Kaleidoscope: A Regency Novella Read Free

the upper level of society.
    He’d heard the older woman call Carolyn Rydell “Missy Caro,” so she was evidently unmarried. For this reason, as well as her startling, slightly exotic looks, and the quality of the furnishings of the room in which he lay, Luke imagined that Carolyn Rydell was some lucky man’s expensive and much cherished mistress.
    There was no reason to make such a woman uncomfortable knowing that she had rescued the Marquess of Greyling’s youngest son. He also didn’t want her running to his estranged father with his whereabouts.
    As if she’d read his mind, she asked, “Is there anyone we should notify, Mr. Harlington? Someone who would be concerned about your disappearance?”
    “There’s no one who will have missed me, but since I’m here, it can’t be said that I’ve disappeared.” He tried to deflect her concern with humor, although it was weak humor, at best. He attempted a winning smile, but his face felt stiff and unresponsive. He raised a hand to his cheek, only to discover he’d grown a short beard. My God, how long had he been here?
    “When was I found?” he asked.
    “It will be a week tomorrow.”
    Heavens, so long! Tremaine would have assumed that Luke had changed his mind and wasn’t interested in looking for the stolen gems any longer. As much as the man traveled, Tremaine might have even left London.
    A knock at the door brought Carolyn’s head around, but the older woman answered it. After a brief, indistinct discussion, she came up to Carolyn and said, “Lord Kelton is very disturbed by your absence and requests that you return to the drawing room.”
    “Oh, bother,” Carolyn said, then squeezed his hand and said, “I have to go.”
    Luke watched her graceful movements as she left the bedchamber. He knew the Earl of Kelton and had always thought the man a prig. He couldn’t imagine that Kelton had been able to become the protector for such an exceptional woman. The thought of the delectable Miss Rydell laboring under such a fop was disgusting.
    Kelton had money, however, and that must be the attraction. Not for the first time, Luke wished he hadn’t alienated his father and still had a quarterly allowance.
       
    Caro’s irritation with Gerald’s demands eclipsed her delight in her patient’s recovery. As Earl of Kelton, Gerald evidently felt entitled to barge into her house and order her around. Open warfare was counterproductive, however, so she smothered her pique and placed a pleasant expression on her face.
    “Your mystery guest has awakened, then?” Gerald held up a glass of wine as if in salute. She’d requested tea just before leaving. Unsurprisingly, he’d countermanded her order.
    “Yes. And he’s no longer a mystery. His name is Luke Harlington and from his speech, he’s well educated. So your fears that I’d picked up some beggar off the streets were unfounded.”
    Gerald’s face registered a number of different emotions, the primary one being shock. Some thought him handsome, although Caro could never see it. He was too soft and superficial to be appealing. With his mouth agape, he looked like a landed fish. “Lucien Harlington? You have Lord Lucien Harlington tucked away in one of your beds upstairs? Good heavens, woman. Have you no concern for the family name?”
    Caro didn’t care about her effect on the Rydell name. According to Gerald, both her heritage and her adherence to trade had already damaged the family’s social standing. This current objection, however, made no sense. “If you’re correct as to the man’s identity, I don’t see how my rescuing a peer can be seen as negative.”
    His floppy mouth tightened into a sneer. “In this case, lord is a courtesy title. Harlington’s father is the Marquess of Greyling, but there is nothing noble about Lucien. His deviant behavior is such that even his father has cast him off. He’s scandalous in the extreme. And you have him staying in your home without a chaperone in