The Serpent's Curse by Lisa Maxwell (read an ebook week .TXT) 📕

“I don’t know what you could possibly mean.” Ruby’s head was still spinning when her uncle stepped forward.

“I received a call from Mr. Bartleby of the Sun a few hours ago,” Uncle Archibald said. “It seems that you paid him a visit today. From what I understand, you made quite the spectacle of yourself this morning.” He narrowed his eyes in her direction. “This cannot go on, my girl. Your family has been through enough.”

“The Constantina departs on Thursday,” Clara said.

“I won’t be on it,” Ruby told them, lifting her chin in a show of defiance.

“I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter,” Ruby’s mother said. “Your dear friend Emily Howald and her mother have graciously offered to host you at their London town house after you make your tour of the Paris dressmakers. You’ll stay through the summer, of course. Possibly into the fall.”

This was not a pleasure trip, Ruby realized suddenly. She was being exiled. When she spoke again, her voice sounded as hollow as she felt. “You would send me away for so long?”

“I would and I am,” her mother said. “The summer will give you ample time to amass a respectable trousseau before the wedding.”

“We’ve not even set a date yet,” Ruby said, glancing at Theo, who looked every bit as taken off guard as she did.

“That is another problem that we have allowed to go on far too long. You’ll be married when you return,” her mother said. “It’s all been arranged.”

“You cannot simply arrange our lives, Mother,” Ruby said, the panic rising hot and fast in her throat. “Shouldn’t Theo and I have any say in the matter?”

“He’s had his say. He has asked for your hand, and you consented. The family has given you ample time to set a date.” Her mother’s expression went carefully blank. “Perhaps I’ve not been as firm as I should have been with you, but I can no longer stand by while you ruin the chances of your younger sisters with your wild, reckless behavior.”

“I hardly think—”

“That is the entire problem, my girl. You don’t think. Do you know what I was told this morning?” her mother said, her tone turning suddenly icy. “Right now, at this very moment, all of society is atwitter with the rumor that you were seen kissing someone at the gala.”

Ruby’s stomach twisted as she pasted on a bright smile. “Surely Theo and I—”

“It was not Theo,” her mother said. “Millicent St. Clair is being quite vocal about what she saw behind the curtains—particularly who it was that you were with.” Her mother sank back into her chair, apparently too overwrought to remain upright.

Suddenly the air went out of the room. “Millicent St. Clair is nothing but a jealous harpy,” Ruby said, but even she could hear the trembling in her voice. Someone had seen her kiss Viola.

“Of course she is,” her mother said. “But the truth doesn’t matter when gossip is involved.”

“Mr. Bartleby had been doing his best to convince the other publishers to quash these rumors as a personal favor to me and to our family,” Uncle Archibald said. “But after your performance in his offices today, he has reached the end of his patience.”

Ruby’s stomach turned with the understanding of what her uncle was saying. If that particular rumor found its way into the gossip columns, it would impact more than only herself. Her entire family—her two younger sisters especially—would be affected as well.

“I allowed you to put off setting a date for the wedding because of your father’s situation,” her mother said softly. “I had believed that we all needed time to heal. But this is too much, Ruby. I cannot allow you to ruin your younger sisters’ chances at a good match. Not when they are so close to their debuts.” Her mother put down the handkerchief she’d been crumpling into a ball with her fingers. “You’ll go with Eleanor and her husband, as we have arranged. You will spend the summer in Europe while this whole mess blows over, and when you return, you will be married. With any luck, society will have put this vicious rumor to rest once and for all by then.”

“That is assuming, of course, Barclay will still have you,” Archibald said, lifting a brow in Theo’s direction.

Ruby looked around the room, at the many pairs of eyes that were united in this against her. Theo seemed as shocked as she was.

You can throw me over, she wanted to say. But of course Theo would do no such thing.

“I’ve no wish to sever my engagement with Ruby. I’ll have the notices sent to the papers immediately,” he told them.

“Theo—”

He ignored the protest in Ruby’s voice as he took her hand and placed a soft kiss upon her knuckles. Though he smiled at her, there was a sadness in his eyes that nearly broke her heart.

THE WHITE WOMAN

1902—New York

The pot on the stove was burning, but Viola didn’t notice until it started to smoke. Not that she cared about the food inside. Her brother could eat his lunch burnt and bitter as far as she was concerned, but she removed it from the fire anyway. It wouldn’t do to make Paul angry. Not when she’d already risked so much to keep his suspicions at bay.

Viola ladled some of the bitter greens and half-burned potatoes into two bowls, then added some thick slices of bread to the side. She took a moment to prepare the mask she wore around her family, and then she carried the tray into the dining room, where her brother and Torrio waited. She’d already made her excuses about leaving for the market. As soon as they were served, she could go, but she couldn’t allow them to realize she was in a hurry, or they’d have questions.

“We’ll need a third,” Paolo told her, barely glancing up as he poked unhappily at the food she placed in