Swept Away Read Free

Nunnelly and Jasper. You were afraid my reputation would be ruined.”
    Phoebe nodded. “Yes. I was cast into despair every time you went out!”
    â€œBut nothing happened, did it?” Julia continued. “I came back safely every time, even tonight, and Lord Stonehaven never had the least clue that the lad atop the coach was I.”
    â€œI know, and I thank the Lord for it.”
    â€œThen believe me when I tell you that nothing bad will come of this, either. I told you, I’m not about to let the man have his way with me. I’m simply talking about meeting him, flirting with him, leading him on a little. Encouraging him to talk about what he’s done.”
    Phoebe gazed at her doubtfully. “Do you think that will work on a man like Lord Stonehaven?”
    â€œI am certain of it. Look—” she sat down on the floor beside Phoebe’s chair and eagerly explained “—there are two things I learned from following Lord Stonehaven these past three weeks. One was that taking him by force simply will not work. I did not know the man. I assumed that someone who did as foul a thing as he did to Selby would be too cowardly to even resist us. But physically he is strong and, I must admit, quite brave. He did not run from two men, instead he stayed and defeated them!” She could not keep a tinge of admiration from seeping into her voice. “Even tonight, when we were in the carriage and running away, he came after us—knowing that there were three of us. But —” she paused significantly “—the other thing that I discovered about him is that Lord Stonehaven is very fond of women.”
    â€œA roué?”
    Julia shrugged. “I don’t know that I would go as far as that. He doesn’t seem to pursue innocent maidens. I have only seen him with sophisticated ladies and, uh, well, women of a certain sort.”
    â€œOh, Julia…” Phoebe moaned.
    â€œBut don’t you see? That will work to our advantage!” Julia cried. “The man has a weakness, and it is women. That is why I realized that if I could get close to him, talk to him, I could worm the truth out of him. Why, you yourself have told me that it is when a man is pursuing a woman that he is most vulnerable, the most eager to please. Doesn’t it follow that that is when he will be the most likely to tell me what I want to know?”
    â€œI don’t know.” Phoebe looked uncertain. It seemed to her that Selby had been at his most vulnerable after they had made love, but she certainly could not reveal something like that to his sister!
    â€œI have found with my suitors that they are amazingly eager to talk, especially about themselves and how clever they are and what great things they have done. They want to impress me. I suspect that Lord Stonehaven is the same way.”
    â€œPerhaps so, but, Julia, I think that you are getting in over your head. You haven’t even made your debut, and Lord Stonehaven is a wealthy man who has been on the town for some years. I am sure he is in his thirties.”
    Julia raised her eyebrows and stood up, putting a hurt look on her face. “Are you saying that you do not think I can attract a sophisticated man like Lord Stonehaven? That only those who live in a little town like Whitley are drawn to me?”
    Her gentle sister-in-law looked horrified, as Julia had known she would, and she forgot her questions for a moment in a storm of anxiety. “Oh, no, I did not mean that! Dearest Julia, you must know that I would never think you could not attract any man you wish. You are the most beautiful woman I know. Not just in Kent—I am sure that if you had had a Season in London, you would have outshone all the other debutantes.”
    Julia smiled. She had not really had any qualms about her ability to attract a man, sophisticated or not. She had merely wanted to distract Phoebe from her worries. Julia Armiger had