Read To Catch a Countess for Free Online

passed a white card to everyone. On the card was the name of a famous person.
    “The youngest goes first,” announced the oldest, Duke Magnus.
    Victoria looked at the name on the card and felt her heart sinking to her stomach. How was she going to play charades if she couldn’t read the name?
    “You don’t have your spectacles?” Alexander asked, leaning close.
    Victoria shook her head. “Will you help me? We can be a team. You read me the card and I’ll act it out.”
    Alexander gave her a devastating smile and leaned close, his face nearly touching hers. Victoria felt hot and cold at the same time. She definitely wanted to be alone with the earl.
    With his hand cupping the side of his mouth, Alexander touched his lips to her ear. Victoria felt a melting sensation in the pit of her stomach.
    “King Louis,” Alexander whispered, his warm breath sending a delicious shiver down her spine.
    Victoria gave him a sidelong glance and nodded. When she rose from the settee, she saw her family watching their byplay.
    Victoria felt the blush rising on her cheeks. She suffered the feeling that her family knew she wanted to be alone with the earl.
    After pausing a moment to think, Victoria grabbed a decorative pillow and, holding it in both hands, marched across the room to set it on a table. Then she lifted an invisible crown off the pillow and placed it on her head.
    “King George,” Angelica called.
    Victoria shook her head and then mimicked digging a hole with a shovel. She made the digging movement six times. After tossing the invisible shovel away, she crouched down and pretended to open an invisible box. Using both hands, she pulled an invisible object out of the box and dragged it across the floor.
    Samantha burst out laughing, drawing everyone’s attention. “King Louis . . . poor, poor Mister Lewis.”
    Everyone except Rudolf and Alexander burst into laughter. Even the duke smiled.
    “Who is Mister Lewis?” Prince Rudolf asked.
    “When we lived in the old cottage,” Samantha began, “before His Grace sent for us—”
    “It was right after Angelica met Robert,” Victoria interjected, taking her seat beside Alexander.
    Samantha nodded and then continued, “One day Tory persuaded me that we could make fast money.”
    “Mister Lewis lived in our hamlet on the far side of Primrose Hill,” Victoria explained, turning to Alexander. “He liked us and was always very helpful.”
    “Tory believed if Mister Lewis helped us in life, he would want to help us in death,” Samantha said. She looked at her younger sister, and both dissolved into giggles.
    “Wearing garlic necklaces to keep evil spirits away,” Angelica finished for them, “my sisters went to the graveyard the night of Mister Lewis’s funeral and dug the poor man up.”
    “Samantha and I wasted several hours dragging Mister Lewis to the cottage,” Victoria added.
    “Why did you dig him up?” Alexander asked.
    “We wanted to sell him to the anatomical school,” Samantha answered.
    Prince Rudolf shouted with laughter. After a moment of stunned silence, the earl joined in his laughter.
    “Angelica and I put Mister Lewis back in his grave,” Robert said.
    Alexander became serious. “You would never have needed to resort to that if my father—I mean, Charles Emerson—hadn’t swindled your father.”
    “Whatever he did is not your fault,” Victoria said, taking his hand in hers. “Living in the cottage wasn’t as bad as you think. In some ways, it was better than the life I lead now.”
    Alexander gave her a skeptical look. “In what way was your life better?”
    Leaning closer, Victoria pressed her lips against his ear and whispered, “I didn’t have His Grace yelling at me for my bad behavior.”
    Alexander turned his head and planted a quick kiss on her lips. With a high blush staining her cheeks, Victoria didn’t know what to do. If they had been alone, she would have kissed him.
    “I told you he was planning to molest me,”