changed; I am still going to meet Lord Henry tonight. Which reminds me, Charles executed the wig but I think we may be able to resuscitate it.”
Mabel looked around. “Where is it?”
“I kicked it into the rosebed out of Lord Devon’s view. After I go down to dinner, go and reclaim it from under the bushes. Be sure to keep an eye out for Charles, though; you know how he is when he’s claimed something.”
Mabel exhaled a long suffering breath. “Aye.” For a quiet country house, there always seemed to be something afoot.
And the root cause was standing before her in corset and chemise.
* * *
Ginny glided down the stairs and into the parlor like a lady to the manor born.
At her entrance, both men stood.
She had donned a rose damask gown with a white underskirt and a darker hued rose stomacher. Gone was the urchin in undergarments; in her place stood a fashionable young woman of remarkable beauty.
Tyler’s eyes gleamed in appreciation when he saw her.
“Lord Devon, may I present my niece and your betrothed, Lady Thomlinson?” Jediah’s stern expression warned Ginny to behave. “Regina, Lord Devon.”
Ginny curtseyed properly, her expression demure.
“My lord.”
Tyler took her hand as she rose, pressing a brief kiss to the back. “My lady,” he intoned in an even voice.
Ginny smiled at the hint of amusement in his tone.
She also noted that he had taken some care to present himself to her uncle. While still wearing his buff colored breeches, black riding boots, white silk shirt, and black waistcoat and jacket, he had tied off his hair into a neat queue at the back of his neck.
He was without a doubt, the most breathtaking man she had ever seen.
Not that it mattered.
She cared not one whit that his eyes were the color of a glistening waterfall, or that he had two perfectly placed dimples carved into his sculpted cheeks. It did not concern her that his heated stare seemed to crackle the air between them. All that mattered was that the man had entered into an advantageous bargain with her.
* * *
Doing a brilliant job of passing himself off as a gentleman, Tyler graciously offered her an arm into the dining room.
* * *
Dinner was a strange affair full of undercurrents, passing signals, and curious undertones. Jediah, totally unaware, enjoyed the meal to the fullest. Indeed, he fairly beamed his satisfaction, for it appeared Lord Devon was well-pleased with his niece, and the chit was for once behaving herself. Everything seemed to be going his way.
He let out a sigh of pent up relief.
He had had some worry over Lord Devon. The man had a reputation for being unpredictable.
Jediah knew the old Duke had coerced the bounder into the match, but he still had some concerns whether Devon would willingly go along. He supposed the threat of losing his inheritance had done the trick. That and the sight of his niece. Willful though she might be, there was no denying her loveliness. Ginny favored Violet, his stepsister, in that regard.
The thought of sister Violet and what she would have to say to him regarding this match were she alive today made Jediah feel slightly uncomfortable. Violet had been the only person in his miserable life who had accepted and loved him unconditionally. He tried to rationalize away his prickling conscience by telling himself he was doing what was best for the gel. After all, she would be a duchess one day. Who could ask for more?
The fact that he was shackling her to the most notorious rake in England in exchange for control of her fortune was brushed aside as inconsequential.
Jediah was not a bad man... Just a practical sort.
“Lord Devon, your grandfather requested the ceremony take place at Islemoor Hall. I take it that is agreeable to you?”
Tyler’s focus remained fixed on his plate. “What my grandfather requests is a law onto itself. So, yes, it is agreeable to me.”
Ginny noted that his lordship’s tone was strangely morose. In that
Mabel looked around. “Where is it?”
“I kicked it into the rosebed out of Lord Devon’s view. After I go down to dinner, go and reclaim it from under the bushes. Be sure to keep an eye out for Charles, though; you know how he is when he’s claimed something.”
Mabel exhaled a long suffering breath. “Aye.” For a quiet country house, there always seemed to be something afoot.
And the root cause was standing before her in corset and chemise.
* * *
Ginny glided down the stairs and into the parlor like a lady to the manor born.
At her entrance, both men stood.
She had donned a rose damask gown with a white underskirt and a darker hued rose stomacher. Gone was the urchin in undergarments; in her place stood a fashionable young woman of remarkable beauty.
Tyler’s eyes gleamed in appreciation when he saw her.
“Lord Devon, may I present my niece and your betrothed, Lady Thomlinson?” Jediah’s stern expression warned Ginny to behave. “Regina, Lord Devon.”
Ginny curtseyed properly, her expression demure.
“My lord.”
Tyler took her hand as she rose, pressing a brief kiss to the back. “My lady,” he intoned in an even voice.
Ginny smiled at the hint of amusement in his tone.
She also noted that he had taken some care to present himself to her uncle. While still wearing his buff colored breeches, black riding boots, white silk shirt, and black waistcoat and jacket, he had tied off his hair into a neat queue at the back of his neck.
He was without a doubt, the most breathtaking man she had ever seen.
Not that it mattered.
She cared not one whit that his eyes were the color of a glistening waterfall, or that he had two perfectly placed dimples carved into his sculpted cheeks. It did not concern her that his heated stare seemed to crackle the air between them. All that mattered was that the man had entered into an advantageous bargain with her.
* * *
Doing a brilliant job of passing himself off as a gentleman, Tyler graciously offered her an arm into the dining room.
* * *
Dinner was a strange affair full of undercurrents, passing signals, and curious undertones. Jediah, totally unaware, enjoyed the meal to the fullest. Indeed, he fairly beamed his satisfaction, for it appeared Lord Devon was well-pleased with his niece, and the chit was for once behaving herself. Everything seemed to be going his way.
He let out a sigh of pent up relief.
He had had some worry over Lord Devon. The man had a reputation for being unpredictable.
Jediah knew the old Duke had coerced the bounder into the match, but he still had some concerns whether Devon would willingly go along. He supposed the threat of losing his inheritance had done the trick. That and the sight of his niece. Willful though she might be, there was no denying her loveliness. Ginny favored Violet, his stepsister, in that regard.
The thought of sister Violet and what she would have to say to him regarding this match were she alive today made Jediah feel slightly uncomfortable. Violet had been the only person in his miserable life who had accepted and loved him unconditionally. He tried to rationalize away his prickling conscience by telling himself he was doing what was best for the gel. After all, she would be a duchess one day. Who could ask for more?
The fact that he was shackling her to the most notorious rake in England in exchange for control of her fortune was brushed aside as inconsequential.
Jediah was not a bad man... Just a practical sort.
“Lord Devon, your grandfather requested the ceremony take place at Islemoor Hall. I take it that is agreeable to you?”
Tyler’s focus remained fixed on his plate. “What my grandfather requests is a law onto itself. So, yes, it is agreeable to me.”
Ginny noted that his lordship’s tone was strangely morose. In that
Similar Books
