BooksBarbecue
Back Glamour in Glass Save as PDF
Chapters (30)
  1. Cover
  2. Glamour in
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. THREE
  6. FOUR
  7. FIVE
  8. SIX
  9. SEVEN
  10. EIGHT
  11. NINE
  12. TEN
  13. ELEVEN
  14. TWELVE
  15. THIRTEEN
  16. FOURTEEN
  17. FIFTEEN
  18. SIXTEEN
  19. SEVENTEEN
  20. EIGHTEEN
  21. NINETEEN
  22. TWENTY
  23. TWENTY-ONE
  24. TWENTY-TWO
  25. TWENTY-THREE
  26. TWENTY-FOUR
  27. TWENTY-FIVE
  28. Author’s Afterword
  29. Glamour Glossary
  30. Reading Group Guide

‘Because you ask, I shall. Muse.’ He leaned forward as if to kiss her, and then gave a side-glance at the company, who had all turned in their seats to watch them. Straightening, he offered her the most correct of courtesies from husband to wife, and returned to his seat.

Jane set her back to the rest of the ballroom, grateful for that pretence of privacy. When the knot came under her fingers, she tightened her grasp to stop the fish. Carefully, she inched the two schools toward the proper relation to one another and then tied the knot with a triple hitch. It was less elegant than the nœud marin she had used before, but was unlikely to come undone.

Letting her attention return to the room, she stepped back from her work and was pleased to note that the diners had stopped paying her any heed. In truth, even the most astute observer would have noted only a woman standing with her back to the room, because the adjustments she had to make to the glamour were too subtle to be noticed. Only Vincent watched her, and offered her one of his rare and radiant smiles. Flushed more than the small amount of glamour merited, Jane returned to her seat, managing to slip into it with the aid of a footman before the Prince Regent noticed that she had rejoined the table.

She was thus prepared to enjoy the rest of the meal . . . until the table turned, and ‘Skiffy’ claimed her attention.

TWO

Art and Talent

Jane’s perturbation was not due to any unkindness on the part of Lord Lumley. He was everything that is agreeable in a dinner conversationist: witty without being cruel, well-informed without being showy, and a gracious listener. But this very solicitude was what caused her some discomfort, for what Skiffy was most interested in hearing about was her impending trip to Europe, a trip of which Jane had no knowledge.

Indeed, the war had so recently ended that Jane was not yet accustomed to thinking of the Continent as a place to which one might go. In her mother’s day, a tour abroad was quite the thing, but they had been at war with France since Jane was a child.