The Seduction of an English Scoundrel Read Online Free Page B

affairs, the pension for his ailing aunts, and the countless charities his parents had supported.
    Not to mention the Boscastle clan—three hell-raising brothers; one sister who would dearly love to follow in their path; another in Scotland who had virtually disowned the family; and numerous cousins, including the missing Nigel, most of whom did not appear to have a sensible bone in their collective body. To be a Boscastle meant to ignore boundaries.
    Of course if anyone had told Grayson a year ago that he would have been viewing the world from his father’s eyes, and not from his usual moment-to-moment hedonism, he would have laughed himself silly.
    If this family were to survive, it would clearly be up to him. And in recent weeks, from murky emotional depths he did not care to explore, came the realization that his wretched family meant rather a lot to him. The double loss of his brother and father had brought this startling truth home. Still, responsibility sent a hell of a shock through a rake’s system.
    â€œWhat do we do then?” Heath asked, smiling fleetingly at an attractive young woman across the table.
    Grayson sat back in amusement. “Can you tear yourself away from the females long enough to be of service?”
    â€œMe? This from a man who had two past paramours waiting to pounce on him from their pews. But, yes.” Heath sobered, his dark blue eyes intent. “I shall help.”
    Grayson gave a nod. Only a handful of people knew of Heath’s involvement with British Intelligence during the war. Grayson himself did not know the details; nor would he pressure his brother to reveal what he had done. The point was that beneath Heath’s quiet charm and winning manner lay a quick intellect and almost frightening disregard for danger. Privately he wished to be a little more like his younger brother, calculating his every move instead of acting rashly and regretting it latter.
    â€œFind Nigel for me.”
    Heath finished his glass of punch. “Consider it done. And then what happens?”
    â€œThen we drag the repentant rat to the altar to finish this business. Take Devon with you if you like. It will keep him out of trouble.” Grayson cast a searching glance around the table; he’d just noticed that the two places reserved for his younger brothers were vacant. Drake had not returned after escorting the jilted bride home. “Where
is
Devon?”
    Heath adjusted his cuffs. “Gone off with some old friends he met in Covent Garden last week. They’ve got him looking for pirate treasure off Penzance. A gypsy fortune-teller saw it in her crystal ball.”
    â€œGod bless us,” Grayson said. “This family is going to hell in a handbasket.”
    â€œAnd you our exalted leader,” said the raven-haired Lady Chloe Boscastle, who had been sipping champagne the entire time from her nearby chair. “We only follow your example, dear brother.”
    Grayson released a sigh. The family was doomed if they followed his example. Yet he could not ignore the fact of
his
influence. What was he to do? Repent? Sin in secret? How long could a man pretend his actions did not affect others?
    Heaven help him, was he in serious danger of becoming a moral creature?
    Grayson glanced over his shoulder at the footman standing against the wall. Suddenly it seemed easier to ponder the sins of others than contemplate his own. Distraction would help deflect him from considering his own murky character. “Has my carriage returned yet, Weed?”
    â€œA few minutes ago, my lord.”
    â€œAnd how did our abandoned bride appear?”
    â€œEager to be inside the house, I am told, and begging to be left alone.”
    â€œShe held up remarkably well,” Heath said. “I do admire that.”
    Grayson tried to picture nondescript Nigel with the winsome young woman whose trust he had betrayed. It was difficult to imagine them together, oddly unsettling, in