Save the Last Dance for Me Read online

  Cecilia opened her mouth to protest, but saw that her cousin was smiling. Margaret had borne a child out of wedlock when she was nineteen and had withdrawn from Society as a result. Cecilia knew it had crushed Margaret to live as an exile in the country, particularly when she’d been so young and full of adventure. She didn’t often refer to her status, but it was good to see her speaking so easily of it now.

  “Because you’re my favorite cousin,” Cecilia returned.

  Margaret chuckled. “Don’t let Phillip hear you say that.”

  Cecilia wanted to grin and reply with some witty comment, but instead she pressed her lips together for a moment. “You can’t tell anyone about this, including Phillip—the more people that know, the greater the chance someone will tell Alston.”

  Margaret reached across the space between their chairs and clasped Cecilia’s hands in hers. “Of course I won’t. Your secret is safe with me.” She squeezed her cousin’s hands then released them and sat back. “Now what can we do about Grimsby? What is it that he wants from you?”

  “Five thousand pounds. For that I get the actual letter in addition to his silence.”

  Margaret’s hazel eyes went round. “Five thousand?” Then she smiled. “If your investments are doing as well as they appear to be, that isn’t an insurmountable sum for you. Is it?”

  “No, it isn’t. But that’s not the point.”

  “You’re angry that he’s trying to manipulate you.”

  Margaret’s tone was so matter-of-fact Cecilia grinned. “I’d forgotten just how well you know me. Yes, I’m angry that he thinks he can so easily move me. But I can’t tell the magistrate what’s happened for fear of word getting out, and Grimsby well knows it—is counting on it.”

  “Are you still in contact with the letter’s original recipient? Perhaps you could write to him and let him know what is happening. He may even have an idea or two about how to stop it.”

  Cecilia pictured James as he’d been when she’d known him, tall and slim yet strong enough to lift her off the ground with little effort. He’d had a dimple in his left cheek—just a fraction of an inch from the corner of his mouth—that she’d been particularly fond of kissing. But it had been nearly twenty years since she’d seen him last, and the encounter had not ended happily.

  “We lost touch,” she told her cousin, which was a version of the truth. His actual words had been something more akin to I never want to see you again. “I suppose I could set my solicitor to searching for him, but he doesn’t go about in Society.”

  “Then he may not care about the letter surfacing, which is just as well. I think the only thing he could really do to help is marry you. That would render the letter moot.”

  Cecilia nodded slowly, as if it was a simple thing Margaret suggested. Marriage to her former lover would negate the scandal the letter would otherwise cause for all but the highest sticklers, and those were people who didn’t approve of her anyway. What she didn’t tell Margaret was that James had been more than just a lover. He’d been a close friend, an ally, and her would-be fiancé. If Cecilia had accepted James’s proposal of marriage all those years ago, she wouldn’t be having this problem now.

  Would she have been happier as his wife?

  But what was done, was done. For all she knew, he was wed to some other woman and had a full compliment of children helping him run the farm.

  “Marriage to anyone would probably negate enough of the scandal that little would reach Alston, particularly if he were confined to his home or bed. I am loath to give up my independence, though, Margaret. I’ve been my own keeper for nigh on sixteen years now, and to sign everything over to a man feels like a defeat.”

  “You could retain some of your independence with the right settlements...and the right gentleman,” Margaret replied with a sly smile. “And marriage would undoubtedly be more pleasurable than giving in to Grimsby.”

  “His lordship certainly wouldn’t see it coming.”

  “And in a few days you’ll have a house party full of gentlemen to consider.”

  “Half of whom I’m related to,” Cecilia quipped. “But at least it’s a viable action, if I want to take it. I would just have to find a willing co-conspirator.”

  Maitland Maidens series

  Want to know more about the Maitland ladies and their heroes? You’ll find descriptions, covers, and the fun things I dug up doing research for the books in this series here.

  You can purchase Back In My Arms Again (Maitland Maidens Book 2) at your favorite etailer.

  About the Author

  Cora Lee is National Bestselling author of Regency romance. She went on a twelve year expedition through the blackboard jungle as a high school math teacher before publishing Save the Last Dance for Me, the first book in the Maitland Maidens series. She then followed it up with five more novels and novellas, ranging from sweet and traditional to spicy and suspenseful.

  When she’s not walking Rotten Row at the fashionable hour or attending the entertainments of the Season, you might find her participating in Romance Writers of America events, wading through her towering TBR pile, or eagerly awaiting the next Marvel movie release. If you’d like to find out more about Cora or her books you can visit her website, sign up for her newsletter, or connect with her on Bookbub, Facebook, or Goodreads.