Petticoat Rebellion Read Online Free Page B

Anyone could look in and see them
in their chemises. Several village youngsters were
doing so.
    From the sidelines, Abbie and her charges watched jugglers practicing their art with orange balls, watched a man lead a huge black bear to a trough of water, and played with a white monkey who hopped right onto Kate’s shoulder. It tried to pull a feather off her bonnet, until a young man came and led the animal away.
    “There is the handsome one!”Kate exclaimed, clutching Annabelle’s elbow.
    Peering through the moving crowd, Abbie discerned the man who had been driving the wagon. The dark-haired, flashing-eyed man had changed out of his scarlet uniform into skintight buckskins and a white shirt, open at the throat, to show a triangle of tanned chest. She reluctantly admitted that he was indeed a handsome specimen of young manhood, though not the style she favored herself. There was too much of the strutting-cock walk to him. He was too aware of his own charms as he swaggered through the crowd of workers, giving orders, joking and patting the female performers here and there in a very familiar way.
    Lady Penfel approached him and spoke to him in her friendly manner for a minute or two, probably asking if he had seen Cuddles. The charmer assumed a whole new expression when with ladies. Abbie watched him bow in deference to the countess and the duke’s daughter. When they walked away, the man spoke to a few of his workmen and began looking about, presumably for the dog.
    Kate’s enticing smile soon drew him to the edge of the meadow. Abbie could hardly order the girls not to speak to him when they had just watched Lady Penfel and Susan do so, but she could keep a close watch to see no impropriety occurred.
    He was wearing his deferential manner when he approached them, but she sensed from his dashing eyes, which he could not quite control, that he simply wanted an excuse to scrape an acquaintance with the girls.
    Experience told O’Leary it was the older lady he must ingratiate. He bowed punctiliously to them all, but directed his words to Abbie.
    “Good afternoon, ladies,”he said. “I am O’Leary, the proprietor of this show. Lady Penfel has lost her dog and has asked me to look about for it. You haven’t seen it?”
    “I saw Cuddles over there,”Kate said, pointing to the far side of the field. “I think someone was preparing food. A dog will always go after food, Mr. O’Leary.”
    “I see you are familiar with dogs, Miss—?”
    “Fenshaw. And this is my friend, Miss Kirby, and our chaperon, Miss Fairchild.”
    His bow was a pattern card of grace. “Delighted to make your acquaintance, ladies.”Sensing a stiffness in Abbie, he said, “Lady Penfel mentioned the young ladies were accompanied by a schoolmistress. Surely, you are too young to be playing propriety, Miss Fairchild?”
    She refused to acknowledge the remark as a compliment. “I believe I am old enough to fulfill my duties.”
    A closer look at her glinting eyes and stiff expression decided him against this tack. He turned to Kate. “Where, exactly, did you see the dog, Miss Fenshaw?”
    “There! There he is!”Annabelle cried. She took Kate’s hand and drew her into the meadow, chasing after Cuddles. Mr. O’Leary gave Abbie an uncertain look, and followed the girls. After they had gone a few yards, Abbie lifted her skirts and went grumbling after them.
    As she approached the tent where the female performers were arranging their toilettes, she heard a soft, masculine laugh within, followed by a giggle of higher pitch. Without hearing a single word, she had a very good idea what was happening inside that tent. You would think they would close the flap at least. As she passed, a man ducked his head and came out of the tent.
    “See you tonight then, love,”a female called after him.
    The man was just waving farewell when he spotted Abbie frowning at him. Her frown was originally caused by the couple’s lechery. When she saw that the man was a