Read Somewhat Scandalous (Brambridge Novel 1) for Free Online Page B

smile had been wiped from her face, and the light in her eyes extinguished.
    Agatha dropped her magnifying glass to the table with a clatter and laid a hand on her arm. “It’s not her fault.” She gazed at him and narrowed her eyes. “We were conducting an experiment.”
    “An experiment?” Henry took in a breath. “You conducted an experiment with priceless wine?”
    “We didn’t know it was priceless at the time.”
    “Well you should have done.”
    Victoria stood. “Henry, you are overreacting. Come, Agatha. Let us enjoy Mrs. B. elsewhere.”
    Mrs. B.? Who the hell was Mrs. B.?
    Marching with a straight back, Victoria pushed Agatha out of the room. Falling back on his chair, Henry winced. Years he’d worked at amusing Victoria, trying to draw her out of her black moods, and within just a couple of months Agatha had transformed her.
    “Do you think Miss Aggie will be finishing her bacon and egg flummery, sir?”
    Henry sat up with a start. “Oh dear. Ames.” He nodded at shadowy footman who held Agatha’s plate in his hand. “You had better be sure neither Victoria nor Agatha see you. Since Agatha’s turned up, both girls are too sharp for their own good.”
    His valet nodded. “They nearly caught me in the kitchen, sir, talking to Mrs. Noggin. I waited outside and listened in to their conversation. They were conducting an experiment to demonstrate tanning leather. It was Mrs. Noggin that gave them the wine.”
    So Agatha had protected both Victoria and Mrs. Noggin with her comments. But still… “Who is Mrs. B.?”
    “As far as I understand sir, she’s the teacher in that book you gave Miss Victoria.”
    Good grief, so this recent episode was his fault.
    “Err, do you know what experiment they are going to try next?”
    “No my lord. I believe they have already tried churning milk to make butter, or oxygenated oil as Miss Aggie called it. Very nice it was too, on a scone.”
    Henry drew a tired hand across his forehead. “And?”
    “Hmm. There have been quite a few interesting ones. Creating chalk from some lime water Mrs. Noggin found was one the household was quite interested in.”
    So that was where his medicine for an upset stomach had gone.
    “Drinking remarkable quantities of whey prepared with lemon juice and white wine to see which one created most perspiration…”
    “Hell in a handbasket! You only take that if you have a cold.”
    “The white wine whey worked better apparently, although both girls were quite ill afterwards.”
    “Agatha told me she had the flu!”
    Ames coughed and swung the plate of flummery to the door. “I had better take this downstairs, sir. Mrs. Noggin will be disappointed it hasn’t been eaten. She’s been ever so proud of Miss Victoria’s recovery in spirits.”
    Henry gripped at his fork, pushing the metal prongs into the table cloth. “Will you be there at Lord Colthaven’s ball tonight, Ames?”
    “Of course sir. One of the footmen said that Lord Colthaven has been interested in finding something recently but won’t name what it is.”
    Henry looked up sharply. “Perhaps it is the same as what Father was looking for.”
    Ames nodded and closed the door behind him.
     
    Lord Colthaven’s ball was a medium sized affair. Neither Agatha nor Victoria would look at him as he handed them out of the carriage. Immediately Victoria was thronged with admirers. The cheerful change in her countenance combined with her beauty obviously held a dangerous allure for all the bucks of the ton. Henry shoved a hand inside his coat and grasped lightly at his watch. He’d already been approached by several men asking for her hand. The most insistent of which was Lord Colchester. He hadn’t told Victoria yet.
    He straightened as he watched the crowd. Little by little Agatha had been buffeted to the edges. Despite the glint of the candles on the auburn tints in her hair, the peach dress that she wore would have looked better on Victoria; in the half-light it