Read Online Trouble at the Wedding by Laura Lee Guhrke - Free Book Online Page A

“You just sit in a hot, steamy room and sweat and fall asleep? What’s so special about that? Why, we can have baths like that back home in Gooseneck Bend just by goin’ to church in the summertime!”
    Christian gave a shout of laughter, but fortunately for him, the sound was drowned out by the blare of trumpets announcing that dinner would commence in one hour, and because of that, neither of the young ladies below perceived they had an eavesdropper.
    Dinah seemed to think what her sister had said was as amusing as he did. “I don’t think it’s like church, Nan,” she said, giggling. “You’re supposed to be naked, the maid told me. Nobody goes to church naked, do they?”
    â€œUnfortunately not,” Christian murmured under his breath, studying the shapely backside of the woman in yellow.
    â€œWhat do you mean, Dinah?” she asked in lively astonishment. “You don’t mean completely naked, do you?” As if realizing she’d raised her voice with that question, she glanced around to be sure no one was within earshot, but fortunately for Christian, she didn’t glance up as she looked over her shoulder. Mistakenly reassured by the empty deck that no one was listening, she resumed discussion of the somewhat salacious topic of Turkish baths. “No clothes at all?” she asked, lowering her voice again. “Not even your unmentionables?”
    Dinah shrugged. “You might be able to keep those on, I suppose. The maid said ‘unclothed,’ so I think that means naked. C’mon,” she added, jamming the lollipop in her mouth and pulling the map from her sister’s fingers. She began refolding it as she started toward the door leading back inside. “That was the dinner bell. We have to dress or Mama will tan both our backsides.”
    She returned the map to her pocket and shoved open the door, but then paused as she realized her sister wasn’t following. “Aren’t you coming, Nan?”
    The woman shook her head and walked away toward the starboard rail, staring out over the view of Staten Island in the distance. “You go on,” she called back. “I want to stay out here a little bit longer.”
    Dinah departed. Christian, however, remained right where he was. He watched as the woman lifted her arms to pull out her hat pin and remove her hat, a move that only served to better show off the perfection of her figure. A shame if this was indeed Miss Wheaton, for such exquisite curves should never be wasted on a husband like Rumsford, for he would never appreciate them. Did she know that? Did she care?
    He’d concluded the other night when he knew nothing about her that she must be one of those sweet, biddable girls who did what she was told, but after talking to Ransom, he knew there wasn’t anything sweet or biddable about her. She seemed to have a mind of her own, and a will that didn’t bend to anyone else’s, not even her nearest and dearest. She was also, if her uncle was any judge, intelligent, with heaps of money, a voice like warm honey, and a body that was—obviously—splendid. So why would a girl with all that in her favor settle for Rumsford? Arthur’s explanations didn’t quite satisfy him.
    She might be plain, of course. In the ruthless marriage marts of New York and London, a plain girl without connections had a devil of a time landing a titled husband, even if she were wealthy as Croesus. Miss Wheaton had probably taken a good, long look in the mirror, faced facts, and decided Rumsford was the best she could do.
    â€œAnnabel?”
    She turned at the sound confirming her identity, and as she tilted her head back to look at the woman who had called to her from a balcony near his own, Christian stared at her upturned face and realized with some chagrin that he’d been wrong, utterly and completely wrong.
    The girl was gorgeous.
    With her hat off, her hair