Page 17 (2/2)

She swore once, the epithet one of the ue, and considered her options Grabehahter of an Italian merchant who had been in London for only a few months knew that she could not arrive at theto God kneithout causing a scandal of epic proportions

Her decision made, she reached for the handle on the door and shifted her weight, building up the courage to escape—to launch herself out of the vehicle, onto the cobblestones and into the nearest patch of darkness

And then the carriage began to move

And escape was no longer an option

For a brieffroe anyway But even she was not so reckless She did not want to die She just wanted the ground to open up and s her, and the carriage, whole Was that so much to ask?

Taking in the interior of the vehicle, she realized that her best bet was to return to the floor and wait for the carriage to stop Once it did, she would exit via the door farthest from the house and hope, desperately, that no one was there to see her

Surely soht Surely she had a few moments to escape before the aristocrats beyond descended

She took a deep breath as the coach ca for the handleready to spring

Before she could exit, however, the door on the opposite side of the carriage burst open, taking the air inside with it in a violent rush Her eyes flew to the enor just beyond the coach door

Oh, no

The lights at the front of Ralston House blazed behind hi his face into shadow, but it was iht illuel—cast fro to return his halo

She felt a subtle shift in hi of his broad shoulders and knew that she had been discovered Juliana knew that she should be thankful for his discretion when he pulled the door to hiht see her, but when he ascended into the carriage easily, with the aid of neither servant nor step, gratitude was far fro

Panic was a more accurate emotion

She sed, a single thought screah her mind

She should have taken her chances with Grabeham

For there was certainly no one in the world she would like to face less at this particular hton

Surely, the universe was conspiring against her

The door closed behind him with a soft click, and they were alone

Desperation surged, propelling her into er for escape Her fingers fumbled for the handle

“I would not if I were you”

The calh the darkness

There had been a time when he had not been at all aloof with her

Before she had vowed never to speak to hiain

She took a quick, stabilizing breath, refusing to allow hiestion, Your Grace You will forgive me if I do not follow it”

She clasped the handle, ignoring the sting in her hand at the pressure of the wood, and shifted her weight to release the latch Hethe door shut with little effort

“It was not advice”

He rapped the ceiling of the carriage twice, firmly and without hesitation The vehicle h his will alone steered its course, and Juliana cursed all well-trained coach in the skirt of her gown, further tearing the satin She winced at the sound, all too loud in the heavy quiet, and ran one dirty palm wistfully down the lovely fabric

“My dress is ruined” She took pleasure in i to do with it He need not know the gown had been ruined long before she’d landed herself in his carriage

“Yes Well, I can think of any nuedy this evening” The words were void of contrition

“I had little choice, you know” She i it aloud

Especially to him

He snapped his head toward her just as a laht through the carriage , throwing him into stark relief She tried not to notice him Tried not to notice how every inch of hi, of his aristocratic history—the long, straight patrician nose, the perfect square of his jaw, the high cheekbones that should have made him look feminine but seemed only to make him more handsome

She gave a little huff of indignation

The man had ridiculous cheekbones

She’d never known anyone so handsome

“Yes,” he fairly drawled, “I can i to live up to a reputation such as yours”

The light disappeared, replaced by the sting of his words

She’d also never known anyone as such a proper ass

Juliana was thankful for her shadowy corner of the coach as she recoiled fronorant speculation that cahter of an Italian lish marchioness who had deserted her husband and sonsand dismissed London’s elite

The last was the only one of her mother’s actions for which Juliana had even a hint of admiration

She’d like to tell the entire lot of them where they could put their aristocratic rules

Beginning with the Duke of Leighton Who was the worst of the lot

But he hadn’t been at the start

She pushed the thought aside “I should like you to stop this carriage and let me out”

“I suppose this is not going the way that you had planned?”

She paused “The way I hadplanned?”

“Coame was to have been played out? You, discovered in nation—on the steps of your brother’s ancestral ho one of th

e best attended events in recent weeks?”

Her eyes ide “You think I am—”

“No I know that you are attee And your little schee considering how asinine it is, ht have worked on a lesser man with a lesser title But I assure you it will not work on me I am a duke In a battle of reputation with you, I would most certainly win In fact, I would have let you ruin yourself quite handily back at Ralston House if I were not unfortunately indebted to your brother at the moment You would have deserved it for this little farce”

His voice was calh he’d had this particular conversation countless ti but a minor inconvenience—a fly in his tepid, poorly seasoned bisque, or whatever it was that aristocratic British snobs consumed with soup spoons

Of all the arrogant, pompous

Fury flared, and Juliana gritted her teeth “Had I known this was your vehicle, I would have avoided it at all costs”

“Ae ducal seal on the outside of the door”

The , indeed, because I’e rivals your conceit in size! I assure you, Your Grace”—she spit the honorific as if it were an epithet—“if I were after a husband, I would look for one who had more to recommend him than a fancy title and a false sense of importance” She heard the tre from her “You are so impressed with your title and station, it is a miracle you do not have the word ‘Duke’ embroidered in silver thread on all of your topcoats The way you behave, one would think you’d actually done solish fools afford you instead of having been sired, entirely by chance, at the right tiine performed the deed in exactly the same manner of all other men Without finesse”