“Can’t you control your child?” the man drawled. “This is rather unseemly.”
Chris turned to the man and sucked in a breath. Up close, he was devastatingly handsome. His eyes were the color of grass on a bright summer day. The contrast with his dark hair was appealing. His face was, to put it simply, almost pretty. He was the type of man fairytales were written about. A man so gorgeous should not exist. “Perhaps you should be the one to leave if you find my presence so offensive.”
He ignored her and said, “I suppose this is one of the daughters you offered instead of the horse. I’m going to have to decline to accept her. She’s too unruly for my taste. The horse will have to do.”
How dare he! “It’s a good thing I’m not available for you to take instead. I’d never go anywhere with you.”
The man turned to her then. Having his full attention on her did not help her fascination with him. Why did he have to be so darn attractive? “Love,” he said in a voice so sweet it gave her a toothache. “If I wanted you, trust me, you’d willingly fall at my feet.” He turned to her father and said, “Send the horse to Foxworth Hall. I’ll consider the debt paid.”
“You won’t regret this,” her father said.
The man nodded and walked past her. Carly came to her side and hugged her. It was no surprise her sister had remained silent through the encounter. She didn’t like to cross their father. “Who was that?” Chris asked.
“That, my dear, was the Marquess of Foxworth. You’ll remember that name. He is not a man to cross.”
Chris fully intended to remember his name. Cross him? She’d do more than that. One day, she’d meet him again and she’d make him understand that she was not a lady to trifle with, and damn it all, she’d never fall at his feet.
Chapter 1
Two years later…
Chris stared out the window of Miss Agatha’s School for Young Ladies, the finishing school she’d been exiled to. She had been sent to her chambers as punishment. Not a day had gone by since she’d been sent to the school that she hadn’t been sent into seclusion for a minor indiscretion. She was always finding trouble. Chris liked being naughty. In some ways, it was an integral part of her personality, and she refused to apologize for being herself.
The worst part of her exile…not being near her twin. The Duke of Graystone, her sister’s husband, had decided they would benefit from being separated. Chris had been sent to Scotland, and Carly to Wales. A plain old English school wasn’t good enough for either of them. Graystone had decided they needed as much distance as possible from each other.
What she hated to admit…he was right. If they were at the same school, or even one within a reasonable distance from each other, they’d have run away. Chris was still tempted to daily. If not for her frequent letters from Carly, she might have. Her twin was the more sensible one and had convinced Chris to stay at finishing school until the end.
The end had not come soon enough…
She had to suffer through another sennight, and then she could return home. Not that she considered the duke’s residence home. For her, home would always be at Seville. The ancestral estate belonged to Damon once he was old enough to take control of his inheritance. Until then, Chris had to suffer through the duke’s generosity. That was the lot a woman had to undergo in life. She had little choices, and the ones she did have, she hated. Marriage was the last thing she wanted. Chris wanted to be free. Unfortunately, freedom wasn’t one of those choices she had before her.
Perhaps it was time to redefine what a lady could or could not do. Finishing school had taught her a lot. All of it nonsense in her opinion, but it had done one important thing. It had showed her what she didn’t want from life. Though she probably could have learned those lessons anywhere. Finishing school had been her punishment, and she had stayed and endured it. Chris wasn’t certain she could remain at Miss Agatha’s for one more day, or through one more night of seclusion. The headmistress hated her, and had hated her from the moment she’d stepped foot on the school grounds. So much so, Chris had to wonder exactly what the duke had told Miss Agatha about her.
She frowned.
Chris doubted her new brother by marriage would have said anything negative. At least not intentionally… So why did Lady Agatha hate her? She smiled. Not one of those serene tilts of her lips, but one of the wicked ones. She had a sennight left. Why not cause a stir on her way out the door…or more precisely…in the next hour or two? She would not stay in her chambers one second longer. There really was no reason to continue following the rules. Not that she ever really did, but that was beside the point.
She turned away from the window and surveyed her room. The personal items inside had been limited…one of Miss Agatha’s rules. Chris had exactly three gowns. All serviceable without any frills. That part didn’t particularly bother Chris. She didn’t need fancy gowns, but because she could be contrary, she…disliked being told she couldn’t have a pretty dress.
Packing wouldn’t take long. She retrieved her valise and stuffed her two clean dresses inside followed by the stack of letters she’d received from her sisters. Carly wrote her the most, but Billie and Teddy sent letters too…even if the two of them were enamored with their husbands and expanding families. Billie was expecting her first child soon, and Teddy probably wouldn’t be far behind her in that endeavor. It sickened Chris a little
