unbridled fury.
****
“Lancaster’s heir! You cannot be serious! He has the face of a donkey and is half
as intelligent!”
“Ah, Sir Wilde, nice of you to appear out of nowhere,” Bridget said. Her mocking smirk
took him somewhat by surprise. Had she been expecting him? It didn’t matter. Not when
Gemma was in danger of making a grievous error.
Nevertheless, he bowed his head in a contrite greeting. “Do pardon the interruption,
Lady Maddox.” Then he turned to Gemma and nodded. “Lady Gemma.”
She only stared at him expectantly and asked, “Did you have business with us, Sir
Wilde?”
He knew her choices no longer concerned him. He knew that she despised him and intended
to marry a gentleman with a title. He knew they both moved toward different futures.
But he would rather be drawn and quartered than let her become entangled with Oliver
Quincy, the heir to the Duke of Lancaster. The man was an absolute menace.
“You shall stay away from Lancaster’s heir or I will murder him in his sleep to effectively
keep him from… from…” Colin’s hand shook as he paced in front of Gemma. “From your
ruin!”
“So now you are my knight? Coming to my rescue?”
Anthony climbed up the steps to the veranda and gave a sheepish wave in Bridget’s
direction, then braced Colin’s shoulders. “He has had a rough go of it.”
“What the devil do you have on your face, Anthony?” Bridget asked, peering at her
husband.
“Chocolate,” Colin grumbled. Too many distractions. If he could speak with Gemma alone,
he was sure he could dissuade her from her current course. She didn’t want to be involved
in scandal. She wanted to be properly wed. She had many times told him so. The very
thought of anything else was pure madness. If only the others would leave, he could
make her understand the folly of trying to seduce a dangerous rake. Colin could talk
sense into the confused woman.
A door clicked open behind them. Colin swore and prayed the ground would swallow him
whole.
“Chocolate? Late-night desserts with Anthony? My, my, Wilde. You do realize the point
of a rakish lifestyle is to seduce women , do you not? All this time you are spending with Anthony doesn’t seem to fit, now,
does it? By the by, was my brother the only willing participant to take you up on
the offer of a late night… adventure?”
Gemma pursed her lips together and turned away. Colin swore again and felt his cheeks
heat with embarrassment. There was no possibility of escaping this scene unscathed.
Swallowing hard, he confessed. “Actually, I was speaking with Lady Priscilla. Out
of nowhere, she began screaming at me. Though I only said what Anthony told me to
say. I compared her to Lady Hawthorne, compared her to a cloud, and offered her chocolate.”
Ambrose gasped, and then threw his head back and laughed. “Truly? Well then, you are
an idiot. The woman despises Cordelia. She believes my wife seduced me. Imagine! Cordelia
seducing anything but a potted plant is quite beyond me, but there it is. And poetry?
Chocolate? There’s not a gentleman in all the ton who doesn’t know how Lady Priscilla feels about those things. I believe you have
been the victim of some very poor advice, my friend.”
Colin held up his hand. “A victim. It is safe to say the last thing I will do, from
this moment forward, is listen to any of Anthony’s advice when it comes to the fairer
sex. There is no doubt in my mind that Lady Priscilla had it in her to toss me over
the balcony.”
“To be fair, you ended up there anyway,” Anthony piped up.
Colin glared and turned his attention to Gemma. Her gaze accused him. Describing the
interaction with Lady Priscilla had not improved Gemma’s opinion of him. His words
would have no effect on her anymore, but he had to try. The thought of her with any
one of those rogues made his blood boil.
“This silly business of seducing a rake must
****
“Lancaster’s heir! You cannot be serious! He has the face of a donkey and is half
as intelligent!”
“Ah, Sir Wilde, nice of you to appear out of nowhere,” Bridget said. Her mocking smirk
took him somewhat by surprise. Had she been expecting him? It didn’t matter. Not when
Gemma was in danger of making a grievous error.
Nevertheless, he bowed his head in a contrite greeting. “Do pardon the interruption,
Lady Maddox.” Then he turned to Gemma and nodded. “Lady Gemma.”
She only stared at him expectantly and asked, “Did you have business with us, Sir
Wilde?”
He knew her choices no longer concerned him. He knew that she despised him and intended
to marry a gentleman with a title. He knew they both moved toward different futures.
But he would rather be drawn and quartered than let her become entangled with Oliver
Quincy, the heir to the Duke of Lancaster. The man was an absolute menace.
“You shall stay away from Lancaster’s heir or I will murder him in his sleep to effectively
keep him from… from…” Colin’s hand shook as he paced in front of Gemma. “From your
ruin!”
“So now you are my knight? Coming to my rescue?”
Anthony climbed up the steps to the veranda and gave a sheepish wave in Bridget’s
direction, then braced Colin’s shoulders. “He has had a rough go of it.”
“What the devil do you have on your face, Anthony?” Bridget asked, peering at her
husband.
“Chocolate,” Colin grumbled. Too many distractions. If he could speak with Gemma alone,
he was sure he could dissuade her from her current course. She didn’t want to be involved
in scandal. She wanted to be properly wed. She had many times told him so. The very
thought of anything else was pure madness. If only the others would leave, he could
make her understand the folly of trying to seduce a dangerous rake. Colin could talk
sense into the confused woman.
A door clicked open behind them. Colin swore and prayed the ground would swallow him
whole.
“Chocolate? Late-night desserts with Anthony? My, my, Wilde. You do realize the point
of a rakish lifestyle is to seduce women , do you not? All this time you are spending with Anthony doesn’t seem to fit, now,
does it? By the by, was my brother the only willing participant to take you up on
the offer of a late night… adventure?”
Gemma pursed her lips together and turned away. Colin swore again and felt his cheeks
heat with embarrassment. There was no possibility of escaping this scene unscathed.
Swallowing hard, he confessed. “Actually, I was speaking with Lady Priscilla. Out
of nowhere, she began screaming at me. Though I only said what Anthony told me to
say. I compared her to Lady Hawthorne, compared her to a cloud, and offered her chocolate.”
Ambrose gasped, and then threw his head back and laughed. “Truly? Well then, you are
an idiot. The woman despises Cordelia. She believes my wife seduced me. Imagine! Cordelia
seducing anything but a potted plant is quite beyond me, but there it is. And poetry?
Chocolate? There’s not a gentleman in all the ton who doesn’t know how Lady Priscilla feels about those things. I believe you have
been the victim of some very poor advice, my friend.”
Colin held up his hand. “A victim. It is safe to say the last thing I will do, from
this moment forward, is listen to any of Anthony’s advice when it comes to the fairer
sex. There is no doubt in my mind that Lady Priscilla had it in her to toss me over
the balcony.”
“To be fair, you ended up there anyway,” Anthony piped up.
Colin glared and turned his attention to Gemma. Her gaze accused him. Describing the
interaction with Lady Priscilla had not improved Gemma’s opinion of him. His words
would have no effect on her anymore, but he had to try. The thought of her with any
one of those rogues made his blood boil.
“This silly business of seducing a rake must
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