The Lady's Last Mistake: A Bow Street Duchess Romance (Bow Street Duchess Mystery Series) by Cara Devlin

Author:Cara Devlin [Devlin, Cara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: First Cup Press
Published: 2024-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Fifteen

At just two years old, Miss Catherine Neatham outshone all the finely turned-out ladies inside Hyde Park, firmly placing herself as the center of all envy and attention. She gripped the sides of her father’s face as she rode his shoulders, calling out a giggly “Hello!” to everyone walking by on the Serpentine path. Almost everyone said hello in return before nodding or bowing their heads toward the Viscount and Viscountess Neatham.

“You look deranged, you know,” Grant said as he walked alongside his friend. “Like you’ve allowed Basil to purchase you a chubby little adornment for your hat. Or perhaps for your collar.”

“Basil would never select anything that produces this much spit,” Hugh replied. His valet was notoriously fussy about the viscount’s clothing.

“She’s going to topple off if you don’t hold her legs,” Sir admonished as he strode along Hugh’s other side.

The young man was exceedingly protective of Cat, and Grant presumed it was because he saw her as an additional baby sister. He already had three of his own, the young girls all living with their mother in the country, on Hugh’s estate.

“I am holding her ankles,” Hugh replied. “She isn’t toppling anywhere.”

Sir made a doubtful snorting sound.

“Are those the gentlemanly noises they’re teaching you to make at Charterhouse these days?” Hugh asked, smirking over at the young man.

Sir, whose name was in truth Davy Givens, had started working for Hugh as his errand boy of sorts when Hugh had still been with Bow Street. He’d been a scrappy, smelly street urchin back then. Now, at about age fifteen, he was nearly as tall as Hugh, filling out with some muscle, and dressing like any one of the young gentlemen in Town. He attended a boarding school for boys in Surrey but was on a short break for the holidays and had come to London with Hugh, Audrey, and Cat.

Sir had come a long way in just a handful of years, and all because Hugh had taken him in as a ward. However, Grant suspected Sir was much more to Hugh than that. He was like a son, and Sir saw Hugh as a father.

“Leave Sir alone,” Audrey called from where she walked a few strides ahead. “He only has Cat’s best interests in mind.”

Walking next to the viscountess, Cassie kept her attention trained on the pewter water in the Serpentine. She’d sent a note earlier in the day to say she would meet him at Hyde Park at the fashionable hour, and that she would bring Audrey and Hugh. She’d held to her plan and had been with the viscount and viscountess, as well as Sir and Cat, at the entrance to the park. However, she hadn’t met Grant’s eyes more than a few times.

It was for the best, even if her avoidance of him since starting on their stroll was sinking his stomach with every additional step. The previous day, he’d been irate when her note had arrived at Thornton House, warning him of her near to midnight visit.

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.