Read Bargaining With a Rake (A Whisper of Scandal Novel) for Free Online

her old friend,
trying to take her measure. The years had wrought many changes in Sally. High cheekbones,
a slender nose and full lips replaced the girlish features in a most becoming
manner. Sally still barely reached Gillian’s shoulders, but her friend no
longer reminded Gillian of a fair-haired sprite. She was a regal queen, small
in stature but commanding all the same.
    Sally studied her. “We are still
friends, are we not? Just because our fathers had a falling out does not mean I
ever felt the same.”
    Gillian exhaled, surprised she had
been holding her breath. She nodded, unable to speak past the large lump in her
throat.
    “Since I’ve been out from underneath
Papa’s repressive thumb, I’ve invited you both to every social function I’ve
given. The response has always been no, until now. Your father, I presume?”
    Gillian nodded, though she felt like
gasping as Whitney had. A torrent of emotions coursed through her, but she held
each one back as always.
    “My dears, we can’t change the
mistakes of our parents,” Sally said. “Shall we pick up with our friendship as
if it was never interrupted?”
    “I’d like that very much,” Gillian
said.
    “ We’d like that very much,” Whitney amended.
    “Excellent!” Sally embraced them
before shoving them back to study them. After a moment, she smiled. “Now that
we’ve settled that, Gillian, you must tell me what you did to pique Lady
Staunton’s ire. I heard you were involved in a bit of a scene last week.”
    Gillian frowned. She’d hoped the
incident would pass without remark. She should have known better. “I can’t say
for certain, but I’ve a fair idea. However, it seems so trivial. It must not
take much to anger Lady Staunton.”
    Sally rolled her eyes heavenward. “Not
much at all. She’s a spiteful woman, though with her mother who can blame her? So
what was your sin?”
    “She thinks I have designs on a man
she apparently has a deep affection for.”
    “Well, that couldn’t have been her
husband,” Sally pronounced with a wicked grin. “He’s rail thin, sloppily
dressed, with a sallow complexion and thinning brown hair. She’s smart enough
to know you wouldn’t want him, and it’s common knowledge she holds no affection
for him.”
    Gillian laughed. “The years have not
changed your direct nature in the least.”
    “Were you worried they had, darling?”
    “Maybe not the years, but definitely
becoming a duchess.”
    “Oh, that.” Sally thrust her hands on
her hips. “That’s changed me quite a bit. Now I put up with nonsense from no
one.”
    “You were like that at eight.”
    “Was I?” Sally quirked her mouth. “I
must speak to my husband, then. He promised quite a lot of benefits if I
married him.”
    “You’re incorrigible.” Gillian
laughed and it felt exactly as it had when they had been younger.
    “I’m incorrigible? You’re one to
talk. One week back into Society and you’re trying to pinch Lady Staunton’s
next victim out from her eager clutches. What does the poor fellow look like?”
    Gillian opened her mouth to give his
description, then promptly changed her mind. She could paint a vivid, exact
picture of the man: black hair, dancing blue eyes, crooked smile and
overwhelming presence. But how could she explain remembering so much detail
about a man she had improperly met while hiding behind a curtain? She could not.
She shrugged, choosing her words carefully. “He was tall with black hair and
blue eyes.”
    “Darling, that describes half the men
here,” Sally murmured with a sigh. “You’re no help. Then again, if he’s rich,
alive and holds a loftier title than the one Lady Staunton currently possesses,
she would think you were poaching someone she might want to claim. Her poor
husband’s at death’s door, and she’s on the prowl for his replacement.”
    “That’s despicable,” Whitney said. “Surely
you’re mistaken.”
    “I’m never mistaken when it comes to
matters of the