Read Online How to Dance With a Duke by Manda Collins - Free Book Online

morning,” the duke continued, “and this evening she appears at the Bewle’s ball with a fashionable gown and a new hairstyle. Somehow the two are connected.”
    “Look at her dance partners,” Christian said, eyeing Miss Hurston as she curtsied to Deveril before taking young Lord Pennington’s hand. “With a couple of exceptions, they all seem to be in the Egyptian Club. Could she be searching for something with regard to her father in the same way you are?”
    Lucas stared, arrested by the notion of what Christian suggested. “Who has she danced with?” He began to tick them off on his fingers. “Deveril, Sydnam, Ashcroft, Fortenbury, Deveril again, and now Pennington.”
    “All prominent members of the ton, all bachelors…”
    “And all members of the bloody Egyptian Club,” Lucas finished, his voice low but intense.
    “I’d say you’ve got a dance in your future, Winterson,” Christian said.
    The other man gestured to his walking stick and grimaced in the general direction of his injured leg.
    “Dammit, I forgot. Sorry, old fellow.” Brightening, Monteith grinned. “I don’t suppose you’d care for me to do the pretty in your stead?”
    “Are you fond of your head, Monteith? Or shall I remove it for you?” Lucas’s tone was friendly, but there was no mistaking the steel behind it. “Watch and learn, my friend, how not to dance with a lady.”
    *   *   *
    When Lucas arrived at Miss Hurston’s side, she was giggling at some nonsense Pennington had just said, her head tilted, her eyes blinking.
    Two could play at that gesture game, he thought.
    He raised his brow and lifted his quizzing glass.
    “You are in fine looks this evening, Miss Hurston,” he drawled, enjoying the blush that rose from her chest to her cheeks.
    She glanced down, but it was no act. Miss Hurston was genuinely flummoxed by his arrival. He felt a tightening in his chest at the thought.
    “Your Grace,” she said, sinking into a deep curtsy. A curtsy that gave him an excellent view of her excellent bosom. Christian had been right. She had been hiding some delectable curves beneath those ugly gowns.
    When he looked up, he saw that he wasn’t the only one enjoying the view of Miss Hurston’s charms. Pennington was looking his fill, the insolent puppy. Lucas resisted the urge to throw her over his shoulder and carry her from the room.
    A raised brow and a meaningful gesture of his chin had the younger man scurrying away like a frightened rabbit. Before the lady knew what had happened, her hand was tucked into the crook of Lucas’s elbow and he was leading her toward the Duchess of Bewle’s torch-lit terrace.
    “That was very handily done,” Cecily said dryly, following along at Winterson’s side until they reached a brightly lit bench.
    It was the first time she’d ventured out onto a balcony with a gentleman since her ill-fated engagement to David, and she was more grateful than ever that they’d kept that engagement a secret. If anyone in the ballroom had known of it, they would have taken far greater interest in her than they currently did. A bluestocking taking the air with a duke was newsworthy, of course, but a bluestocking who had been thrown over once before taking the air with a duke was infinitely more interesting. She could see the lines in the gossip sheets now: “At the B _____ ball the Duke of W _____ was seen taking the air with that bluest of stockings, Miss H _____ , who was very happy indeed to be seen in the company of a gentleman for the first time since Mr. D _____ L _____ broke their engagement. One hopes she holds on to this gander more tightly than the last!”
    Their bench was far enough away from the other couples taking the air that they might speak freely. Even so, Cecily felt a bit of a thrill to be on the arm of such a handsome man. And the sound of her gown brushing against his breeches mixed with the warmth of his arm beneath her gloved fingers was intoxicating. It would be so easy