Chapter 1
"No, I don't think you cheated, Evie, and I wish you'd
stop
saying it." Lucinda Barrett sent her friend an
exasperated
look as she settled deeper into the window seat.
"I know," Evie replied, "but I only intended on
delivering
lessons to a scoundrel. And now I've ended up married to
him." With a scowl she rose, striding toward Lucinda's
refuge and back again. "I mean, for heaven's sake, less
than two months ago I was plain old dull Evie Ruddick,
and
now I'm the Marchioness of St. Aubyn. I can't even
believe--
"
"You were never plain or dull, Evie," Georgiana
interrupted
as she glided into the drawing room and signaled her
butler
to close the door behind her. "And as for apologizing,
firstly I'm late for my own tea, and secondly I seem to
have married the object of my lesson as well."
Lucinda grinned. "Neither of which is an offense for
which
you need to apologize, Georgie."
Smiling, Georgiana motioned Evie to a seat on the couch
and
sank carefully down beside her. "Perhaps, but a little
over
a year ago I would have shot anyone who even suggested I
would marry Tristan Carroway. And now here I sit, Lady
Dare -- and two months away from bringing yet another
Carroway into the world."
Evelyn chuckled. "Perhaps it'll be a girl."
"That would only begin to even the odds against me."
Georgie shifted, plainly uncomfortable. "I'll never
understand how Tristan's mother could be brave enough to
produce four more boys after the example he set. If not
for
his aunts, I should be completely outnumbered -- and
they've abandoned me to take the waters at Bath."
"Speaking of the Carroway brothers," Lucinda said,
knowing
she was deliberately stalling, now that she'd finally
decided to tell her friends about her own plans, "did I
hear you say that Lieutenant Carroway is due back in
London?"
"Yes. Bradshaw's ship should be in Brighton by the end of
the week. He's hoping for a new assignment to the West
Indies, of all places." Georgie narrowed her eyes. "Why
do
you want to know about Shaw? You've decided on him for
your
lesson, haven't you?"
"Good heavens, no." Lucinda's cheeks warmed. "Can you
imagine my father's reaction if I began paying attention
to
a Navy man? Not that delivering a lesson means imminent
marriage, of course."
Evie snorted. "The odds do seem fixed in that direction."
Georgie's gaze was more speculative. "Nor is that
possibility something you should ignore." She sipped her
tea, gazing at Lucinda over the rim of the cup like some
all-seeing blonde-haired gypsy girl. "You have decided on
a
student."
"Oh, I knew it!" Evie seconded, applauding. "Who is the
villain?"
Hesitating, Lucinda looked from one successful lesson
deliverer and happily married friend to the other. What
would they say if they knew she'd watched their
maneuverings with a combination of interest and growing
jealousy? Did they realize that since Evie had married
St.
Aubyn she'd been on the lookout for a student of her own?
And not so much one in need of a lesson as one she wanted
to marry. She sighed. Of course they realized it. They
were
her closest friends.
"Well, I have narrowed down the search," she hedged.
Yes, she'd narrowed it down -- to one.
"Tell us," Georgiana pressed. "This whole lesson thing
was
mostly your idea, anyway. No more delays, my dear."
"I know, I know. It's just --"
"And no excuses," Evie interrupted.
"Fine." Lucinda took a deep breath. "It's Lord Geoffrey
Newcombe." She closed her mouth to wait and to watch.
Lord Geoffrey, the Duke of Fenley's fourth son, was quite
possibly the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. Other
ladies of the same opinion referred to him simply as "the
Adonis." Curling golden hair, light green eyes, broad
shoulders, and a smile that could charm a cobra --it was
no
wonder that women threw themselves at him with nearly
calculated regularity.
And that was the problem. The choice was so obviously
directed more toward matrimony than lesson giving. Dozens
of more poorly behaved single gentlemen practically
littered Mayfair, after all. John Talbott, for example.
What did it matter if he only had one eyebrow that ran
almost ear to ear? Or there was Phillip R --
"Lord Geoffrey," Georgiana said slowly. "He's a splendid
choice."
"Yes," Evie seconded with her pixie smile. "I agree."
Relief made Lucinda's shoulders sag. "Thank you. I really
have given this a great deal of thought. I mean, he's a
war
hero -- a fact of which my father would certainly approve
--
and he's quite handsome, but at the same time he could
definitely use a few lessons. He's arrogant and
insensitive ... " She trailed off. "I'm being terribly
obvious about why I chose him, I'm afraid."
"No, you're not," Evelyn countered. "You're being
brilliant, as usual. I mean, how can you ignore the fact
that Georgie and I both fell in love with and married our
students? You have to take that into consideration."
Georgie was nodding. "Nor can you ignore the fact that
you
and your father are quite close, and that General Barrett
would have to have some fondness for whomever you decided
to take on as a student, whether you thought anything
beyond your lessons might occur, or not."
"Exactly," Lucinda said, smiling at the effort her
friends
were willing to go through to justify her choice. "As far
as I can tell, the general thinks highly of Lord Geoffrey
socially, and I know he worries that I'll be left all
alone
when he hops the twig, as he puts it."
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