Arabella Read Free Page A

clothes, and I can certainly introduce you to suitable gentlemen.'
    'You are very kind,' said Nan and curtsied.
    'This is such a lovely house,' Arabella said and looked about her once more.  'How can you live here if you have no money, cousin?'  She thought she heard a muffled laugh from behind the painted screen, which confirmed her earlier suspicions, but although her eyes flicked to the screen she said nothing.
    Lady Mary saw the glance and laughed huskily.  'The house is mine.  I suppose I might sell it and live comfortably in obscurity, but I own that I detest the country.  So I cling on here as best I can…' She gave a delightful little gurgle of mirth.  'There are ways if one has some beauty and a sprinkling of wit…'
    Arabella smiled as she saw the naughty look in her cousin's eyes.
    'I thought I detected a gentleman's perfume when we came in?'
    'We are caught!'  Lady Mary laughed again.  'You had better come out, Harry.  My cousin is too clever for you.'
    'Damn it, milady,' a very handsome dark-haired man said as he walked out from behind the screen.  He was dressed in pale grey breeches and a white lawn shirt, but his waistcoat was undone and his neckcloth was awry.  His blue eyes sparkled with mischief as he said, 'I vow I was vastly amused listening to the three of you.  It was better than a play at the Haymarket.'
    Arabella thought he had dressed hastily, and she realised that their arrival must have taken her cousin by surprise.  They had obviously interrupted an intimate encounter of some kind.
    'And learning more than was good for you, no doubt,' Lady Mary replied but her manner belied her words.  'Cousins, may I introduce you to a rogue.  This gentleman is Lord Sylvester, and not to be regarded as a suitable husband by either of you.  He is usually in debt, must marry a fortune – and is a wicked fellow indeed.'
    'But you adore me.'  Harry Sylvester bowed over the hand she extended to him, then turned to let his gaze wander over the two sisters, very quickly coming to rest on Arabella.  'Lady Mary's cousins… Miss Tucker and Miss Arabella…' His burning look made no secret of which sister had aroused his interest.  'I am very pleased to make the acquaintance of two such lovely ladies.'
    'None of that, Harry!'  Lady Mary smacked his arm.  'I shall not allow you to seduce either of my cousins.  It is my intention to make good marriages for them both.'
    'And I am sure you will achieve your desires, ma'am.  You usually manage to get your own way in most things I have observed.'
    'As you do,' she retorted, giving him an arch look.  'Pray leave us, sir.  I vow we have had enough of your company for one day.'
    'Alas, it is a sad thing to be dismissed from the company of beauty,' Harry murmured wickedly.  His eyes roved over Arabella, lingering for a moment on the décolletage of her gown and the pearly sheen of her skin where her breasts were exposed.  'But I shall hope to see you at Vauxhall another night – and your delightful cousins with you.'
    With that he bowed to Nan and Arabella, a slight flourish in his manner as he retreated behind the screen to retrieve his coat before departing.  A small silence followed before Arabella asked the question hovering on her lips.
    'Is Lord Sylvester your lover, ma'am?'
    'Arabella!  You should not ask something so personal,' Nan scolded at once.
    Lady Mary laughed and was not offended. 'Certainly Arabella may ask,' she said.  'Harry is my indulgence , cousin.  He has scarcely a guinea to his name, and I sometimes indulge myself for an hour or so in his company.  He is not my protector.  Sir John Fortescue is neither as young nor as handsome as Harry, but he has a vast fortune.  He says he feels comfortable with me, and is exceedingly generous.  I dare say he would not be pleased if he knew of my little interludes with other gentlemen, but I shall never tell him for I am fond of him and have no wish to offend his pride.'
    Nan stared at