Glowing in Gold: The Brothers Duke: Book Five by Felicia Greene

Author:Felicia Greene [Greene , Felicia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-11-09T18:00:00+00:00

The rumour swept through the streets surrounding Charles Weldon’s townhouse like wildfire on the night of the ball. Arriving guests, readying themselves to step out of the carriage into the cool evening air and divest themselves of their shawls and muffs, were instead met with flushed faces and excited whispers saying something shockingly interesting. Not only was Jane Selkirk, Margaret Duke’s odd friend, a guest at that evening’s ball–but she had also undergone an astonishing transformation.

‘It’s like something out of a fairy story.’ An elderly dowager swathed in a green shawl had escaped from the ballroom on the flimsiest of pretexts, and was happily describing the shock of it to her nieces as they waited to be announced. ‘You would never believe how she looks, my dears. As if someone has waved a wand over her.’

‘But why?’ One of the nieces looked curiously over the heads of the waiting guests. ‘It’s not as if she’s ever looked at all interested in marriage.’

‘Every woman is interested in marriage. The only difference is that some of them admit it.’ The dowager sniffed, rummaging in her reticule for a lorgnette. ‘And if Jane Selkirk has decided to be interested in finding a suitor, my dears, you had better begin improving your lists of accomplishments.’

‘Why?’ The younger of the nieces allowed herself the luxury of a titter. ‘She can hardly have changed her looks completely.’

‘Not completely, but enough. And why you two have comfortably trotted along on your looks, she has spent her fallow time becoming witty, intelligent and wilful. A potent combination.’ The dowager sighed. ‘I rather think she’ll make a massacre of the Season.’

Edward, somewhat fortunately, didn’t hear that particular conversation. Alas, that was where his luck ended. Trapped in his usual corner of the ballroom, gripping his glass of champagne so tightly that it was a wonder he hadn’t broken the stem, he was being forced to listen to every other conversation taking place that concerned Jane Selkirk.

The vast majority of speech was coming from the gentlemen around him. The tone of the compliments, complete with winks, sounds and gestures entirely inappropriate for a ballroom, had him ready to fight anyone within a hundred feet–even if, to his own shame, he knew that he’d been exactly as lasciviously complimentary about any number of women on previous occasions.

‘Christ, that shape! Have you seen her?’ A wag with black hair and bright brown eyes looked suggestively at his friends, who all laughed as if they’d heard the most interesting witticism in months. ‘Who knew she’d been hiding that under those bloody awful clothes?’

‘She looks like something you’d find in Covent Garden. Not the filthy ones, either–the ones you pay through the nose for, and are glad for having done so.’ An older gentleman watched the excited hubbub of men and women in the far corner of the room. ‘Not that we can see her now.’

‘We won’t be able to get a look at her for the rest of the night. We’ll all have to be at Hyde Park tomorrow morning, pretending to give our horses exercise.

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