My Lord Hercules Read Free Page A

of her younger
sisters. Poor Puttenham. “Man probably doesn’t know what he’s
missing.”
    He must have given something away with
that last statement, because Berks’s gaze took on a scrutinizing
glint. “I had no idea you were so fascinated with Marston’s
family.”
    “ No fascination,” Harry
protested. “Just making conversation.”
    His brother didn’t look convinced.
“Uh-huh.”
    “ So suspicious, Berks.”
Harry chuckled.
    “ Whatever else you’re up to,
when you pay Pippa a visit this afternoon, do give her my
love.”

    “ Berks sends his love,”
Harry said as he stepped into his sister’s parlor.
    Philippa, Countess of St. Austell,
rose from her blue settee, grinning from ear to ear. “Harry!” She
rushed forward and threw her arms around his middle, squeezing him
as she had ever since she was a tiny little girl.
    He hugged his sister back and then
tipped her chin up, so she’d have to look him in the eyes. If she
lied to him, he’d know it. “Is St. Austell treating you well?” he
asked the same question he always asked whenever he saw his sister
these days.
    Pippa blushed a bit. “Jason is quite
attentive. There’s no reason to threaten him again.”
    The devil if there wasn’t. Just the
idea of how attentive the damned earl had probably been to make her
still blush made Harry see red. Bloody reprobate. He still couldn’t
fathom how of all the decent fellows in London, Pippa had somehow
lost her heart to the wicked and debauched St. Austell.
    “ Now tell me,” his sister
said, attempting to change the subject as she tugged him toward the
settee, “what brings you here so early today?”
    The proximity of your home to Marston
House. No, that wouldn’t do. “Do I need a reason other than wanting
to spend time with my little sister?”
    “ Usually,” she replied,
dropping onto the seat. “Not that I’m complaining. I don’t see you
nearly enough these days.”
    Because her devoted husband was ever
present, and remembering how St. Austell had lied his way into
Pippa’s life still rankled Harry to no end. “Well, you’ll see me at
your ball tomorrow,” he said, taking the spot beside
her.
    His sister’s face lit up and she
captured his hand with her small one. “I am so glad. It’s a bit
nerve-wracking to do the first time. I can use all the friendly
faces I can find.”
    “ You’ll do wonderfully.”
Then an idea occurred to Harry. Why hadn’t he thought of it before?
“Tell me, are Marston and his family on your guest
list?”
    “ Marston?” Pippa shook her
head. “I’m not familiar with the name.”
    No, she wouldn’t be. “The Bartlett
family. They were in mourning during the Season, so you didn’t meet
them. But they are your neighbors at Number four.”
    “ Oh.” Pippa
nodded.
    “ Went to Harrow with the
viscount. He has three sisters, all about your age.”
    She smiled, like she always did. His
sweet, ever-trusting sister. It was no wonder St. Austell had
manipulated her so easily. “Thank you, Harry. I would love to make
their acquaintances.”
    And Harry would love to get his
sister’s opinion on Miss Miranda Bartlett after she’d met her.
“Actually, I was heading over to Marston House in a bit. If you
have an invitation ready, I can deliver it myself.”
    “ You’re hardly one to play
messenger.” Pippa tilted her head to the side as though to study
him better. “Is there something different about you this afternoon,
Harry?”
    “ Different?”
    “ I’m not sure what it is,”
Pippa said, “but there is something decidedly different about you.
Are you up to something?”
    He couldn’t help but laugh. “What
could I possibly be up to?”
    “ I was just wondering the
same thing,” drawled Jason York, Earl of St. Austell, from the
threshold. Then he nodded his head in Harry’s direction in way of
greeting. “Casemore.”
    “ St. Austell,” Harry
grumbled.
    “ I heard a very interesting
story about you this morning.” The earl