Noble Destiny Read Free Page A

her father’s butler, but it appeared that the giant pirate the Westons employed was made of sterner stuff. No doubt it was the hook that made him feel superior. “I simply do not understand this unreasonable fixation you and Gillian and others have with something so unimportant as language, Crouch. It’s unwholesome. I urge you to get over it. And don’t think you can put on airs as you do with Gillian, I shan’t tolerate it as she does. I’ll have enough of that as I contrive to make my stunning reappearance in the drawing rooms and ballrooms of the ton .”
    She shooed Crouch on his way and marched upstairs to take possession of Gillian’s personal sitting room. It wasn’t going to be easy reestablishing herself after the scandal, but that was four years ago, and certainly people must have forgotten the details by now. With a little finesse and sweet-talking to the right matrons, the doors would surely open to her again. It wouldn’t be pleasant to be forced to listen to lectures by the very same women who had called her foolish and headstrong all those years ago, but she could endure a few “I warned you!” comments if necessary. Besides, there were the gentlemen to think of—she had charm and vivacity, and despite her cousin’s doubts of the effectiveness of a pretty face and a neat ankle, Charlotte had always found she could have her way if she fluttered her eyelashes and dimpled just so.
    â€œIt will be as easy as taking honey from a flea,” she predicted, sitting down to write her letters.
    ***
    â€œI can’t believe it! I just can’t believe it! How dare she refuse me a voucher! How dare she tell me I am not welcome to her blasted masquerade ball next week! How dare she tell me that no polite person will recognize me!” Charlotte ripped a cream-colored sheet of paper to shreds and threw it into the unlit grate. “Who would have thought that Lady Jersey had a memory like…like…like a lion?”
    â€œA what?”
    Charlotte made a dismissive motion with her hands as she paced by the figure sitting in the blue-and-gold brocade chair in her cousin’s sitting room.
    â€œA lion, Caro, a lion. You know, one of those big gray beasts that lives in Africa. They have prodigious memories.”
    Lady Caroline Beverly looked confused. “Are you sure? The lion I saw at the menagerie was sort of a yellowish-brown color and no bigger than a very small pony.”
    Charlotte spun on her heel and paced a line back toward the fireplace. “Brown, gray, it doesn’t matter. They come from Africa, and they have excellent memories. Just like Lady Jersey.”
    Caroline frowned. “I thought Lady Jersey’s family came from Devonshire.”
    Charlotte stopped pacing, put her hands on her hips, and glared down at her friend. “What on earth does Lady Jersey’s family have to do with anything?”
    â€œYou mentioned it! You said she came from Africa just like the lions.”
    â€œThere are times,” Charlotte said, breathing heavily through her nose, “when I find myself regretting that I returned to England. Memory , Caro, I likened Lady Jersey to the lion because it has an exceptional memory . Just as she has.”
    â€œOh. Does she? What about?”
    Charlotte tossed up her hands and resumed pacing, reminding herself not to snap at the only person who had responded to her plea for help. “I can’t afford to be discriminating,” she muttered.
    â€œNo, you said you were quite pockets to let, but that doesn’t explain why you’re upset with Lady Jersey’s memory.”
    Charlotte took a deep, deep breath, and sat on the love seat next to the brunette. “Caroline, listen to me very carefully. You remember four years ago when I left England to marry the Conte di Abalongia’s eldest son?”
    Caroline nodded her head. “Yes, of course I do. It caused ever such a