WEDDED TO THE BEASTLY DUKE (ONLY A BEAST WILL DO #2) BY AVA MACADAMS – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Ava MacAdams
- Language: English
- Genre: Historical Romance
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
“Girls,” Esther Summers said dramatically. “What am I ever to do
about your father?”
The Countess of Sunton sank into a chair in the drawing room with a sigh.
Emmeline bit back a sigh of her own as she glanced up into her mother’s
pale face and trembling lips.
“What is it?” Aurelia asked, her voice timid.
She put down her embroidery, a frown creasing the milky skin of her
complexion. Unlike Emmeline, who had never been a great beauty, Aurelia
looked as though she had been born in the sun’s smile, blessed with blonde
hair like silk, blue eyes the color of a summer morning, and a clear
complexion entirely clear of freckles.
In contrast, Emmeline had inherited their father’s height, middling brown
hair, and hazel eyes. She, to her dismay, had also inherited freckles from, it
seemed, neither parent. And no amount of lemon juice would make them go
away.
“Well, I asked him which event I should attend between Lady Southend’s
ball and Lady Norfolk’s soiree, and he was quite stern.” Her mother
sniffled. “Apparently, I ought not to rely on his decision-making all the
time, and he would not be attending these events with me.”
Emmeline put a leather bookmark in her book and closed it. “Well,” she
said brightly, “that is hardly so surprising, is it? You know Papa rarely
attends events of this kind, and why should he decide which one you’ll
attend when he will not be there?”
Her mother fidgeted. “It is the role of a husband to make decisions for his
wife, dear. You must know that by now, at your age.”
Emmeline smiled, her advanced years, in the words of her recently married
friend Edith, Lady Newport, were not a sore point. What use did she have
for marriage when her family relied on her so utterly?
“I am only one-and-twenty, Mama. Besides, I am sure Papa merely wished
you to choose whichever one would make you happiest.” She neglected to
mention that it was more likely he simply did not care. “Do you have a
preference?”
“They are both highly influential ladies, and the ball is on the same night as
the soiree. I shall have to pick one.” The Countess flicked a handkerchief.
“And whoever’s event I do not choose will no doubt be cross.”
Aurelia looked as though this quandary was a matter of life and death. “Oh
no,” she said in her soft voice. “Whatever shall we do?”
“No one could expect you to choose Lady Norfolk over Lady Southend,”
Emmeline said firmly. “Think, Mama. You have been friends with Lady
Southend since you were presented together, and I expect it shall be the
most popular event. If they choose to feud, that is one thing, but you should
not worry yourself over it.”
The Countess sighed. “Your father does not understand what I suffer with
my nerves,” she said, holding out a hand to each of her daughters. “But you,
my lovely girls, know how I feel. What would I ever do without you?”
“Oh, Mama,” Aurelia said, quite overcome. “I hope you shall never find
out.”
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