THE RAKE (DAUGHTERS OF DISHONOUR #1) BY AVA BOND – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Ava Bond
- Language: English
- Genre: Historical Romance
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
Mayfair, March 1813.
The privately hired carriage rattled from side to side, convincing
Miss Margot Keating that this was the worst sort of transport
available. Except perhaps for all the others.
Her eyes travelled across to her younger sister, Elspeth, who was
snuggled up in the seat opposite her. She tried to take comfort from the fact
that Elsie was tougher than she looked, resilient, and blessedly asleep. A
gentle snore issued forth from Elsie’s puckered rosebud mouth, her small
hand tucked under her chin whilst she slept on.
Their plan was to journey down to London, to reach the Duke of
Ashmore’s abode. It had seemed logical five days ago when the two of
them had left their home in Berwick-upon-Tweed. Now having travelled
most of the length of the country, since Berwick-upon-Tweed was about
forty miles from the Scottish border, as late afternoon set in, Margot was
less convinced of the wisdom of her choices.
They would soon be entering high-society-laden streets filled with
gleaming white mansions, black-suited gentlemen, and fabulously
bejewelled ladies. Margot was worried she would be entirely out of place. A
true country bumpkin. This was the world of Almack’s, of gentlemen’s
clubs, Vauxhall Gardens, Gunter’s Ices, where royalty mixed with
aristocrats that the newspapers reported upon with breathless enthusiasm.
But there were also brittle societal rules and infamous debauchery. It was all
supposedly the height of the civilised world, but beneath its gleaming
exterior, Margot was sure there would be rot.
Elsie stretched and curled up even further into her seat, her short legs
resting on the squab, nestled alongside all her worldly belongings, which
fitted into one valise. None of Margot’s worries concerned her.
Opposite her, Margot presented quite a contrast. ‘Little and large’, she
thought of their nicknames growing up. Elsie was just over five feet;
Margot was nearly six feet tall. Finding two more dissimilar sisters would
be hard, despite only four years separating them. Her sister’s caramelcoloured curls gave the impression of dainty prettiness, whereas Margot’s
dark chocolate waves refused to mould themselves into anything so
fashionable. Normally, Margot laughed at the differences between them, but
for the first time in her twenty-eight years, she wondered whether there
would be an advantage to being more of the ideal feminine beauty that
society demanded.
The carriage slowed, turning down a side street. Margot heard the driver
calling out to the servants of the household.
“We’re here?” Elsie asked. Her chestnut brown eyes were bright in the
semi-light, and Margot could see her sister’s smile. Elsie leant forward,
trying to see more of the street and the house. They had agreed to come
here, Elsie keen for the adventure, Margot far more cautious.
“I think it wise if you let me do most of the talking,” Margot said. It had
been what they’d already agreed, but as the older sister, she thought it
worthwhile repeating herself. Part of Margot hoped that the next few hours
went smoothly, but it was just a hope since she had never been in such a
situation before.
For More Read Download This Book
EPUB