Lord Libertine. Gail Ranstrom

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      The younger one answered with a flirtatious smile. “Bella thought we could use the outing. I vow, I feel better already.”

      Bella? Ah, so Lady Lace was actually “Bella.” Was that a pet name, shortened from a longer name, or her actual given name? Her dark brows drew together as she shot the younger girl a quelling look.

      Jamie glanced around at their surroundings. “Fresh air is good for the constitution, I am told.”

      “Do you walk here often?” Charlie asked the taller one.

      She shot a sideways glance at “Bella.” “Not as often as we wish, sir. But we make do.”

      Jamie fiddled with the rim of his hat. “If the exercise is too demanding for you, I’d be happy to make a loan of my cabriolet.”

      Andrew frowned. That was going a little too far for a covey of women whose names they still didn’t know. And that fact was still the most disconcerting of all. He glanced pointedly at “Bella.”

      “We have been gone overlong, Mr. Hunter. I am certain you will excuse us. We really must be getting back.”

      “May we escort you?” Though he knew she’d refuse, just as she’d refused to introduce her companions, he asked just to annoy her. She really was lovely when she had her ire up. Ah, and there it was, the deepening flush tinting her cheeks with indignation.

      “No!” She paused and took a deep breath. “I mean, thank you, but no. It is not far and we would not want to interrupt your ride.”

      He’d almost forgotten the horses. “Perhaps we shall meet again,” he said. “Soon.”

      Her eyes widened and she glanced at her companions once more, then pushed them ahead of her with a hand on the small of the younger girl’s back.

      They watched the ladies’ departure, appreciating the sway of their skirts as they hustled away.

      Dash was the first to speak, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth as he glanced skyward. “I say! Is it snowing? I feel a decided chill.”

      “Gads!” Charlie glanced at their departing backs and then at Drew. “She appears not to like you much.’ Tis one thing to cut you, and another to cut the rest of us.”

      Jamie chuckled. “There you have it—the very reason we should learn manners, Charlie. We never want a beautiful woman finding us unworthy of a common introduction. Or judging our companions by our own bad behavior.”

      Despite their words, Andrew’s companions burst out laughing at his discomfort. Bella would pay for this. Oh, so sweetly.

      Dash glanced between Bella’s stiff back and Andrew’s own bemusement. “What did you do to her, Drew?”

      “Nothing,” he said. “Yet.”

      Chapter Five

      Bella tightened the laces at the top of her chemise and tucked the strings into her bodice. “Keeping Mama and Lilly occupied is more important than you can know, Gina. But if there is ever anything I cannot handle alone, I swear I shall enlist you. I swear it.”

      Gina frowned, suspicion narrowing her eyes. “See that you do, or I shall take matters into my own hands.”

      “Just what do you think I am keeping from you?” She smoothed the fabric of her gown over her hips.

      “Many things, Bella. For instance, who was that man today? The one you addressed as Mr. Hunter, who attempted the introductions? Surely you have not forgotten such a handsome man?”

      How much could she tell her sister without inciting her horror? “How could I introduce you without giving myself away to Lilly? And no one knows me by my name.”

      “Really?” Gina tilted her head to one side. “What do they call you, then?”

      “Lady Lace.” She tried not to notice Gina’s giggling as she stuffed a handkerchief in her reticule. “And I am not altogether certain Mr. Hunter is the sort of man one ought to introduce to one’s sisters.”

      “I gathered as much,” Gina said. “But I think I would not care. He is far too handsome. And the others, as well.”

      The slightly stubborn jut to Gina’s chin warned her that her sister would need better answers. Which of the Hunter brothers did she have her eye on? Or was it Lord Humphries? She supposed it did not matter—any of them could break her heart.

      “Why are you hiding your name, Bella? I thought you did not give a whit for your reputation now that Cora is dead.”

      “I do not care in the least, but I thought it better if no one knew where to find me. The last thing I want is for Mama to get word of what I’m doing. How ghastly it would be to have some man turn up on our doorstep asking for an audience.”

      Gina sank onto the bed in feigned distress. “Oh! That would be dreadful, indeed. Awful even under the best circumstances. Mama is enough to frighten all but the most ardent suitors away.”

      She smiled at Gina’s teasing. “And anyway, Gina, when we return to Belfast and our mourning ends, there is still a chance that you and Lilly will find husbands among the gentry.”

      “You, too, Bella.”

      “That is quite impossible. My face is now known in London. How could I tell my future husband that he could never take me beyond Belfast lest I be recognized as a…a…” She shrugged and gave a self-deprecating laugh as she pinched her cheeks to bring her color up. “I am not blameless. I have now kissed more men than any collective dozen of my friends.”

      “As to that, Bella, was Mr. Hunter—the one who spoke to you—one of the men you kissed?”

      Heat crept into her cheeks and she busied herself with fastening a jet necklace around her throat. “Really, Gina! I do not see what difference that would make.”

      “Well, if you are not keeping track, someone should.”

      “Yes, then. Which is all the more reason I wish to keep you and Lilly away.”

      “Was he that dreadful?”

      No! Lord, no. In point of fact, he’d been the best of the lot. “I fear that he would think you and Lilly are likewise…loose. He could have reason enough to believe that, since we were together. Would you really want to defend yourself against an ardent swain?”

      “Yes, if he looked like Lord Humphries or any of the Hunter brothers. I am assuming, of course, that you have cleared them of any suspicion of having killed our Cora.”

      “I, ah, of that group, I have only kissed Mr. Andrew Hunter.”

      “And you have acquitted him?”

      “Not entirely.”

      Gina tilted her head to one side. “Not entirely? But how is that possible?”

      “I…it was rather sudden and he turned away immediately СКАЧАТЬ