Letter From a Rake: Destiny Romance by Sasha Cottman Page A

friend were. She could understand why the simpering misses would avoid Lucy, despite her connections.
    ‘Thank you, Your Grace. I knew I liked Lucy the moment I met her,’ she replied. Then, turning to Lucy, she held out her hand. ‘You seem to like a lot of things that I would not expect a duke’s daughter to be interested in. You have not once mentioned fashion, or which of the young gentlemen you think is the most handsome man in London. In fact, come to think of it, you sound just like me, only you speak faster.’
    Lucy flipped up a stone at her feet and kicked it under the carriage.
    ‘I would bet a week’s worth of pin money that you know all the oceans and seas and could point them out on a map with your eyes closed. Though I think I could give you a run for your money when it comes to the Scandinavian fjords,’ Millie said.
    Lucy laughed.
    ‘Millie, I do like clothes and hats, it’s just that I want to talk about other things. I like jewels, but I want to know where they came from and how they were formed, not just look at them and think they are pretty. I know, for instance, that sapphires come from India and I was hoping you might tell me about them,’ Lucy replied.
    The duchess put a hand to her lips and gave a delicate cough.
    Lucy’s gaze settled on the jewel in Millie’s nose, before she turned away and gave Alex a quick look. He smiled at his sister.
    What a coincidence that the man who likes blue would just happen to have a sister who mentioned sapphires.
    Millie smelled a rat, but she was not going to spoil the mood. Lucy appeared to be happy. Charles and David were both smiling, as was the duchess. As for Lord Brooke, well, he kept mumbling something under his breath, but he was also smiling.
    Even Great Aunt Maude, sitting wrapped up in thick woollen blankets to ward off the cold, was smiling.
    ‘Since you are well again, Miss Ashton, I shall send a note around to your mother inviting you both to an early afternoon visit at our home tomorrow. I did not get much of an opportunity to catch up with Violet when we attended the party, and I have been most anxious for us to become reacquainted. We were both debutantes in the same year, and she was a good friend of my late sister’s.’
    The duchess gave a nod of her head towards David, who briefly touched his fingers to his heart.
    ‘Now Lucy, I think you should come home with me and get a cold compress for your face. We have dinner with the bishop at Fulham Palace this evening and you do not want to be arriving with puffy eyes. I am certain Miss Ashton’s brother will not keep her long in the chilly climes of the park, as she has been unwell.’
    Whether the duchess’s last comment was an observation or a direction, Millie was unsure. Lucy did as her mother bade and climbed up into the carriage, taking the seat next to her elderly aunt. She gave them a half-wave as the carriage lurched forward and they drew away from the group.
    With Lucy out of the way, Charles and David wasted no time in addressing the real reason for their visit to the park. As the Strathmore carriage rolled away, they spotted a spanking new phaeton at the end of the line of carriages. Making hurried promises to return as soon as they could, Charles and David dashed off to take a closer look.
    ‘They are not even attempting to be subtle,’ Alex observed.
    ‘No,’ Millie replied.
    ‘Unfortunately, since they have left us with no chaperone, we cannot stray too far from here. We will have to be content to walk the length of the driveway and try to avoid badly driven vehicles.’
    He took her hand, but rather than place it in the crook of his arm, Lord Brooke simply held it as they began to walk. She did not know if it was a deliberate solecism on his part, but she found it odd; it was almost as if he were attempting a public display of ownership.
    ‘You must realise that today’s meeting was prearranged,’ he said, without looking at her. ‘I asked your brother to bring