“Give me a chance to show you what London has to offer, and I promise to make it an experience you will never forget.”
He regarded her across the table from under his lashes.When quite young, he’d perfected the art of studying someone intensely while affecting careless unconcern, and the habit did not fail him now.
In Lucy’s expressive face, Thorne saw the exact moment she fell to temptation; saw her decide to reach out and take hold of the apple.But before she took her first bite, she said, “I only have one question… Why?”
Thorne arched a brow and told the truth.
“Because squiring you about to gambling dens, boxing matches, and masked demimonde balls will give me plenty of opportunities to seduce you.”
ChapterSix
Lucy was still fuming about it the next day as she sat at Bess’s bedside, reading aloud fromNorthanger Abbey.
The words fell from her lips, while internally all she could do was seethe about Thornecliff.
The nerve of the man!The sheer, galling, overweening arrogance.
What made it all the worse was that she still hadn’t been able to turn him down.
The opportunity he offered was too intriguing.The chance to see a side of London no pampered debutante or proper society matron would ever dream of—Lucy couldn’t pass it up.
Surely someone, somewhere in London’s vast, shadowy underworld would know the true identity of The Gentle Rogue.
She’d told her Rogue that she would rather he choose to tell her his name, but that didn’t mean Lucy couldn’t delve a little deeper into the mysteries surrounding him.And where better to search for clues to the identity of a famous highwayman than the demimonde of London?
In the back of her mind, the specter of Sir Colin Semple loomed, mysterious and threatening.The Gentle Rogue had been active for years—why was there suddenly an agent of the Crown sniffing about?
Despite her faith in The Gentle Rogue’s abilities, Lucy was worried.The urge to unmask him mingled with her fears for him should Sir Colin be the one to discover his true identity.
Perhaps if Lucy followed the trail all the way to The Gentle Rogue, she’d be able to convince him to exercise enough caution to avoid Sir Colin’s clutches.
Coming to the end of the chapter, Lucy surfaced from her thoughts and gave Bess a speculative glance.Her friend lay on her side, one hand tucked beneath her cheek and her eyelids drooping.She seemed to spend a lot of time drowsing at this stage midway through her pregnancy, Lucy observed worriedly, but even as she contemplated rising to her feet and tiptoeing from the room to let Bess rest, the pregnant woman opened her brown eyes and smiled.
“That was wonderful, Lucy.What an amusing writer that Miss Austen is.Is your voice tired?”
“Not at all,” Lucy denied, “but would you like a nap?Or a bite to eat?I could ask Monsieur Anatole to put together a tray for you!”
“You would brave Monsieur Anatole for me!”Bess grinned, some of her sparkle returning, and Lucy smiled back, relieved to be teased about her longstanding terror of Ashbourn House’s temperamental Parisian cook.
“He seems more keen on me now that my French has improved,” Lucy said.“And anyway, I know he would do anything for you, just like all the rest of the staff here.They adore you, Bess.”
“Your mother taught me her trick for ensuring the loyalty of her staff, and it has stood me in good stead since I became a duchess.”
“Treat them like human beings?Yes, ridiculous how far that alone will get you.But it’s more than that, Bess.Everyone here truly loves you.You’ve really made a life for yourself as Duchess of Ashbourn.”
“I’ve made a life with your brother,” Bess corrected her gently, in that way she had of never sounding as if she was correcting one.“And of course, with Kitty, our dear little scamp.You know the title never mattered to me.”
That was something of an understatement.As far as Lucy had been aware, young and caught up in her own emotional turmoil as she had been, the title had been a fairly large stumbling block in Bess and Nathaniel’s romance.
“I’m just glad you’re so settled and happy,” Lucy said, reaching over to clasp her friend’s hand affectionately.
“I would love to see you as settled and happy as I am,” Bess said, pressing her hand.“Was there truly no one you liked?No foreign gentleman turned your head?Once or twice you mentioned a gentleman friend in your letters, but it never seemed to come to anything.”
“I met a lot of interesting people, and had…some interesting times,” Lucy said, skirting around the details.It was a bit more awkward to gossip with Bess now that Lucy had the distinct impression that whatever she said might be shared with her elder brother.
They had come a long way in their relationship, but Lucy still had no desire to discuss her love life with him.
“But no one special,” Bess sighed.
