Page 6 of A Duchess Bound
How lovely it would be if those passions were directed towards him! The dance began.
Gerard put one hand on Lady Bridget’s waist. With his other hand, he held hers. “Thank you for the dance,” he said.
“It is my honor, Your Grace.”
“I am pleased to hear that.”
As they moved through the first steps of the waltz, he fought to keep his gaze on Lady Bridget’s face. There was no reason for him to look away, for she was an unquestionably beautiful lady, but Gerard found his attention wandering.
He wanted to look at Lady Dorothy. He wanted to see that lovely face pinched in anger and the blue eyes alight with fury.
“Your sister is rather protective of you,” he said.
“Indeed, she is,” Lady Bridget said. “But that is unsurprising.”
“Of course. Any sister would be protective of a beautiful, young lady like you.”
Lady Bridget gazed at him shyly from beneath her eyelashes. The dance brought them apart and together again.
“She is more protective than most,” she said. “After our parents died, Dorothy devoted her life to taking care of us. Misfortune has forced her to be mother and sister both to me.”
Gerard nodded sympathetically. He softened just a little. Although it had been a long time ago, he still recalled the devastation of his mother’s death and the weight of the grief left by her absence.
“I see,” he said.
It was admirable that Lady Dorothy would care so much for her sister, but he wondered who had been there to take care ofher. Certainly, it was not the Duke of Reeds; he was known for being a soft-hearted man, and Gerard did not imagine that he had done much to rule over his sisters as he ought.
They spun. Gerard caught sight of billowing gowns, tailored suits, and?—
There was Lady Dorothy, her brother beside her, whispering into her ear. Was he the topic of conversation?
“Are you really a rake?” Lady Bridget asked.
Only a truly innocent lady would ask.
“Some have said so,” he replied. “Those rumors are grossly exaggerated, though.”
Lies. Hewasunquestionably a rake.
Was Lady Dorothy conspiring to free her sister from his grasp? Perhaps, she would offer herself to dance next. Heat flared in his core.
“I thought as much,” Lady Bridget said, sounding uncertain.
They spun again. He was prepared and fixed his gaze on the spot where Lady Dorothy had been just seconds earlier. The spinster turned away, leaving her brother. It was obvious that she was walking towards the balcony, intent on getting some air.
If he was fortunate, she might be alone. Gerard’s lips curled into a smile.
“Do not worry, my lady,” he said to Lady Bridget. “I have no ill intentions towards you.”
CHAPTER 3
The night air was cool against Dorothy’s skin, but it did little to calm the fire leaping inside her. His Grace was an incomparable rake, and he had already chosen her young, innocent sister as the next target of his fickle affection!
Worse, Bridget had chosen to indulge him. Dorothy knew why she had, of course. The Duke of Greenway was adukeand a powerful man. It was better to appease than to defy him. Still, Dorothy wished that her sister had not agreed. The man was likely to interpret compliance as attraction, and he was utterly shameless. He would let Bridget be ruined and not feel an ounce of guilt.
“A worse man might be offended.” A man’s dark, sly voice drifted through the air, breaking the silence of the night. “Don’t you agree?”
She whirled around. The gardens had been dark and empty, save for herself, but a new figure had appeared. She discerned theform of a tall, fit man. It took her only a heartbeat to identify His Grace, the very object of her frustration.
