Letter From a Rake: Destiny Romance (3 page)

‘Now, that would make for an interesting evening, though it might stop your aunt and uncle’s guests from ever returning to Ashton House,’ Lucy replied.

Millie nodded her head. ‘Yes, well, from my short time in London, there are few people I would like to meet for a second time. Present company excluded, of course.’

‘Thank you,’ Lucy replied with a smile.

Millie watched as Lucy’s gaze now drifted from her and tracked slowly across the room. Lucy rose up on her toes and attempted to peer over the heads of the other guests.

‘Who?’ Millie enquired.

‘Who, what?’ Lucy replied, as her gaze continued to roam the room.

‘Who or what are you looking for?’

The thought that her new-found friend might have already tired of her company crossed Millie’s mind. Perhaps her instincts about Lucy had been wrong. After a week of bitter disappointment in the land of her heritage, the thought of being unceremoniously abandoned in the middle of a party was too much to bear.

‘If you have someone else with whom you have made a prior arrangement, I shall understand. I did attach myself to you without notice,’ she added.

Lucy turned, and with a reassuring smile on her face, shook her head.

‘I’m not going anywhere without you, sweet Millie, so there is no need for you to be alarmed. I am simply looking for my brothers. They’re supposed to be attending this evening’s festivities and as usual they are late. I am eager to introduce you to them. David is wickedly amusing, and Alex is just . . .’

‘Just what?’ Millie replied.

Lucy screwed up her nose. ‘Well, let me put it this way: all the girls are in love with him, and all the boys wish they were him. If he weren’t my brother, I am certain my father would have him at the top of the list of suitable husbands for me.’ She screwed up her nose once more. Alex’s magical spell clearly had little effect on his sister.

Millie wondered how long it would be before her own parents started talking to her about finding a husband. Charles had to marry soon; it was expected of the future Viscount, but she prayed she would be allowed a little time before the question of marriage was raised for her.

She hoped that before then she would have found a way to return to India.

She was still struggling daily to convince her mother that she was too old for a debutante season. That at least kept the subject of marriage at bay. With any luck she would be able to persuade her mother that the notion of a twenty-year-old debutante was ridiculous and she would be spared that particular form of public humiliation. The idea of being presented to London society alongside a group of rake-thin, young debutantes made her feel ill. With her curvaceous figure, she could not possibly compete with any of them for the eye of an eligible bachelor.

No matter what her mother said, Millie held grave doubts about her chances of making a love match. How many times this week had she heard that English gentlemen only liked slim-figured girls, no curves, no breasts? Of course, once the
ton
discovered that thanks to her father’s efforts abroad, she now came with a sizeable dowry, her stakes in the marriage market would lift significantly.

Every fortune-hunter in the country would find her a delight. They would overlook her many faults until she finally relented and selected one of them as her husband. She would then be free to spend the rest of her life regretting her decision while her spouse frittered away her fortune and shared his nights with someone else.

She knew the same fate might well await her back in India, but at least she would be home – and far away from England.

Leaving her brother behind would be the hardest part, but she had come to realise that she did not belong in England and never would. It would be best if she went home and did not remain to embarrass him.

A recent visit to the tailor on Bond Street had resulted in a daily display of Charles’ new, well-cut wardrobe. While the new clothes made him look more handsome than ever, she worried that the change would go deeper than just his attire.

It would be a terrible pity if the influence of his new friends and expected future title took away the very things that made him uniquely Charles Ashton.

‘Stay true to yourself,’ she murmured.

‘Pardon?’ Lucy replied. But before Millie could respond, something caught Lucy’s attention and she shot up her arm and began waving madly toward the staircase at the end of the ballroom.

‘Hello! We are over here,’ she called out.

Millie smiled; Lucy really was a breath of fresh air. She looked to the stairs and saw two young men standing on the landing. They were peering out over the crowd in the direction of Lucy, who continued to wave at them. Upon seeing the girls, the man nearest to them raised his hand and gave a friendly wave.

