Read Simply Wicked for Free Online

has been informed of your arrival.”
    Anthony stepped into the hallway and looked up toward the landing. Marguerite was in the process of descending the stairs, one hand grasped the skirt of her dark lilac gown. Diamonds glinted at her wrists, around her throat and in her hair.
    Behind her trailed an elderly rotund woman dressed in canary yellow which matched the color of her exceedingly obvious wig.
    Anthony bowed as Marguerite reached him and held out his hand.
    “You look . . .” he paused until she locked gazes with him.
    “I’m not allowed to say you’re beautiful, am I? You look passable. Will that suffice?”
    Her mouth twitched up at one corner. “Perfectly.” She turned toward the older woman who had finally made it to the bottom of the stairs. “May I present Mrs. Lily Jones? She is one of Justin’s great-aunts and my chaperone.”
    Anthony took the small pudgy hand held out to him and bowed. “Ma’am, it is a pleasure.”
    “I’m sure it isn’t. You’re probably wishing me to the devil.”
    She scowled at Anthony. “I know what young men are like.”
    Anthony suppressed a grin and turned back to Marguerite.
    “Are you ready to go?”
    34 / Kate Pearce
    She nodded and he took her hand and placed it on his sleeve.
    He bent closer. “Is she always so protective of you?”
    “It’s not that she’s protective of me, she just hates men.”
    “All men? What about her husband?”
    “Apparently, he was the worst.”
    He broke off the conversation to settle her into the carriage and return for Mrs. Jones. He took the seat opposite the ladies and smiled benignly even though Mrs. Jones continued to stare at him as if he were an insect that should be trodden underfoot.
    Luckily the journey to Grosvenor Square, where the Sutcliffs had their residence, was short, so he didn’t have to endure the close scrutiny for long.
    Anthony waited in the vast hallway for the ladies to reappear, absorbing the chattering crowds of people and the sense of excitement. He slowly inhaled the smell of over-perfumed bodies and, even worse, those who obviously didn’t bathe at all. Why did people flock together like this? Was it really supposed to be fun?
    He turned to find Marguerite at his elbow, her expression apprehensive, and smiled down at her. “Are you ready to brave the ballroom?”
    She hesitated for so long that he almost repeated his question. “I suppose I am.”
    “That’s the spirit, tallyho.”
    Anthony patted her hand as Mrs. Jones took up a position on his other side.
    Marguerite looked up at him. “You sound as if you are encouraging your horse over a difficult fence.”
    He smiled. “I apologize; I was just trying to make you feel better. It seems I’ll have to work on my social skills.”
    She squeezed his arm. “If I really hate it, we don’t have to stay, do we?”
    He paused at the top of the stairs to look down at her and saw the anxiety in her fine eyes.
    SIMPLY WICKED / 35
    “Of course not. I’ll take you home whenever you wish as long as you allow me at least one dance with you first.”
    She tilted her head back, and he inhaled the scent of some sweet flower and her skin. So different from a man, so fragile and dainty, so unthreatening . . . He realized she was speaking and forced his unruly thoughts back to the present.
    “You expect me to dance?”
    “You know how, don’t you?” He walked her straight into the ballroom, adroitly avoiding the receiving line and crush of guests waiting to be announced. No need to advertise their presence here; he was sure they’d be spotted soon enough. Mrs.
    Jones gave him another scathing look and rapped him on the arm with her closed fan.
    “I’ll be in the card room. Behave yourselves.”
    He bowed and watched her walk away, leaving him alone with Marguerite.
    “It seems Mrs. Jones doesn’t let her dislike of men interfere with her gambling.”
    Marguerite sighed. “She is already quite cross with me for making her come out at all. She was