A Duchess to Remember by Christina Brooke

Author:Christina Brooke [Brooke, Christina]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Historical, Romance
ISBN: 9780312534141
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2012-06-26T00:00:00+00:00

4/28/12 11:06 AM

A D U C H E S S T O R E M E M B E R

1 5 3

Even if she were the greatest devotee of Sèvres, she could not think this ser vice a superior example of that factory’s wares. She thought the subject rather banal, for one thing: a pair of lovers, all powdered and patched. They were clothed in the

dress of a bygone age in shades of pearl gray, pink, and pale blue— a rather insipid combination, she thought.

Ashburn turned to her, and that faint glimmer of a smile was in his eyes again, taking the edge off her disapproval. “Your expression is an excellent mirror of your feelings, Lady Cecily. I am forced to defend my choice.”

“Not at all,” she said politely. “It is a very fi ne set.”

“But that is not the reason I like it.” He hunted in his waistcoat pocket, then produced a small

key.

Cecily wondered why he kept that key with him

rather than leaving it in the lock as he left the others.

She watched Ashburn’s hands as he unlocked the

cabinet and opened the glass doors. He wore no

gloves. She became acutely aware of how large and strangely rugged those hands looked against the delicateness of the plate as he selected one and brought it out to show her.

His handling of the piece was dexterous and

light and practiced, as if he did this often. She regarded him with renewed interest. She’d thought

he cared only for steam engines and automatons

and other innovations.

“Do you see the two lovers?” he said, tilting the plate so the sunlight did not glare from its surface.

How ridiculous that the mere mention of that

033-50277_ch01_3P.indd 153

4/28/12 11:06 AM

1 5 4 C H R I S T I N A

B R O O K E

word lovers from him should set her pulse fl uttering madly. Trying to appear unconscious of what

lay thick in the air between them, she nodded.

Cecily examined the brushwork with critical,

reluctant appreciation. “They are beautifully executed.”

He gave an odd, almost embarrassed laugh.

“They are my parents.”

Her gaze fl ew to his, her lips parting in surprise.

For some reason she could not name, she fl ushed.

She looked again at the plate in his hands, then turned to stare with fascination at the rest of the set.

It was some moments before she could bring

herself to speak. She sensed him next to her, heard his breathing, felt the warmth from his body. She even smelled him, an indescribable masculine scent of mingled horse leathers, shaving soap, wool, and something she thought might be his sun- warmed

skin.

Oh, dear Lord, was she so weak that she was

drawn to the way this man smelled? How utterly ridiculous!

Determined to master this awful jumble of emo-

tions, Cecily focused her attention on the collection of vignettes, following the narrative as it progressed from one plate to the next.

“It is the tale of their courtship,” he murmured.

She nodded, for in those vignettes a saga of love lost and reclaimed unfolded as clearly as if it had been written in words.

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.