Page 1 of The Duke Who Dared Me
PROLOGUE
Warwick Cottage,Kent
1816
Some girls collect dolls.Others collect enemies.Miss Verity Baxter has always preferred the latter, especially if they answer to “Your Grace.”
- The Polite Observer
Her favorite miniatures,shattered.
Verity threw her head back and screamed, then stomped for good measure.First, he had eaten all the fresh strawberries this morning at breakfast, then let the kittens escape the kitchen, and now…
Shards of porcelain were scattered across the carpet, all too small to ever be repaired.
Miss Haverington rushed through the doorway, clutching the sage green woodwork as she struggled for air.
“Goodness child, whatever is the matter?”
Child?Verity was fifteen, only a few years away from making her debut into London society.She waved between the governess and the rubble on the floor.
The woman clasped a hand to her chest and blew out a frustrated breath.
“I apologize for interrupting your nap.”Verity clenched her hands as anger bubbled up within her.“The boys were wrestling again and knocked over my collection.”
“Miss Verity, there is no need to cause a fuss.That’s no way for a young lady to behave.”
“I wasn’t the one wrestling.”
“I was referring to the screaming and stomping.”
Ah, there it was.Verity was always expected to be quiet and well-behaved, while the boys could run around and do as they pleased.In her next life, she insisted on living life as a man.
“I felt it warranted.”
“I understand now why you’ve had nearly eight governesses in your short life.”
Verity shrugged.Being unlovable wasn’t new to her.Her parents were constantly in Town for one ball or another, and in the summer, they attended a string of house parties across the English countryside.Verity and her brother were left to their own devices in the Kent countryside.And now, he’d returned from Eton with a few of his classmates.
“They escaped into the garden,” she continued.“If you’d like to have a word with them.”
“A word with whom?”
She rolled her eyes.She doubted the governess knew she was awake most days, but it did make it convenient because Verity was mostly left alone to do as she pleased.
“The boys, Miss Haverington.You are responsible for multiple children.If you are not up to your post, I will seek a replacement.”
“You’ll do no such thing.You’re a child.”
“Apparently.”
She spun on her heel and pushed through the drawing room doors as light poured in from the tall south-facing windows.
Warwick Cottage wasn’t a humble country abode, but a hulking house decorated in the French style, with gold covering nearly everything.Her parents loved to entertain, and the house was often a favorite among the London set for house parties.
It never felt like home to her, though.Everything was too…pretty.As with much of her life, it was all for appearance’s sake.And though the governess insisted Verity was still a child, she knew that soon she would be in the same position: dressed up and paraded about to capture the attention of wealthy men.It wasn’t a secret to Verity that she was beautiful.It was a point of pride for her parents.But for Verity, it only drew unwanted attention and spurred a rebellion deep within that she couldn’t shake.
If the governess did not bring order to Warwick Cottage, then she would.
