The Dark Earl Read Free Page B

that if I gave in to his passionate advances, he would give me a girl.” Her wry gaze swept over her daughters. “If I’d known he would give me three daughters in a row, I might have resisted.”
    The Hamilton sisters laughed. Their mother had always said outrageous things and she encouraged them to follow in her footsteps.
     
     
    When they arrived at Crystal Palace Park, there was already a crush of carriages. Riley drove the phaeton as close to the front entrance as he could manage, and the Hamilton family alighted and made their way inside to await Her Royal Highness Queen Victoria and Albert, her prince consort.
    They made their way past the series of ornamental fountains and ascended the dais built especially for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Within minutes, the royal family came into view with its retinue of attendants.
    Harry’s glance was drawn to her father, who walked directly behind Albert. Not only was Abercorn taller, but he was far handsomer in her opinion, since the prince consort’s hair had receded alarmingly. She watched her parents exchange an intimate glance. They are still in love with each other. That’s the kind of marriage I want.
    As Queen Victoria delivered her speech, extolling the Crystal Palace as a showplace for the industrial, military, and economic superiority of Great Britain, Harry’s mind wandered back to the summers at Barons Court, their Irish estate. Vivid memories of her father rowing her mother across the fairy-tale lakes or taking her up before him on one of his Arabians filled her head. He’s still wooing her after twenty years of marriage. Harry sighed. How utterly romantic!
    Her thoughts were brought back to the present when she saw young Prince Teddy edging close to her sister Jane. Harry murmured to her brother, “Teddy can’t keep his hands off Jane. When you get him alone, thump him on the nose.”
    He whispered back, “I may be reckless, but I’m not raving mad. Teddy will be king one day. It pays to have friends in high places.” He glanced at fourteen-year-old Princess Vicky. “It must run in the family. The Princess Royal can’t keep her hands off my private parts.”
    “Well, I’ll be damned!” Harry exclaimed in utter shock.
     
     
    “We declare the second Great Exhibition open to the public.” Victoria cut the ribbon and the throng cheered, “God save Our Gracious Majesty!”
    The fountain water jets suddenly rose up over a hundred feet in the air. The spectacle caused the crowd to step back, and only the privileged spectators on the front row were anointed by the spray.
    Harry lost no time making her getaway. But as she left the dais, she paused before Prince Teddy and smiled sweetly. “I dreamed about you last night, Your Highness. You touched Jane’s breast, and I shoved you on your arse!”
    It took him a moment to gauge her meaning; then he threw back his head and laughed with glee. “That’s why I didn’t touch yours, Harry.”
    She shook her fist at him and hurried off, eager to see the fantastical displays that had been brought from around the world. An entire wing of the glass building had been divided into courts depicting the history of art and architecture from ancient Egypt through the Renaissance. Harry drank it all in, moving slowly so she could appreciate the fine details. She stopped to look at a display of extinct animals from around the world. She stared at some ugly green creatures made of plaster.
    A deep voice from behind her said, “They are called dinosaurs. Do you like them?”
    Harry turned around to see who addressed her. The gentleman was tall and extremely dark. There was something vaguely familiar about him that stirred her memory, and suddenly she was swept back to Shugborough, the mansion that had stolen her heart more than a decade ago. She could even smell the jasmine and honeysuckle. “I would call them monstrosities,” she drawled. “I much prefer centaurs .”
    Their eyes met, and held. “So, you know