The Duchess Diaries: The Bridal Pleasures Series Read Online Free

have threatened to bring her old beau to London if she isn’t engaged before the end of the season. No one wants to watch her slip into a lonely life.”
    “Charlotte won’t marry her old beau.”
    Jane stared at Harriet’s profile. “How do you know?”
    Harriet shrugged a white shoulder. “Just a guess.”
    “Has she ever mentioned anyone else?” Jane asked thoughtfully.
    “To me?”
    “No, Harriet, to Napoleon Bonaparte. Do not pretend coyness.”
    Harriet shrugged. “Fine.”
    “Then—”
    “If she has mentioned anyone, I don’t remember who it was.”
    “Ah.” Jane’s lips curved with satisfaction. “You can trust me, Harriet. However, I do not wish you to betray a secret.”
    Harriet leaned over the wrought-iron railing. “Who’s that handsome fellow talking to Devon down by the hall to the conservatory?”
    Jane raised her brow. “Should I care?”
    “You might. Or might not.”
    Jane peered through the glittering brightness of the chandeliers to the two darkly clad men engrossed in conversation. “I think— Oh,
dear
. That’s the Duke of Wynfield. He and Devon are Kit’s fencing students. Do you suppose…”
    Harriet pressed her lips together. It was a good thing she hadn’t taken another glass of champagne. She was dying to tell Jane about Charlotte’s secret attraction to the duke. But she’d promised that she wouldn’t, which was a shame. Jane was a powerful ally, and she would do anything for family.
    “He’s a widow,” Jane mused, caressing the diamond pendant at her throat. “His wife died of cancer a year orso after she had a child. At least, I believe that’s what happened.”
    Harriet’s brow creased in thought. “His father died two years ago. The duke apparently went into a moral decline after he inherited.”
    Jane sighed. “I suppose that is how some men grieve.”
    “It’s also how some men celebrate,” Harriet said. “He doesn’t look especially mournful tonight, does he?”
    “No.” Jane straightened her shoulders as if to shake off the mantle of sadness that had enshrouded them. “Still, we cannot see into his heart. No one in London has ever seen his child, either. However if he has a daughter who’s been introduced at court, I haven’t read about her in the papers. How long ago did his wife die?”
    “Perhaps four or five years. But that’s only a guess.”
    “His daughter would be too young for social introductions. I can only hope that— Well, it isn’t my place to wonder. The duke was young to have married and lost his wife.”
    “Is he the rake that everyone thinks he is?”
    Jane narrowed her eyes in contemplation. “I rely on Weed for all my fashion news and gossip. And he said—” Jane broke off, leaving Harriet in suspense. Weed was the senior footman in the house and the most beloved if formidable servant in the family. “I think he told me that the duke was about to enter negotiations for a mistress from Mrs. Watson’s. I don’t think this is mere speculation.”
    “I hoped it was only a rumor,” Harriet said. “Who invited him?”
    “Grayson, of course,” Jane replied.
    “Charlotte would be appalled if she knew.”
    Harriet felt Jane staring at her. “Yes. I’m sure she would.”
    “It’s amazing to me, Harriet, to look at you and remember what a colorful life you lived.”
    “But nothing that compares to yours,” Harriet said glibly.
    “I’m not sure about that,” Jane said. “I have always stayed inside aristocratic circles. No, that isn’t true. I strayed a few times into the half-world on my husband’s account. But you have moved through every segment of society.”
    “Yes, that’s true.”
    Harriet glanced down at the throng of guests. She had already said far more than she meant to, and Jane was anything but dense. In fact, Jane’s mind tended to devious schemes, the most wicked of which had ended with her marrying the marquess. If Harriet wasn’t careful, Jane would soon charm her into confessing