Two Dances and a Duke by James Eloisa

Author:James, Eloisa
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Published: 2023-12-19T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Jonah gave his sister’s dance card a cursory glance. “You might want to avoid Freddy Arbuthnot. Word has it he’s gambled away his entire allowance again.”

“He’ll be a marquess someday,” Regina argued.

Jonah shrugged. “A penniless marquess would make an uncomfortable husband.”

“He won’t spend my money.”

“Your money is in the form of a dowry,” Jonah explained. “It will belong to him as soon as you marry.”

Regina smiled. “No, it won’t.”

If any woman could overturn the English legal system, it would be Regina. He couldn’t remember a single occasion in their childhood wherein she hadn’t gotten her way.

“Gambling holds a powerful allure,” he said, trying again. “I’ve seen Arbuthnot at the tables until three in the morning.”

“Not if I decide to marry him,” Regina stated.

He almost had sympathy for the gambler, but someone had to marry Regina. Having done his duty, he handed her to a young gentleman who vainly tried to hide his excitement at dancing with a duke’s daughter.

“You have a problem,” Devin said, appearing at his shoulder without warning.

“What?”

His friend gestured at Regina, who was briskly dragging the boy into the lead position in a country dance.

“Your sister.”

“What about her?” Jonah turned and surveyed the ball room again. What had happened to Miss Valentine? Not that he planned to dance attention on her, but he thought he might take her in to supper. Since he was here.

“She’s dampened her skirts,” Devin said, in a lowered voice.

For a moment, Jonah thought he was talking about Beatrice Valentine. A dizzy, fleeting image of that young lady in wet skirts that clung to her curvy body lanced through his mind.

“Not only is it unsuitable,” Devin continued, “but she’ll gain a reputation as soon as the dowagers notice.”

“Are you talking about Regina?” Jonah said, belatedly making sense of the conversation.

“Yes,” Devin said impatiently. “Your sister. Your little sister. The one I warned would likely get into trouble without a mother, and she has. She’s dampened her petticoats, Lennox. It must be a reaction to her broken engagement.”

Jonah was aware of a stultifying don’t-give-a-damn feel about Regina, but he suppressed it. “You must be mistaken. Regina is judgmental of ladies who try to attract attention in such a crass fashion.”

That was an understatement. Regina’s ability to spit venom was legendary in their extended family, but she went from critical to lacerating when a woman’s virtue was at issue.

“Take a look,” Devin said, nodding toward the ballroom. “Wait until she turns in our direction.”

Once Regina turned, there was no mistaking the way her skirts clung to her legs. He remembered his sister’s knees from when she was a small girl. It was disconcerting to realize that they still dominated her legs. “I suppose I should take her home,” he said, scowling.

“No,” Devin said. “As a man with four sisters, I can promise that it would only lead to a scene. In the carriage on the way home, say something brief and pointed. If you phrase it right, she’ll appreciate the tip.”

Jonah tried to imagine Regina expressing gratitude at advice from him but defaulted to the image of an angry tiger.

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