catherine was inherently likeable. If she had turned out to be a shrew or a scheming harridan, he would have begun the annulment proceedings with hardly a hesitation. Instead, he had two stacks of papers awaiting his signature at his solicitor’s office—one to end their marriage, the other to make it ironclad. And he still had no idea which set he intended to sign.
    * * *
    A person could only endure so much poking, prodding, and pinning. Two hours far surpassed Catherine’s limit. Lizzie’s abigail arranged and rearranged Catherine’s hair. Jane, her own abigail, dressed her. Lizzie insisted on keeping Catherine as far from any obliging mirrors as possible. The surprise, she said, would be far too fun to see.
    Catherine occupied her time scolding herself for acting like such a wigeon in the sitting room. She’d been so overcome, so unspeakably grateful, she’d actually kissed Crispin—a Peer of the realm, for heaven’s sake! A gentleman, she reminded herself, who was actively working on ending their marriage. Catherine knew so little of annulments. She could not even begin to guess how long the undertaking would require. Every time he spoke, she half expected to hear he’d finished whatever proceedings were required, the marriage was over, and her things were waiting for her on the curb.
    Every stitch of clothing Jane dressed her in was new, from the silk stockings and unfathomably soft chemise to the exquisite gown. The color she couldn’t quite identify, a scrumptious blend of blue and green, of the softest satin embroidered with delicate flowers.
    The two abigails stood back in admiration after the tiny pearl buttons had been closed and Catherine had stepped into a pair of slippers perfectly matched to the gown.
    “Beautiful,” Jane whispered.
    “The gown is quite beautiful.” Catherine glanced down, trying to convince herself she was truly dressed so exquisitely.
    “She was not referring only to the gown, Catherine.”
    Lizzie spun her around to face the gilded mirror atop her dressing table. Catherine gasped. She hardly recognized