A Matter of Sin Read Free Page B

several sources. Truth be told, he had been interested in what it contained.
    But he wasn’t about to admit that to Jason. Instead he muttered, “Great God, man. You’ll shock the entire party with your tricks. I’ll have to fetch it and spirit it away before it gives one of my guests an apoplexy.”
    Jason shrugged. “My advice is that you avoid marriage with anyone who has an apoplexy when confronted with the concept of pleasure.”
    Seth laughed, but as they moved into the yard where the gentlemen were starting to congregate, marriage was the last thing on his mind. He did, however, have a brief thought of auburn hair and dark eyes. One he banished from his mind, but not before it troubled him more than it should have.
    Isabel sat at her dressing table in the pretty little chamber she had been provided and stared at her reflection in the glass, but she could hardly focus. The room was too quiet.
    She had been meant to share it with Serena, but when her sister had realized one of her best friends, Sarah Sloane, was in attendance, the two girls had conspired to share their first night at the estate together where they could gossip and giggle to their hearts’ content. That had left Isabel to retire alone.
    And perhaps that was for the best. She was out of sorts. Distracted and restless, though she had no cause to be. This day had been perfectly boring, just as she had known it would be when she departed London, Serena in tow. Nothing at all had risen above her low expectations.
    Well, that wasn’t exactly true. There had been one moment that had surprised Isabel, when she met their host, Lord Lyndham.
    Their meeting in the foyer was the first time she had ever been so close to him, even though they had certainly been at the same events over the years. She had tried to convince herself he wasn’t nearly as handsome and intriguing as she had recalled.
    Now she could no longer do so. The marquis was just as handsome as every woman had ever sighed. In fact, he was more so. That well-defined jaw, those full lips, those bright blue eyes that were even more shocking with his dark hair… The man had practically stepped from Greek mythology.
    “Great Lord, woman,” she whispered to her suddenly red-cheeked reflection. “Gain some control over yourself. You’ve been thinking of the man all day—it’s unseemly.”
    Pushing to her feet, Isabel paced away from the mirror. It was insanity to continue to think of a man so out of reach, and yet his image had been tormenting her for hours. And for what? He had only calmly introduced himself and talked with her and her sister about absolutely nothing of importance. He had likely forgotten her two seconds after they went upstairs.
    Truly, the only excuse she could give for her distraction was her discussion with Grace and Jacinda a week before. Declaring she would take a lover had only increased her fantasies about that very subject. And now she feared the first handsome man she saw had somehow become the new focus of those imaginations.
    It was foolish, girlish frivolity, and she had to put it aside. Settling Serena was her highest priority now.
    Isabel sighed. She obviously needed sleep to clear her head, but it was almost midnight and her eyes weren’t heavy. What she needed was something boring to read. She had seen a library earlier in the day when Lady Lyndham gave a tour of the home to the women in attendance. In five minutes she could creep down and come back with something that would put her to sleep in short order.
    She checked her reflection a second time. She was still presentable, for she hadn’t yet changed into her night shift or taken her hair down. On the off chance she met someone in the hallway, she wouldn’t shock them with her appearance.
    Confident in that, she grasped her candle and slipped from her chamber to make her way to the library. Once inside, she looked around with a sigh. It truly was a lovely room. The high bookshelves were polished to a shine