Regency 03 - Deception by Jaimey Grant Page B

that is something I cannot allow.”
    She ducked her head, but not before her bonnet hid
the flush creeping up her cheeks. That was enough of an admission
for Derringer.
    “ Why are you here?”
    Her head shot up. “I am always in the park at this
time. My sister…” She gazed around, saw Miss Ellison with
Rhiannon and waved them back.
    “ Not in the park. Why are you in
London? What are you looking for?”
    “ The same as any young lady in
London for the Season. A husband.”
    “ What are your
requirements?”
    “ Why?”
    He hardly knew. He didn’t want nor did he need to
know. He already suspected. His spies had been very thorough in
regard to Miss Glendenning.
    Shrugging, his reply sounded as uninterested as he
intended. “Humor me.”
    But Aurora Glendenning refused to be drawn. She gave
him a placid look, as if trying to take his measure and unsure what
to make of him.
    Which was quite acceptable to him. He smiled. She
glanced away, most likely to reassure herself that her sister was
safe but he was unprepared for her sudden gasp of shock.
    The duke followed her line of vision, seeing a man
of quite the prettiest countenance he’d ever beheld. As blond as
Aurora, the man would have made a perfect match for the lovely
Glendenning chit.
    Aurora looked away, closed her eyes, mumbled
something the duke couldn’t comprehend, and looked back. Derringer
knew what she would see, since his gaze had never really left the
other man.
    “ He’s gone, Rory.”
    She turned at his soft tone, attempting a smile and
a shaky, nonchalant, “Who?”
    Her breathing returned to normal as the tension
slowly left her body. Derringer resisted the urge to comfort her,
his need to remain aloof paramount.
    “ Who is he?”
    But Aurora Glendenning was as stubborn as Derringer.
She pursed her lips and refused to say more.
    Admitting defeat for the nonce, the duke rose. His
dark eyes fastened on the lovely countenance before him. “Be aware,
Miss Aurora Glendenning of the Staffordshire Glendennings, what you
don’t tell Levi will come to light. You would do well to pray that
your love for him is enough.”
    ~~~~~~
    “ Are you all right?”
    The deep voice came from the shadows near the
cracked door. Aurora smiled through her tears and tried to stifle
them before the earl got a good look at her. She was too late,
however, since he left the shadows and approached her where she
stood at the open window of the antechamber.
    They were both guests of Lady Osmond at her ball in
honor of her daughter’s comeout. Aurora and Levi had laughingly
agreed that the poor girl resembled nothing so much as a horse
munching on a particularly sour pickle. Parties were obviously not
to the young lady’s taste.
    Aurora’s laughter had dissolved into tears. Excusing
herself on the flimsy reason of a torn flounce, she’d fled to the
chamber in which she now stood. Apparently she hadn’t fled far
enough.
    Levi took her arm and turned her so her face was in
the moonlight. She looked down and he gently brushed a tear away
with his thumb. One hand cradled her face, his touch failing to
warm the coldness inside her.
    “ Tell me what ails you,” he
implored, leaning closer.
    Aurora shook her head and stepped away from him,
back into the shadows. He stayed where he was and watched her with
a perplexed look on his face.
    “ Rory, love, tell me, please,” he
begged. He took a step toward her and she backed away. “What the
devil ails you? You act as though I have done something wrong the
way you keep moving away. What is it?”
    “ It is nothing,” she whispered.
Indeed, she could hardly define her feelings in her own mind.
Everything just seemed to coalesce into this one evening, every
emotion, every longing, and every memory of why she so desperately
needed a powerful husband.
    And how unlikely that all seemed now. Derringer’s
actions at Almack’s had had some pretty far-reaching results, not
least of which was the loss of her vouchers. The