The Wagered Heart: Signet Regency Romance (InterMix) Read Online Free

your company! Dear Julia, though I am a bride of only six months, I find that I must attend my mother-in-law in Bath, instead of going to London for the Season!
    You know that I would never say a word to disagree with my darling Clive, but I believe that sometimes he is a trifle indulgent of his mama’s megrims.
    We have taken a house very near Lady Farren’s, and Clive will not hear another word on the subject. But he does send his love to you and hopes you will come to Bath and stay with us. He knows how much your company delights me, and wishes that you would feel pity upon me and stay the entire summer. Was that not prettily put? Alas, I cannot be out of patience with my darling Clive for long.
    As Chippenham is so close to Bath, your journey shall not be at all arduous. And unless I hear that you have the pox or something equally dreadful, I shall expect to see you on my doorstep within a fortnight.
    I shall send you my direction in the next post. I hope my aunt and uncle Allard are well and are willing to share you with their bereft niece. Give them my love.
    Your Loving,
Caro
    Julia reread the letter with a growing smile. Indeed, she would seriously consider this unexpected invitation. Chippenham, especially after this last encounter with Mr. Fredericks, was having a stifling effect upon her of late. Her normal interests and pursuits had lost their appeal. She decided that Bath in the summer would be lovely.
    Julia rose and left the lush garden. Entering the house from the wide stone steps that led to the French windows, she was aware of a budding sense of excitement, and was eager to discuss Caro’s letter with her aunt and uncle.
    The maid was just bringing the tea service into thesitting room, where her relatives were enjoying the view of the front garden.
    “Oh, good, you have come in. I was feeling much too lazy to go and fetch you for tea,” Aunt Beryl called in a cheerful tone upon seeing her niece enter the room.
    Julia smiled at her pretty, petite aunt as she seated herself in a comfortable chair across from her relatives. This was her favorite part of the day. To sit in this well-appointed room, with its warm, woodpaneled walls and myriad of cozy pillows, had always been a gentle pleasure.
    Setting his newspaper aside, Uncle John looked at Julia with interest, his gray eyes very like her own. Of her deceased father’s two brothers, Julia thought that Uncle John looked most like her papa.
    “Was that Mr. Fredericks I saw going down the lane as if the hounds of Hades were on his heels?”
    “Yes, it was. I believe that he will not be returning anytime soon,” Julia sighed, and settled back comfortably in her chair.
    “Oh no, Julia, not again!” her aunt cried, teapot suspended over her husband’s cup. “I thought surely that he would not renew his proposal after the last time you declined him,” she sighed, her still-brown curls shaking from beneath her mobcap.
    “Yes, I am afraid that I had to speak quite plainly this time,” Julia said, suppressing a lingering stab of guilt regarding Mr. Fredericks.
    “Nonsense, m’dear. If he is so thickheaded that a simple
no
will not do, then he deserves to be sent off with a flea in his ear,” Uncle John stated, accepting the cup from his wife.
    Looking at her uncle with his shock of steel gray hair and erect military bearing, Julia decided to leave out the insult Mr. Fredericks had dealt her. UncleJohn would most likely call the younger man out if he knew.
    “I have a letter from Caro,” Julia said without preamble, “and she has invited me to go to Bath and stay with her for the summer.”
    At her aunt’s and uncle’s looks of surprise, she handed the letter across to Aunt Beryl.
    While her aunt read the short missive, Julia sent a smile to her uncle. “I have not been away from Chippenham for some time. I have been rather dull lately, and I own a visit to Bath is appealing.”
    Uncle John frowned. “I do not know, Julia. The last time you went