Velvet Embrace by Nicole Jordan

when Katherine was seated. "I thought your new medicine was more effective in relieving the pain."
    Katherine grimaced as she tasted the strong coffee. "I couldn't bring myself to suffer the usual dose last night. I am paying for it now, though. I feel as if I slept on a bed of nails. The fault of the cold weather, I expect. But that wasn't what woke me. I had the strangest dream, not a bit of which I could remember. It left me with the oddest feeling that something unpleasant was about to happen."
    "Well, it is," Brie said matter-of-factly. "My cousin is coming."
    Katherine slowly nodded. "It concerns me that Caroline and Lord Denviile have not yet arrived."
    "I doubt if anything more terrible than the storm has occurred to delay them. The snow has made it impossible to travel. More than likely they put up at an inn to wait out the weather. I wouldn't worry, Julian will take good care of Caroline. She probably thinks she's having a great adventure, even if she didn't want to come here in the first place."
    "I confess I'm surprised. I never would have expected Lady Arabella to send her errant daughter here, of all places."
    Brie slanted a glance at her companion. "Honestly, Katie, you make it sound as if Caroline has committed some crime and that Greenwood is a den of iniquity. She may be silly, but she is young yet. It was more than luck on my aunt's part that allowed her to discover Caroline's plans and prevent an elopement. Aunt Arabella has always watched her daughters with the eyes of a hawk."
    Katherine raised an eyebrow. "So she sends Caroline to you?"
    Not liking the implication, Brie stiffened. "Katherine, since my aunt devised this plan herself, I must be in her good graces once again. But I don't appreciate your subtle reminders of my past mistakes. All that happened a long time ago. It was a difficult lesson for me, but I did learn it. I imagine Aunt Arabella thinks I will be sympathetic to my cousin's plight, since Caroline seems to be repeating my history. And as little as I wish to have the girl foisted upon me, sending her to the country is the ideal solution. I expect Caroline will see it as sufficient punishment, since it takes her away from London. Besides, who better than a spinster cousin to show her the error of her ways?"
    "Well, you haven't taken to wearing caps yet," Katherine retorted. "I consider you far too young to have charge of a girl like that. Of course, the situation would be different if you were married."
    Hearing the introduction of the familiar subject, Brie winced. Her refusal to marry was a frequent point of contention between them. Over the years, there had been any number of highly respectable suitors who had properly applied for her hand, but since her one disastrous experience with love, she had been determined to keep her heart closely guarded. She didn't think she could stand listening to Katherine lecturing her on the subject of marriage this morning, though. It had been bad enough being reminded of her own aborted elopement.
    She drained her cup, then rose, bracing herself for the scold that was sure to come. She was wearing buckskin breeches and a coat of faded blue broadcloth that hid the curves of her slender figure. The shapeless outfit, along with her woolen leggings and scuffed leather boots, gave her the appearance of a peasant, and only a close inspection would have revealed that she wasn't the young man she resembled.
    Katherine frowned as Brie pulled a peaked cap from her pocket. "Must you go out dressed as a ragamuffin, Gabrielle?" she demanded, addressing Brie by her given name as she always did when she was displeased with her charge.
    Trying hard not to lose her temper, Brie deftly twisted her hair on top of her head and stuffed it under the cap. "I have work to do, Katherine. I'm taking Julian's new gelding to the south field this morning." She tucked a few errant curls out of sight and turned up the collar of her jacket, then picked up her riding quirt and leather