A Queen of Hearts for the Duke by Lisa Campell

Author:Lisa Campell
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2020-08-05T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

V erity stared at the outside of Gladstone Manor, aware that the doorman was waiting for her expectantly, the interior of the house dark and ominous against the bright sunshine of the June day outside. She had deliberately worn the most beautiful day dress she owned; a soft pink silk gown with a lace and organza overlay that made the fabric look like it was drifting with gentle cream and white flowers. There was a chance that she might see Jack on this errand, and since she was coming to beg Christian for his hand in marriage, she at least wanted to look worthy of him.

She had spent all night packing her luggage, silently formulating a plan. Verity knew this meeting could only go one of two ways: Either Christian would say yes, and she would demand that for the duration of their engagement she would immediately relocate to one of the Gladstone estates outside of London, safely tucked away from Martina’s reach and the sight of Jack and Daniella, or Christian would say no, and Verity would immediately retreat to Devon and prepare for Martina’s inevitable backlash. Either way, Verity was determined not to spend another night under the same room as Martina, even if it meant sacrificing her own home, her own happiness, and her one true love. She shifted the pastel pink sash under her bust, patted her curls to make sure they were in place and squared her shoulders.

“Unto the breach,” she said to herself quietly, before walking daintily up the stone steps.

“Lady Huxley!” The Duchess happened to be supervising an arrangement of flowers in the entrance hall and looked at Verity with surprise. “How lovely to see you!”

“You also, Duchess.” Verity sunk into a respectful curtsey. “I have an appointment with Lord Gladstone.”

“Oh, Christian is in the study.” The Duchess smiled gently. “Let me call for him, I can arrange for the four of us to take tea.”

“Four of us?”

“Jack is out on the estate, but he will be back shortly.”

“No, if you please, Duchess, I shall just have a quiet word with Christian.” Verity’s heart had thumped painfully at the idea of sitting for tea with Jack and his mother. “Please excuse me.”

“Of course,” the Duchess murmured, her eyes tracking Verity as she followed a servant down the corridor to Christian’s study.

“Enter!” Christian called through the heavy oak door. The servant held the door open for Verity and she strode in.

“Verity!” Christian looked up from his work in surprise, glancing over the rim of the spectacles he wore when studying for long hours. “Was I expecting you?”

“I don’t think so.”

Verity walked into the room, taking in the decor. She had never spent time in the study of the Gladstone Manor. Before the late Duke of Sussex had passed, the study had been his domain, but Verity could see that the room suited Christian. It was lined with many, beautiful bookshelves full of leather-bound volumes and dominated by a gargantuan mahogany desk that Christian now sat behind.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.