Scandal in Spring Read Free Page A

Daisy felt as if she were hidden from the rest of the world. Oh, if only she could stay here at Stony Cross and live with her sister forever! But even as the thought occurred to her she knew she would never be completely happy that way. She wanted her own life…her own husband, her own children.
    For the first time in Daisy's memory she and her mother had become allies. They were united in their desire to prevent a marriage with the odious Matthew Swift.
    "That wretched young man," Mercedes had exclaimed. "I've no doubt he put the entire blasted notion in your father's head…I've always suspected he…"
    "Suspected what?" Daisy asked, but her mother only clamped her lips together until they formed a bitter hyphen.
    As Mercedes pored over the guest list, she informed Daisy that a great number of eligible gentlemen were staying at the manor. "Even if they aren't all directly in line for titles, they are from noble families," Mercedes said. "And one never knows…Sometimes disaster occurs…fatal illness or large accidents. Several members of the family could be wiped out at once and then your husband could become a peer by default!" Looking hopeful at the thought of a calamity befalling Daisy's future in-laws, Mercedes pored more closely over her list.
    Daisy was impatient for Evie and St. Vincent to appear later in the week. She missed Evie dreadfully, especially since Annabelle was occupied with her baby and Lillian was too slow-moving to accompany her on the brisk walks she enjoyed.
    On the third day after her arrival in Hampshire, Daisy set out by herself for an afternoon tromp. She took a well-worn path she had traversed on many previous visits. Wearing a pale blue muslin dress printed with flowers, and a pair of sturdy walking boots, she swung a straw bonnet by its ribbons.
    Striding along a sunken road past wet meadows brilliant with yellow celandine and red sundew, Daisy considered her problem.
    Why was it so hard for her to find a man?
    It wasn't as if she didn't want to fall in love with someone. In fact, she was so open to the idea that it seemed monstrously unfair not to have found someone by now. She had tried! But there always was something wrong.
    If a gentleman was the right age, he was passive or pompous. If he was kind and interesting, he was either old enough to be her grandfather or he had some off-putting problem such as being perpetually malodorous or spitting in her face when he talked.
    Daisy knew she was not a great beauty. She was too small and slight, and although she had been praised for her dark eyes and brown-black hair set against her fair complexion, she had also heard the words "elfin" and "impish" applied to herself far too many times. Elfin women did not attract suitors in anything close to the quantities that statuesque beauties or pocket Venuses did.
    It had also been remarked that Daisy spent far too much time with her books, which was probably true. Had she been allowed, Daisy would have spent most of every day reading and dreaming. Any sensible peer would doubtless conclude that she would not be a useful wife in the matters of household management, including those duties that hinged on close attention to detail. And the peer would be correct in this assumption.
    Daisy couldn't have cared less about the contents of the larder or how much soap to order for laundry day. She was far more interested in novels and poetry and history, all of which inspired long flights of fancy during which she would stare through a window at nothing…while in her imagination she went on exotic adventures, traveled on magic carpets, sailed across foreign oceans, searched for treasure on tropical islands.
    And there were thrilling gentlemen in Daisy's dreams, inspired by tales of dashing heroics and noble pursuits. These imaginary men were so much more exciting and interesting than ordinary ones…they spoke in beautiful prose, they excelled at sword fights and duels, and they forced swoon-inducing kisses on