Elizabeth Beacon

A Less Than Perfect Lady


Скачать книгу

with a social smile, for Grandfather had been rebuffed in the harshest of terms when he tried to send his cousin Bevis Alstone’s son and daughters to school instead of settling Bevis’s vintner’s bill as demanded.

      ‘Are we to celebrate our newly established kinship, or mourn it, do you think?’ she asked lightly.

      ‘I shall withhold judgement.’

      ‘Shall you indeed, cousin? How very refreshing to meet a gentleman who refuses to rely on the prejudices of others to form his opinions.’

      ‘You can be certain of one thing, Cousin Miranda, I long ago made it a rule to trust my own prejudices ahead of any others.’

      There was no mistaking the heat in his dark gaze as he let it dwell on her discreetly displayed curves for a little too long, but she chose to pretend ignorance and gave him a sweetly insincere smile. ‘How unenlightened of you,’ she said lightly, ‘so pray excuse me while I look up prejudice in my grandfather’s copy of Dr Johnson’s famous dictionary, Cousin. Does it come before or after proof, I wonder?’

      ‘Oh, dear, that tutor of yours really wasn’t very good, was he? Before, of course.’

      ‘Then should I not appeal to Mr Poulson? I believe it is customary to present all the evidence before the court forms a judgement?’

      ‘Or so we are told,’ he replied sardonically.

      ‘Then I rest my case, my lord,’ she told him.

      ‘Cousin,’ he corrected abruptly.

      ‘Very well, but Cousin what, pray?

      ‘I suspect you know very well my name is Christopher,’ he said and silently dared her to remark on the fact that it was a very common Alstone forename, and probably given to him in defiance of his father’s family rather than to please them.

      She felt a sneaking compassion for the little boy he must once have been, forced to live with the consequences of Bevis Alstone’s drinking, gambling and whoring. Cut off by his family, Bevis must have been an appalling parent. Miranda forced herself not to look for the vulnerable boy in the hard man his son had become. It was far simpler to think of him as just another man of the world, not the complex creature he really was.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4Rq+RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgADAEAAAMAAAABAfQAAAEBAAMAAAABArwAAAECAAMAAAADAAAA ngEGAAMAAAABAAIAAAESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEVAAMAAAABAAMAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAApAEbAAUAAAAB AAAArAEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAgAAAAtAEyAAIAAAAUAAAA1IdpAAQAAAABAAAA6AAAASAA CAAIAAgADqYAAAAnEAAOpgAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTNiAoTWFjaW50b3NoKQAyMDE1 OjA4OjEyIDE3OjEyOjMyAAAEkAAABwAAAAQwMjIxoAEAAwAAAAEAAQAAoAIABAAAAAEAAAXcoAMA BAAAAAEAAAg0AAAAAAAAAAYBAwADAAAAAQAGAAABGgAFAAAAAQAAAW4BGwAFAAAAAQAAAXYBKAAD AAAAAQACAAACAQAEAAAAAQAAAX4CAgAEAAAAAQAAGTgAAAAAAAAASAAAAAEAAABIAAAAAf/Y/+0A DEFkb2JlX0NNAAH/7gAOQWRvYmUAZIAAAAAB/9sAhAAMCAgICQgMCQkMEQsKCxEVDwwMDxUYExMV ExMYEQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMAQ0LCw0ODRAODhAUDg4OFBQO Dg4OFBEMDAwMDBERDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAz/wAARCACgAHID ASIAAhEBAxEB/90ABAAI/8QBPwAAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAwABAgQFBgcICQoLAQABBQEBAQEB AQAAAAAAAAABAAIDBAUGBwgJCgsQAAEEAQMCBAIFBwYIBQMMMwEAAhEDBCESMQVBUWETInGBMgYU kaGxQiMkFVLBYjM0coLRQwclklPw4fFjczUWorKDJkSTVGRFwqN0NhfSVeJl8rOEw9N14/NGJ5Sk hbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2N0dXZ3eHl6e3x9fn9xEAAgIBAgQEAwQFBgcHBgU1AQAC EQMhMRIEQVFhcSITBTKBkRShsUIjwVLR8DMkYuFygpJDUxVjczTxJQYWorKDByY1wtJEk1SjF2RF VTZ0ZeLys4TD03Xj80aUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9ic3R1dnd4eXp7fH/9oADAMB AAIRAxEAPwDlEkle6LjY1/UWuzf6Bh12Zmd50UDe6v8AlfaLjTj7f+FVkmtWZopK91iug3YvUMSt lOF1XGryqaqgRXXa39X6hiVT/wBx8pm7/ryeimk/V3qWS6tpvpysJlVpHva2w2eqxj/zW2bfelxa Wi9LaCSsYmEclt9z7W42JiNY7KyrA5zWeo70qGNqpa+2665/81Uz/tytWquh5GTl4NGBfVl09T9X 7JkgPrE48nMryMZ7XZNN+O1u70ttvr/4B6Vja02HNSVzG6fRnZ7cTpmbXmVmuy6zJ9G6oMbSC+5p x3MsybrNrf0deO2z1f5Cr2/ZGXNOHks6hQA14t9KytpIPuotoyNr/wA39Ltf6b67P5xKwq2CaRMd xyFvnqOP+wH9T/Y/SftTeoMwx+qfo/TfS7Jd+i9b+c9Rv096jl42Df0Do2bk5WL0ptlvUfVLabHF xN26plOLitsu+z4rGuZ+ks2YtXp1ocXcdaRbhJK5f04YfU7endSyqsR1MTe1tl7LA8Nso+ysxm+p b69dm9m70v8ACKwz6v5NvVcLptV9bx1Nj7MPKLLGMc2sWl/q0WtbkUWNdR6bmf8ACVo8Q7psOWkr 1vTaxg35uJnY+cMIsGdXS2xprFj/AEK7abb2V152P63sfdj/ANf+bVFIEHZVq