Page 42 of A Virgin for the Duke of Ash

“Things truly change once one is betrothed,” Ethan had laughingly remarked when he quickly made himself scarce after Barnaby had sent word that a carriage had been prepared that night for Vauxhall.

Daniel recalled wanting to launch his glass at his friend’s laughing face then.

As if that bastard does not know just how vile these supposed gentlemen can be.

In any case, his friends were well aware of how little he thought of these fine young men of theton, and they were not at all ignorant of his disdain for them. One might even go so far as to say that theysharethat very same contempt.

“… grateful that the House has put the bill on the table…” he heard the elderly Lord Milton drone on from beside him.

The doddering baron was already well into his eighth decade, and if Daniel were to be asked, it would have been best if he spent the night in peace in his estate. Unfortunately, Lord Milton was the best example of a fool who refused to learn.

He was also a widower, and even in his ripe, old age, he was still desirous of yetanothermarriage.

The impressionable young misses of Society, however, had no plans of becoming his Baroness. No lady in her right mind would want to spend the second half of her life looking after an old lecher, but Lord Milton still persevered, and Society’s mamas continued to fight to keep their daughters out of his reach.

Lamentably, he was not the only one of his ilk, although it would have been better for the whole world and womankind in general if his kind were to perish.

“By God, who is that ravishing creature?”

Daniel had very little to no interest in whoever was the latest darling of the Season. In any case, Lord Milton thought anyone in a skirt wasravishing. One could wrap a yard of cloth around a pillar and he would probably propose marriage to it.

Daniel angled his head slightly in the direction of the Baron’s gaze, his eyes narrowing slightly when he caught sight of a delicate figure wrapped in layers of diaphanous, midnight-colored silk. The beads scattered all over the bodice glittered like a thousand stars.

Her dark brown hair was piled up into luscious curls atop her head, but a lone lock hung enchantingly down the side of her neck to rest lightly on her shoulder. Her eyes were wide and thickly lashed, like those of a fawn walking into a pit of vipers.

What the bloody hell wasEviedoing, coming into Vauxhall looking like a moon goddess descending upon the earth?

“Excuse me,” he growled, pushing past the Baron, who shrieked slightly in indignation at being so handily displaced.

Daniel did not care, though. All he cared about was getting to Evie.

And just for looking at her likethat, he was willing to pluck the old man’s eyes out of their sockets. If anyone else did the same, then perhaps the gentlemen of London could all learn to live without the sense of sight.

Daniel pushed past the throng of bodies and a group of mamas eagerly pushing their daughters towards him. He did not even hear Lord Milton mutter, “Well, I suppose the rumors are true then…”

He needed to get to Evie, and he needed to do that before he lost his mind and wreaked a carnage that Lambeth had never seen before.

Of all the shenanigans Scarlett has pulled me into, this has to be the worst one.

Vauxhall Gardens was largely considered a rural area, but at that moment, the air felt far more oppressive than in the most crowded ballrooms of London. She wanted to claw her way out of the quagmire of bodies that seemed to crowd her, makingher dizzy and lightheaded and extremely likely to empty the contents of her stomach onto the moist grass underfoot.

I am going to be sick. Disgustingly, embarrassingly sick!

“Evie! There you are!”

She whirled around to catch a glimpse of a flash of red and green. She saw Phoebe and Scarlett strolling towards her, arm in arm. One wore a slight smile, and the other wore a brilliant grin, their eyes lit up with mischief.

“Why are you standing here like a simpleton?” the redhead teased her. “Did you see him? I thought I saw him right over there!”

As Evie turned in the direction her friend was pointing, she heard a distinctly low, masculine voice growl from behind them, “Justwhois there?”

All three young ladies jumped at the sound of his voice. Phoebe looked noticeably uneasy at his appearance, but she regained her composure quickly. Scarlett barely even flinched, smiling openly at him.

“Why, Your Grace!” she enthused. “We did not expect to see you here!”

Evie saw him raise an eyebrow. She could tell that he was not pleased to find them discussing another man.

And why should he care about that? Did he not make it clear to me that we were free to be with whomever lovers we chose?

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