Read Online Duke of Thorns (Heiress Games 1) by Sara Ramsey - Free Book Online Page B

but he kept his distance. “I’ve no doubt it will show to advantage,” he said. “Such a prize would tempt anyone, no matter what they must marry to gain it.”
    It was beyond rude of him to say such a thing. But he wanted to see whether she had backbone, and insults were the quickest way to reveal it.
    She drew herself up. “The Briarleys are a proud and ancient house, your grace — one that any family in England should aspire to join.”
    “Is that true, Lady Maidenstone?” he asked her companion. “Are the Briarleys a good match?”
    Lady Maidenstone had watched him, fascinated, throughout this exchange. She shrugged. “Lord Maidenstone’s pedigree was never in question.”
    The girl could have been a diplomat with that kind of answer. He smiled. “Unfortunately, it’s not the Briarley pedigree that any of us are here for. I wish you good fortune at this party, Miss Briarley — provided it doesn’t conflict with my own.”
    Lucretia’s flushed cheeks and bright eyes were pretty enough. But Anthony was right — she was provincial. Her dress, her hair, even the room she greeted them in — it was all too perfect, as though she’d seen a fashion plate and copied it exactly rather than letting her own sense of style prevail. Anthony would prefer a girl who set the fashions of the day, not one who slavishly followed them.
    But he observed her potential, looking her up and down in a cool, distant sort of way. She might make an interesting wife for someone, someday, if she gained a bit of humor and lost of a bit of stiffness.
    She wasn’t his problem. A few moments of conversation had already told him all he needed to know. Unless Anthony’s tastes changed, Lucretia wasn’t the heiress who would save them.
    As he returned his gaze to her face, her back stiffened further — how, when it already seemed close to snapping, he couldn’t begin to guess. But she took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eyes. “Would you care to take a turn on the balcony before dinner, your grace? I find I’m rather too warm at the moment.”
    That set him back, unexpectedly, on his heels. No proper woman would ask him, a man they all believed was capable of compromising innocents, to take a turn on the balcony with her.
    Had he missed some clue about her? Lucretia didn’t have the look of a fortune-hunter or a social climber. She was too forthright — too forthright for flirtation, or any of the other tricks Ariana had used. But from the way her hand fluttered to her stomach, as though adding support to her diaphragm as she held her breath, he sensed her nerves.
    And a dangerous chasm opened up at his feet.
    He took a step back from her, instinctually. But even though he could say the most appalling things to the nicest individuals, he still felt a twinge of remorse when her eyes flickered.
    “You wouldn’t want to walk with me, Miss Briarley,” he warned. “I have a reputation.”
    “Yes, I know,” she said, even though she shouldn’t have acknowledged it. “Lady Maidenstone, will you accompany us?”
    Lady Maidenstone leaned in and whispered something to Lucretia. Lucretia shook her head sharply and stood up, holding her hand out until the girl took it. When Lady Maidenstone finally gave in, Lucretia turned to Thorington expectantly.
    There was nothing for it. He escorted the women from the room, knowing that every eye followed them but acting supremely unconcerned by that fact. But as soon as they were through the French doors and standing far enough from the open windows to avoid eavesdroppers, he turned back to Lucretia.
    “I should warn you, Miss Briarley, that if you think to trap me into marriage, I shall refuse to offer for you. You’ll be ruined if you attempt it.”
    Lucretia’s mouth dropped open. “Do you really think me capable of that?”
    Thorington shrugged. “I think most people are capable of most anything, given the right pressure. You are under pressure, are you not?”
    She exchanged a