Danelle Harmon by The Defiant One

Author:The Defiant One [One, The Defiant]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-05-22T00:24:15+00:00

Chapter 18

"Oh, bother," muttered Nerissa as the mud-splattered coach drew up outside de Montforte House just as it was growing dark. "There's Perry's mother, heading straight towards us. You'd think she was just waiting for us to get here, the way she's hurrying out of her house. That malicious gossip is the last person I feel like seeing."

Nerissa was tired and irritable. Charles and Gareth had arrived late the night before, and having left so early this morning none of them had got much sleep. Now, her brothers rode just outside the carriage, Lucien some distance ahead and mounted on his hellish black stallion, Armageddon. Charles, astride his steadfast military mount, Contender, flanked the coach, every so often conversing with Gareth, who was aboard his fleet Thoroughbred, Crusader.

Their wives, Juliet and Amy, shared the coach with Nerissa.

"You will excuse me if I don't feel like being sociable where she is concerned," Juliet muttered in her soft American accent, watching the plump harridan rushing across the square toward them. She'd had experiences — none of them pleasant — with Lady Brookhampton before, and Nerissa didn't blame her for disliking the woman who had so maligned Gareth, her husband.

"She's hailing Lucien," Amy remarked, looking out the window when Juliet would not. "She's curtsying to him. I can see her mouth going."

"I can imagine," said Juliet, acidly.

The coach came to a stop. Lucien rode his prancing, frothing stallion up to the window. "Good evening, ladies. Sorry to inconvenience you, but our neighbor has just invited herself in for tea." He gave one of his maddening smiles. "Shall we refuse her?"

"Yes," said Juliet, tightly.

"Yes," said Amy, noting Juliet's set face.

But Nerissa looked away. She didn't like Lady Brookhampton either, but, hoping that Perry would soon ask her to marry him, knew it wouldn't be wise to make an enemy of his mother. Sullenly, she asked, "What is she so excited about, anyhow?"

"What do you think she's so excited about? Andrew arrived late last night. She thinks he's running from some sort of trouble and wanted to be the first to let us know."

Nerissa let out her breath on an irritated sigh. "Oh, how I wish that woman would mind her own business for once. I don't suppose she mentioned whether or not he was alone, did she?

Lucien's expression gave away nothing. "She did not say."

"Then it seems we have no choice but to invite her in," Nerissa muttered. "Not that I want to, but —"

"But if you want to marry her son, you'd better stay in her good graces," finished Lucien.

Moments later, the men were giving their horses into the care of waiting grooms and handing the ladies down from the coach. As a group, they walked through the tall, spiky iron gates, Juliet coldly ignoring Lady Brookhampton, Amy distantly polite, and Nerissa feeling as though this was going to be a tial morning indeed.

The butler, Harris, met them in the house's marbled entrance foyer, bowing deeply to the duke, and then to the others.

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