The Unintended Bride Read Online Free Page B

him, so that she pulled back and examined his expression carefully. "You have not come for some terrible reason, have you? Your grandmother is not ill, is she? You look healthy enough yourself."
    He shook his head quickly. "No, no. All is well. Grandmama is here in London, bringing out the daughter of a friend, and I have no reason to believe she is suffering any ill health at all. I have come on business. It was unexpected, or I would certainly have given you more notice."
    "No matter, you are welcome anytime, as I hope you know. You are, after all, Simon's heir." She said it confidently, as if the fact did not give her any pain.
    Arthur's stomach twisted. He did not want to be duke. Miranda knew that. But she also knew that he was next in line for as long as she and Simon failed to produce a son, and she was determined not to let him forget it.
    At first, after his cousin's marriage, he had been vocal about his hope that the two of them would soon have many children — and many sons. But as the years had passed with not a hint of a coming child, he had no longer dared speak of it directly.
    She hid her sadness well, but it was still there for him to see, even now. Such things must prick a woman's pride awfully. "No doubt ten years from now, we shall both laugh to think of me as duke."
    "Perhaps we will." She smiled at him, and then glanced at Hero. He watched her expression shift as she realized that the two of them were the only ones in the room. "Where is Juliet?"
    "She went driving with Lord Wyndham. Just now." Hero answered the questions nervously, her palms flattening her skirts at the hip. "She was barely out of the room before you arrived, Miranda. Though I confess I did not think she would go with him, considering how late he was. What a dandy that man is."
    Miranda looked hopeful. "Perhaps he has truly captured her affections, then?"
    Hero chuckled. "I doubt it. I think that Cousin Arthur was more likely the cause of her suddenly agreeable nature."
    "Oh?" Miranda looked puzzled.
    "He told Wyndham that Juliet had been eagerly awaiting his arrival."
    Miranda smiled, and scolded him gently, "How bad of you, Arthur. You know she will not be pleased with you for that."
    Arthur could not help an answering smile. "You should have seen Wyndham, though, my dear cousin. He was pleased as could be."
    "Still, as penance, and to make amends for dropping in unexpectedly, I hope you will agree to leave your dusty books and escort us tonight to the Framingham's for a late supper and a little dancing, as Simon is otherwise occupied?" Miranda's eyes twinkled with mischief, but she was no doubt blissfully unaware of exactly how disastrous her invitation was for him.
    Arthur did his best to hide the dread that gripped him at her teasing invitation. It was obvious Miranda knew his first inclination was to offer a polite refusal. But she had made that nearly impossible for him to do without seeming churlish.
    Accompanying them would most assuredly mean he would cross paths with Gwen Delagrace. Not to mention his grandmother. "I would be delighted," he lied, with a courtly bow to both ladies. A small part of him hoped that he would find an adequate reason to excuse himself before the time came. The part of him that wasn't imagining what it would be like to taste Hero's sweet lips and thinking of the chance to dance with her.

CHAPTER THREE
    With a smile as genuine as he could contrive, he watched as the duchess and her sisters came down the stairs in their finery. Hero's hair gleamed like fine mahogany in the light. The pink hue of her gown enhanced the pale cream of her skin. Too much skin, in his opinion. The fashion — which Miranda and Juliet wore also — was much too revealing in the bosom for his comfort. He had to force himself to look away from the gentle swell of her breasts, to push away thoughts of what it would be like to kiss her slender neck, and trail kisses down to that swell.
    To his relief, they donned their wraps, so