That Wicked Harlot (A Steamy Regency Romance Collection Book 2) by Georgette Brown

Author:Georgette Brown [Brown, Georgette]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2017-05-07T16:00:00+00:00

*****

“Diana Worthley must be mad as Bedlam bringing that wicked harlot here!” exclaimed Anne Barrington to her nephew.

She had dragged her daughter, Juliana, a young woman who had had her come out the year before, the length of the ballroom to make her displeasure known to Radcliff.

Radcliff had arrived late and missed the dinner, but the topic on everyone’s tongue for hours seemed to be Miss Sherwood. Having just returned from Sussex but a few hours earlier, he had had little desire to attend the ball, and only his friendship with Lord Pinkerton obligated him. He had contemplated making a brief stop at Mrs. T’s to see Darcy, never imagining that she would be here.

“I knew Diana to indulge that grand-nephew of hers,” Anne went on. “You know what they say of him.”

“The Viscount Wyndham?” asked Juliana. “He is most flawlessly dressed!”

“Juliana! Never you mind that one. Future Earl or not, I would never choose to invite him.” Anne turned to Radcliff. “What devilry do you think that hussy is about?”

Glancing toward the center of the ballroom where Miss Sherwood was being twirled about by Rutgers, Radcliff replied in a bored tone, “At the moment, dancing.”

“She means to insult us further!”

Following her uncle’s gaze, Juliana thought aloud, “She looks quite regal.”

Radcliff had to agree with Juliana. He had always found that Darcy carried herself with a dignity he had initially interpreted as aloofness, but tonight, perhaps in defiance to all those who would shun her, she walked with an aura of majesty as if she, and not the others, deserved to be here. Only once or twice did he glimpse uncertainty in her eyes.

The first instance was when she faltered in the quadrille. He had noticed no one dared approach her for the first few dance sets and had been tempted himself to ask her for a dance. But he wanted to observe her from afar and determine what her motivation might have been in coming. Was there truth to Anne’s concerns?

It was Lord Pinkerton who shocked his guests and paved the way by being the first to ask Darcy for a dance. Darcy had appeared content to simply watch the others dance, but she clearly could not refuse the host. Others followed with their requests.

She was not the best of dancers, Radcliff noticed, and looked, at times, painfully out of practice. The waltz was the worse. She and her partner had to make their way to the outskirts of the masses flying by to collect their footing and regain their position in time to the music. Nonetheless, she remained throughout her movements, as Juliana noted, regal.

Regal and provocative. Radcliff did not doubt that half the cocks in the room must have stirred upon seeing her. Even from halfway across the room, he could tell that the outline of her nipples were made visible by the way her dress—she might as well have been naked given the lightness of the material—clung to the contours of her body. His first impulse had been to approach her and cover her with his coat.

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