The Dissolute Duke. Sophia James

respect, which is interesting.’

      ‘Vigilance might be a more apt word!’ Unexpectedly he smiled at her, the green in his eyes relaxing into gold, and with the colour of his skin burnished into bronze by the outdoors and his dark hair so shortened, he looked … unmatched. Her brothers were handsome, but the Duke had some spark of incomparable beauty that set him apart from everyone else Lucinda had ever seen.

      The vapidity of her thoughts held her mute.

      ‘Frowning does not suit you as much as laughter does,’ he remarked.

      ‘Of late there has not been too much to be delighted by.’

      ‘I am sorry for that.’

      ‘Are you?’ Even amidst a crowd of family friends she could not leave the question unvoiced.

      She saw him glance around to check the nearness of those in his vicinity before he gave a reply.

      ‘I lived with lies all of my childhood, Duchess, and do not wish to encourage them. If you insist on such deception then that is your prerogative, but I will never understand it.’

      Both her new title and his unwarranted anger made Lucinda step back, the same scene she had remembered at the breakfast table a week ago replaying over and over in her head.

      His nakedness, the red wine, the feel of his warm skin against her own. The door locked and the key hidden. No opportunity to simply leave.

      ‘London is a haven for gossip, Duke, and because of your actions my name has been slandered from one edge of it to the other.’

      ‘A reputation lost for nothing, then.’

      Lucinda paled. Did he speak of her virginity in such scathing terms? She was glad her brothers were nowhere nearby to hear such an accusation.

      ‘For nothing?’ She could barely voice the question. ‘You are a reprobate, your Grace, of the highest order and the fate that flung us together at Alderworth will be regretted by me for the rest of my life. Bitterly.’ There was no longer any conciliation in her tone.

      He had the temerity to smile. ‘Then it is a shame you did not make full use of our evening together and understand the true benefits that uninhibited sensuality can bring. Better to have enjoyed a night in my bed learning all you needed to know about the art of love and regretted it, than repenting the “nothing” you have been crucified for.’

      Shocked, she turned on her heels and left him, not caring who saw her flee. He would castigate her for her poor performance in bed when she could recall none of it. Her blood rose to boiling and she hated her pronounced limp.

      ‘Are you feeling well, Lucinda?’ Emerald waylaid her before she had reached the door.

      ‘Very.’ Even to a beloved sister-in-law she couldn’t betray him entirely, a trait she did not understand at all.

      ‘Alderworth will be gone before the end of this week and you will never need to see him again.’

      The absurdity of such a statement suddenly hit her, the first glimpse of her life after today. Was she destined then to always be alone, marriage-less and childless? Would she now linger in the corner of society with those hapless spinsters who spoke of unrequited love or of no love at all? Not ruined, but blighted by her lack of adherence to the normal conventions and suffering because of it.

      The headache she had been cursed with all day bloomed with a fierce pain, blurring her vision. A migraine. She had had them badly ever since the accident.

      Understanding her malady, Emerald took her hand and led her from the room, the familiar flight of stairs to her childhood bedroom welcomed. A refuge. A place to hide.

      With care Emerald helped her undress and pulled down her hair till it fell about her waist, the heaviness of it causing her temples to throb harder.