Page 88 of Rules for Heiresses
“It’s much too early for spirits,” the dowager put in. “But a splash of brandy in the tea would not go amiss.”
After the tea had been refreshed and a small amount of brandy added, Ravenna sipped the warm liquid, hoping it would settle her nerves. She had no idea why she was so on edge, but her instincts had kept her safe from danger while crossing the Atlantic on a ship full of men, and she’d learned not to ignore them.
“I don’t like this,” she muttered to herself, peering past the drapes to the streets below.
“Exactly what do you think is going to happen?” the dowager asked. “Parliament is the most boring place known to man. A bunch of men in wigs and robes declaring the size of their egos and phalluses, and pretending they have all the answers to the problems in the world.”
Ravenna gaped. “Mama!”
“What? It’s true.”
“That’s beyond the pale for you,” Ravenna said. “You don’t speak about men’s… Goodness, I cannot even utter such a vulgar thing in your presence.”
“I never took you for a prude, dressing in men’s clothing and gallivanting everywhere. You know, Lady Holding told me an interesting story of when she first saw you with Ashvale and your compromising…situation.”
Ravenna’s face went hot with mortification. Oh, no, she didn’t. “Lady Holding was undoubtedly confused about whatever she thought she saw. It was quite a commotion. And I am not a prude, Mama, but this isyouwe’re talking about.”
Hiding an uncharacteristic grin, the dowager waved a hand. “How do you think I had four children? By miraculous conception? I’ll have you know, your father—”
Hot-cheeked, Ravenna let out a choked noise and lifted a palm, stalling her midsentence. “I donotwant to know about your bedroom life, Mama.”
“Are you sufficiently distracted then?”
Oh.She had to laugh at her mother’s tactics. “That was rather unconventional, but yes. I suppose I should thank you for putting those images in my head instead.”
Ravenna was still shaking her head in smiling disbelief when a loudpopechoed outside, and at the same time the glass pane above her head shattered. Her mother’s scream was all Ravenna heard before she hit the floor in a flurry of skirts. She knew what that noise was all too well and what it meant. She’d heard many a discharged pistol on the high seas for it to be any coincidence.
“Mama, get down! Fuller!”
Pure instinct taking over, Ravenna crawled over to where her ashen mother was covering her ears, her eyes wide with fright, and gathered her into her arms. She moved them both behind the sofa just as the butler skidded to their sides. “What was that?” Fuller asked.
“Nothing good,” Ravenna said, her heart racing as she eyed the broken window. That lead ball had come much too close to her head for comfort, and whoever had shot it would want to make sure that the bullet had reached its target. There was a chance it could have been an accident, but Ravenna didn’t put much stock in coincidence. “Are Papa’s pistols still in the study?” she asked Fuller. When he nodded, she drew a breath. “Good, fetch them, and then gather the biggest footmen and get the duchess to safety. We should get the rest of the servants through the back as soon as possible.”
But before the butler could move to do her bidding, the front door burst open, and the last man she’d expected to see sauntered in without a care in the world. Her stomach dropped.Sommers.“Come out, come out, little bird. I know you’re here. Don’t make this worse. I wouldn’t want anyone else to get hurt. It’s you I’m here for.”
Damn and blast.
Fuller shook his head in warning, but Ravenna gritted her teeth. There was no choice here. The man was deranged enough to shoot through a window in the middle of Mayfair. Slowly, she stood. “Fine, I’m here. Don’t hurt anyone.”
Sommers stood there, his clothing mussed and dirty as though he’d been hiding in a hole down by the wharves, but his eyes glinted with triumph, the pistol pointed directly at her. “There you are, darlin’.” His beady eyes found Fuller’s as he lifted the pistol in warning. “One move and I’ll shoot her, understand?”
“What do you want with me?” she asked, slipping her hand unobtrusively into her pocket.
“You’re my ticket out of here,” he said. His smile widened. “And besides, I heard a rumor from the desk staff at my hotel that a sweet little redhead was claiming to be my wife. I didn’t think you had it in you, little duchess.”
“So you tried to shoot me?” Ravenna’s fingers worked furiously and furtively. The reticule’s drawstring was proving to be a problem with one hand, but she wouldn’t give up. Not now and never to a man like him. She’d fight with her bare hands if she had to.
He laughed. “I admit my aim was off. That would have ruined my plans, but I suppose the dowager would have done in a pinch.” He scrunched up his nose. “Though I don’t favor saggy flesh.”
“You’re a pig,” Ravenna growled. “You won’t get away with this.”
“I will. Now, walk over here like a good girl. No one’s coming to save you. Your husband and all his friends are locked away behind closed doors.”
Bloody hell, the deuced knot was hopelessly tangled. Perhaps she could get close enough to bludgeon him with the reticule and distract him enough so the others could get to safety. She sent a reassuring glance to the butler, and then to the footmen she could see hovering in the hallway. She only hoped they would leave. Sommers could have more than one gun on him. Ravenna sucked in a breath and closed the distance between them. Her nerves had ceased their noise; the only thing in her head was a sense of quiet calm.
“You’re right, but you’re forgetting one thing, Sommers.”
“What’s that, darlin’?” he asked with an oily grin when she was a few feet away.
