Page 23 of His Duchess' Wicked List

Maddie almost slumped with relief. Her sister wasn’t interested in the Duke at all. It would have been a terrible thing indeed if Augustawastruly interested in him… after what Maddie had done with him.

It didn’t bear thinking about at all. If their mother was still determined to match him with Augusta, of course. But she thought her sister’s instinct was correct—as did Selina. They couldn’t all be wrong.

“If Ididwish to marry,” Augusta continued in a pensive voice, “which I do not, of course, the Duke of Everly would not be the type of man I would be interested in the least.” She drew in a sharp breath. “But if Mama is determined to match him with me, I fear I must relent. I cannot cause another scandal. Our parents would never forgive me for it.”

Maddie’s heart constricted. This was the last thing she had imagined Augusta saying. Only yesterday, her sister had told her that she would rather run away than submit to the yoke of marriage. This wasn’t like her firebrand sister at all.

“I see,” Maddie murmured in a faint voice. “Of course, you do not wish to cause another scandal. Who would ever want to do that?”

Augusta looked sad. “They barely forgave me the last time, and I have had to live with Mama harping at me constantly ever since.” She blinked back tears. “And perhaps there is a grain of truth in what Mama says—if I married, then I would not have to put up with that harping any longer. It would only be swapping cages, perhaps, but at least I would be its mistress.”

“You could still find a gentleman you like,” Maddie urged, feeling a bit desperate. “Yes, marriage would mean you will escape Mama, but it is for life, Augusta. Would you not wish to submit to someone you can share that life with easily?”

Augusta frowned. “Thereisno gentleman I like, Maddie. They are all fatally flawed, in my opinion. Either they are shockingly arrogant like this Duke or simpering fools like the two gentlemen I chased away in Hyde Park the other day. There does not seem to be any middle ground with them.” She sighed heavily.

Maddie was silent. She felt upset but was trying hard to fight it. She knew she had no right to feel this way. She barely knew the Duke, and he wasn’t a marriage prospect at all.

The man was a rake who was playing a game with her. He didn’t take her seriously. To him, she was just another conquest, from which he would move on, as easily as if he were exchanging dice.

She had no real justification for objecting to her sister’s contemplating marriage with him. Or none that she could easily share with her, at any rate.

“Is there something wrong, Sister?” Augusta asked, her frown deepening. “Do you have any reason why I should reject the prospect?”

Maddie shook her head vigorously. “Oh, no, indeed! I would only say that he has the reputation of a rake. Selina told me. I would hate for you to be hurt by him.”

To her surprise, Augusta laughed outright. “That is all for the better! It would mean I would not need to suffer his advances, as he would be trawling for finer fish in the sea than me.” She paused. “We could lead quite separate lives, which would suit me admirably.”

Maddie nodded, not knowing what to say to that. The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed midnight. Suddenly, a wave of weariness washed over her. She just wanted to go to bed and put this troublesome day behind her.

“I wish you well, Sister,” she said, yawning discreetly behind her hand. “But if you do not mind, I think I need to go to sleep now.”

“Of course,” Augusta said, standing up. She walked over to Maddie, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. “Sleep well, dearest.”

After Augusta left the room, Maddie struggled out of her gown, hastily pulling on her nightgown. She hung the gown in the wardrobe, making sure it was straight. She didn’t want Jane to question anything about it. Her lady’s maid had an eagle eye.

She crawled into bed, pulling the covers high, trying not to think about the Duke and the kisses he had given her that day. Her body was still throbbing from them, but she knew she had made the right decision by pushing him away this evening. Who knows where it might have led? She had been alone with him in that building. Anything was possible.

Her breath caught in her throat. She knew she must put a stop to this dangerous game they were playing. She had let herself be swept away by it because she was so fatally attracted to him—but it must end. Not only because Augusta was seriously contemplating letting their mama lead her into marriage with the gentleman.

It was also because she had no idea how she could endure getting closer to him, letting him do the things on her list to her, when he clearly did not care to get to know her as a person at all.

Itwasall a big game to him. The Duke of Everly was peril. And that was the end of that.

Daniel walked into the drawing room in Stansgate Manor, gazing around, feeling intensely irritable. To his relief, Selina and his cousin Christopher were the only people in the room. His mother had gone out to call on some neighbors.

He walked to the drinks cabinet, pouring himself a generous amount of brandy. The family had been in residence at Stansgate for four long days. After the initial burst of pleasure at seeinghis old home again after so long, Daniel had felt cooped up and extremely bored. There wasn’t much to do at Stansgate besides walking, fishing, and shooting, in that order. And it wasn’t even hunting season. Although, he reflected, itwasgood to get away from all the simpering fools and dandies in London.

He took a long sip of the brandy. But leaving London had also meant leaving the delectable Lady Madeline and the delicious game they started to play. That was hard. Harder than he had imagined it would be.

He couldn’t stop thinking about her, and his body was literally aching for her. He really couldn’t remember when he had last been so consumed by lust for a woman.

“What the deuce is the matter with you, Daniel?” Christopher asked in a mild voice, watching him. “You have been walking around with a hangdog expression almost the entire time since we’ve been here.”

Daniel shrugged, distracted. “Brandy, Cousin?”

“Always,” Christopher said, grinning.

Daniel poured his cousin a drink, then topped up his own glass. He sat down, passing Chris his drink, before staring into the flickering flames of the fire, feeling disconsolate.

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