An Honorable Wish (A Lady's Wish 2) Read Online Free Page B

the piano. Juliet settled back into her seat and watched, as she normally did.
    It would be easy to allow herself to fall in love with Tony again. He smiled at Juliet as he danced. When he looked at her with those blue eyes, Juliet’s heart lurched. Tony twirled Sophia, causing her to laugh. They were a perfect couple, her dark beauty the perfect foil for his light coloring.
    Next to her sister, Juliet was bookish, pale, and thin. She sighed, realizing that the rest of the evening would pass with her watching Sophia and Tony dance. She made her way across the room.
    “Juliet, dear, where are you going?” Lady Danford asked as she went past her chair.
    “To read, my lady.”
    Juliet made her way to the library. Truth be told, she was exhausted. The work she was doing at the Williamses farm was harder than she was used to. Today she’d mucked out stalls, preparing the barn for lambing. She had blisters on her hands and she was bone weary.
    She crept to a back shelf and moved a particular volume to get to her secret stash of books. While rummaging through the library looking for books on agriculture to help the Williamses, she’d removed a particularly heavy tome and found three small books hidden behind it. Two of the books were written in French but had a wealth of pictures. The other was a novel.
    Juliet’s curiosity had gotten the better of her when she’d glanced through the pictures in the French books. Never in her life had she seen such pictures. She had no idea men and women did such things together.
    She wasn’t totally ignorant. She knew the basics of how children were begotten, but these books were much more than that. Anne would lock her away in her room if she knew about the books.
    The novel was one her friends had alluded to in London. She hadn’t been able to work up the courage to purchase such a scandalous book from any of the booksellers in Town, so she had been pleased to find it in Lady Danford’s well-stocked library.
    Juliet settled in a chair by the fire. She opened the book and started reading.
     
    Tony watched Jules leave the room and close the door behind her. He had been hoping to share the next dance with her. The music ended and he released Sophia with a bow.
    “Shall we dance another?” Sophia asked.
    “Please do not think me rude, but no. I’m a bit tired. I pushed hard to get here before dark.”
    Sophia smiled. “How about cards, then?”
    He grinned and shook his head.
    She didn’t give up. “I hate it here. It’s so deadly dull.”
    Tony leaned against the fireplace. “You don’t realize how noisy London is until you come home. It’s so peaceful here. Quiet.”
    “Dull. Thank you for playing, Anne,” said Sophia.
    “I enjoyed it. It’s been a while.” Anne sat down beside Nathaniel. “I may go up, dear.”
    “Are you well, Anne?” asked Lady Danford.
    “Quite well. Just tired. The first few months are the most difficult. Nathaniel, do you mind if I say my good nights?”
    Nathaniel kissed Anne’s hand before whispering something into her ear. As she excused herself, Nathaniel watched his wife leave the room.
    Tony was envious of his brother once again. While he was glad he hadn’t married Sophia three years before, Tony knew he was meant to marry one of the Townsend girls. It sounded fanciful, but Tony couldn’t shake the thought that Providence had predicted it. Tony just needed to settle on the right sister. That left Juliet. The bluestocking, with her round eyeglasses that magnified eyes so dark, he could barely make out her irises. The hoyden dressed in breeches outlining a shape that was clearly not girlish.
    “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll follow Anne’s example and retire. It was a long journey,” Tony said to the group. He bent and pressed his lips to his grandmother’s hand.
    “What were you and Juliet talking about so seriously, Son?” Lady Danford said softly.
    Tony gripped the hand of his grandmother, who had saved Nathaniel and him.