Read Scandal of the Year for Free Online Page A

deliver the letter.
    But his attention was focused on the door.
    A plump Hindu woman waddled into the bedchamber. Her thin gray hair was scraped in a knob atop her head, and she wore a purple sari edged in orange silk.
    In India, Kasi had been ayah , or nursemaid, to Blythe and her sisters, a substitute mother during those carefree childhood years when Mama had been busy with the local English society or resting in her chamber from the effects of the heat. Three years ago, Kasi had been the only Indian servant to make the long journey to England with them.
    The old woman placed her leathery palms together and bent at the waist in a deep salaam to Mrs. Crompton. In her sing-song voice, she said, “ Memsahib , I bring you message. Missy Portia come to London tomorrow.”
    Springing up from the desk, Blythe uttered a happy cry. “Oh, Kasi, that’s marvelous news. I’m so very glad to hear it.”
    *   *   *
    James stood riveted by the glow of pleasure on Blythe Crompton’s face. It transformed her from the aloof, wary girl he had observed upon entering the bedchamber. The sight gripped him in an involuntary fist of heat. He wanted to see that joyous expression on her face as she gazed up at him in bed.
    James buried the fantasy, though he could not fault himself for his lust. Clad in a pale dressing gown with a rich mass of coppery hair flowing loose to her waist, she looked absolutely delectable, every man’s dream.
    But Miss Blythe Crompton wasn’t destined for just any man. She would be the bride of a duke—if she and her mother could coax Savoy into making an offer.
    “Well!” Mrs. Crompton said with a sniff. “It’s a pity she and Ratcliffe had to miss our ball last night. I do believe they could have made more of an effort to arrive sooner.”
    Blythe’s face portrayed exasperation with her mother. “You know precisely why they couldn’t come any earlier,” she said. “Little Arthur developed an unfortunate case of the sniffles. Thank heavens, he must be much improved now.” To Kasi, she added, “They are bringing my nephew, aren’t they?”
    Beaming, Kasi bobbed her head. “Yes, I fix nursery.”
    “That won’t be necessary,” Mrs. Crompton countered. “It is best they stay with Lindsey and Mansfield. The house on Park Lane has ample room in the nursery. Besides, Portia will appreciate the chance to meet her new niece.”
    They were speaking of Blythe’s older sisters, James gathered. From downstairs gossip, he’d learned that Portia, the eldest Crompton daughter, had a young son and had recently announced she was pregnant with a second child. Lindsey had given birth to her first daughter only a fortnight ago. Now, he found it telling to note Edith Crompton’s seeming lack of interest in her grandchildren.
    Was it evidence of a cold-hearted woman capable of committing fraud and thievery on a grand scale?
    He observed Edith closely as she stood in the sunlight streaming through the windows. There were surface similarities between her and the woman he remembered visiting when he’d been a boy of ten. They both had reddish hair and hazel-brown eyes. Both were slim and feminine.
    But there were also differences. The Edith he remembered had been more quiet and shy while this woman was clearly a social butterfly. The old Edith also had exhibited a natural warmth of manner, giving him a kiss before sending him outdoors to play with her pet spaniels.
    James’s memory grew hazy beyond that. The facial features of his cousin’s wife remained indistinct in his mind, no matter how hard he strained to call forth the image of her. He cursed the fact that he couldn’t make a definitive judgment on her identity.
    “I was so looking forward to seeing Portia,” Blythe was saying to her mother. “They always stay with us.”
    “I’m sorry, darling, but a young child will cause entirely too much disruption in the household. We cannot afford any distractions while you’re seeking a husband.”
    “But