A Terrible Beauty (Season of the Furies Book 1) Read Free Page A

fighting to stop the spinning sensation in her head. She lifted her chin and curved her mouth into a stunning smile by sheer strength of will. Everything would be fine, she told herself as they entered the ballroom. It had to be. After all, she was the Incomparable Araby and any titled man would be thrilled to claim her as his bride.
    Katherine sighed. “Oh, Lord, don’t look now but here comes your spaniel.” Araby turned to look over her shoulder. Andrew Lassiter, youngest brother to the Earl of Stowebridge crossed the room and moved steadily towards them. He was all she needed to make a further disaster of the evening – an impoverished third son trying to claim her attention when she had none to spare. Her stepfather would be less than pleased if he noticed Drew at her side again and the man would be volatile enough tonight once word of Arland's marriage circulated throughout the ball. Araby prayed her stepfather remained in the card room. He and his cronies usually played deeply enough that they rarely paid attention to any gossip floating about. She watched the young man wend his way through the crowd towards them. Every so often someone in one of the groups he passed would stop him to make an offhand comment and more often than not the comments drew laughter from the other people. Drew’s face stiffened and colored slightly before he continued on his way.
    “For Heaven’s sake, why don’t you set him down hard, Arabella?” Katherine demanded with a flourish of her fan. “The boy is a menace.”
    If they only knew how much of a menace he really was, Araby thought. Andrew Lassiter had the power to ruin any chance she had of landing a peer simply by making a careless remark to the wrong person. He was far too observant for his own good, or for hers. He’d once witnessed the results of her stepfather's burst of temper first hand and correctly surmised the source of her bruised forearm a few days later. Araby had tried laughing denials, aloofness, even cajoling him to let matters rest, but the boy was determined to be her champion, completely ignorant of just how dangerous a man her stepfather could be.
    “He’s a sweet boy,” Sarah remarked as she gave Katherine a stern look. “He’s just a little young, that’s all.”
    “You mean immature. He’s no younger than any of us, but he’s firmly tied up in his mother’s leading strings. Besides, he was always such a sickly child,” Katherine replied, her lip curling ever so slightly in distaste. “The last thing you need tonight is him frolicking at your feet like an over-exuberant pup, Araby. You have no time to waste if you want Iredale secured by the end of the Season.”
    “I know,” she murmured. She’d learned from experience that the best way to deal with Andrew Lassiter was to grant him a country dance, flirt enough to render him incapable of cohesive conversation and then embarrass him. Nothing too harsh, but something guaranteed to make him turn red and garner a chuckle or two at his expense. He’d keep away from her for the rest of the evening.
    Katherine made an exasperated sound as the young man stopped in front of Araby. He included all three of them in his bow as he greeted them in turn. “Lady Arabella, Miss Melborne.” He delivered a slight pause. “Lady Katherine.” Katherine stared down her regal nose at him. She hadn’t missed his slight. Her father was of higher rank than Araby’s and Sarah, though the grandniece of an earl, was only the daughter of a knight. Katherine should have been acknowledged first. Andrew Lassiter, Drew to those he counted as friends, knew exactly how to deal with Lady Katherine Saunders' derision. His mouth turned up ever so slightly at one corner. Araby dropped her gaze and pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. Really, Katherine could be so high in the instep – a trait learned at her mother’s knee and constantly drilled into the girl since childhood. Not many young men held their own