Leslie Lafoy Read Online Free

long as his mother draws breath.”
    “No one seems to think he’s that callous.”
    Of course he isn’t. Deep down, he has a very kind heart.
    “And no one thinks the dowager’s nice enough,” Carrie added, “to do her son the favor of slipping this mortal coil any time soon.”
    Fiona started. “Carrie! How could you say something so awful?”
    “Remember Lady Aubrey?”
    That wasn’t a kind comparison. “Yes. Not fondly, though.”
    “The Dowager Duchess Dunsford—say that fast three times—makes Lady Aubrey look like a sweet, doting grandmama.”
    “Thankfully,” Drayton added, “she’s following the Queen’s example and has gone into perpetual mourning. Society events have been much happier affairs since she’s been gone.”
    Well, that did explain a bit about the duke’s cool detachment. She remembered the time in her life when pretending that she hadn’t really been there had been the only defense against the unrelenting meanness.
    “So, Drayton, who is the favorite in the betting pools?”
    “Lady Edith Shreeves, Viscount Shaddock’s eldest daughter,” he supplied with a disbelieving shake of his head. “Shaddock’s become a preening idiot over the whole thing. He’s certain that Dunsford will be calling on him any day now to make the arrangements.”
    Caroline considered it all for a moment and then mulled aloud, “Not to be unkind, but … well, she’s not a very attractive young woman.”
    “Yes, but Shaddock’s plumped her dowry to the point of making it an impossible-to-ignore lure. Dunsford’s wealthy enough already, but even he can’t scoff at pedigree and money.”
    “Then he’d best be getting on with the negotiations for her,” Caroline countered. “His cousin was paying serious court this evening.”
    Drayton stared at his wife a long moment, his jaw sagging a bit. “Harry? Viscount Bettles?”
    “Yes, and do remember that Harry is the eldest and will be the marquis when his father passes.”
    “But he’s incredibly shallow.”
    He’s a perfect match for Edith. She’s shallow, too.
    “Please, Drayton,” Carrie replied. “Calling Harry shallow is like calling a dwarf short. But he is charming and handsome, and Lady Edith is in her third Season. And Dunsford hasn’t so much as cast a passing glance her way.”
    Drayton slowly smiled. “When did you become such an expert on peerage romance?”
    “Good God, Drayton,” Carrie replied, grinning. “Watching the goings-on is all there is to do at these affairs. There are only so many ways to prepare beef and fish and fowl and assorted vegetables for the table. The novelty of dining passed away years ago. The fashion sense of everyone can only be described as either rut-bound by convention or retarded by the absolute lack of creativity. Conversations outside of our family are … Well, they make Viscount Bettles seem deep and highly intellectual.”
    Fiona brightened. “I thought it was just me.”
    “No, it’s not,” her sister assured her. “I’m afraid that your prospects of finding an interesting man are abysmal, Fiona. I’m so sorry.”
    Well, she could find them, but there wasn’t any reason for them to find her. And that was an important distinction. One that she didn’t mind at all; it had saved her from having to risk hurting anyone’s feelings in turning down their marriage proposals. “Then you won’t mind if I sit out the rest of the Season?” she asked, hoping for the best and a moment of sisterly weakness.
    “I certainly can’t blame you for wanting to.”
    Well, that wasn’t exactly permission to escape. But it wasn’t an insistence on participation, either.
    Drayton softly cleared his throat. “Lord Randolph asked after your health this evening while we were gaming.”
    Randolph is a walking disaster. And beneath that is a pervert. “One of his horses must have come up lame,” Fiona ventured. “They’re the only things in the world he genuinely cares about.”
    “Well, as a