‘The one with the black hair is my oldest brother, David. The fair-haired one next to him is Alex, known to all and sundry as Alexander the Great,’ Lucy explained.

As the two men made their way down the stairs and into the ballroom, Millie saw the immediate impact that the arrival of the Radley brothers had on the gathering. For every step they took, someone hailed them. Handshakes came from everywhere, their backs were slapped by every every man in arm’s reach and a chorus of cheery greetings rose ever higher in pitch.

She wondered which of them had been wielding the sword when the dragon had been slain, so rousing was the reception these two young men received. Any moment now, she expected the crowd to hoist them high on its shoulders for the whole world to laud.

How intoxicating it must be to be so popular, to wield such power.

Lucy’s brothers slowly made their way through the thronging mass. Finally, Millie got her first real look at the Radley brothers and her heart stopped.

David had been leading the way through the crowd, but as they drew closer to the girls, the crowd thinned a little and Alex was able to walk beside his brother.

As he appeared from behind David, Millie thought she must be imagining things. No mortal man could be that good looking.

Not merely handsome, but breathtakingly beautiful.

A pile of blond hair sat ruffled atop his head. At first glance it appeared not to have seen a comb or brush for many a day and yet it was perfect.

He looked as if he had rolled out of bed, thrown on his evening clothes and headed out to the Ashton party.

His cravat, against all fashion dictates, was tied loosely around his neck, but in such an elegant way that it was clearly by design. His red-and-gold striped double-breasted waistcoat fit his long, lean muscular body perfectly. As Millie’s gaze took in the magnificence of Alex’s evening attire it was obvious that every piece of clothing on his body was of the finest cut and fabric, the work of a master tailor.

Her eyes drifted down to the highly polished black Hussar boots which clung to his calf muscles. She took a deep breath and tried to turn her head away, but found herself unable to.

Or was it unwilling?

The instant she saw the deep green of Alex’s eyes, she knew he was dangerous. When his soul-piercing gaze landed upon her, she felt a cold shiver run down her spine.

Millie gave a quick glance over her left shoulder to see who had caught his eye, but found herself facing a dark-green velvet curtain.

There was no one behind her.

When she looked back at the approaching Adonis, she realised his gaze was locked firmly on her, a look of puzzlement etched upon his face.

She looked towards Lucy, but could not catch her eye. Her friend was busy feigning a look of annoyance directed at her approaching brothers.

‘Oh no, I can see this is not going to end well,’ Millie muttered, feeling her face turning red. She took two steps backward, but found herself hard up against the ballroom curtain.

‘I need to get away from here,’ she said under her breath, beginning to panic.

Horrid girls were bad enough, but disapproving brothers were another matter entirely. With his eyes trained upon her like a hunter stalking his prey, she knew she would not be fortunate enough to escape unscathed.

From the look on his face, Millie deduced Alex was not happy to see her standing beside Lucy. Was it that the perfect brother did not like his sister associating with those who were less than godlike? It would not be the first time since arriving that she had been judged by others because of her looks.

Lucy shook her head. ‘You can’t leave yet; you haven’t met my brothers. They will be delighted to meet you, I am sure of it,’ she replied. ‘Once I have finished boxing their ears, that is.’

Millie grabbed a handful of the heavy green curtain. For an instant, she toyed with the idea of hiding behind the voluminous fabric and making herself invisible, but she knew that would be ridiculous. Escape was impossible.

With every step, Alex drew closer to her, his gaze never leaving her face. Trapped by his stare and unable to flee, she steeled herself for the humiliation she knew she was about to endure.

‘I was beginning to wonder when you two miscreants would finally arrive,’ Lucy said, letting out a huff of displeasure. ‘Where have you been?’

The two men exchanged a knowing grin.

‘See, I told you she would be cross with us,’ David replied and nodded to his brother.

‘I don’t know why. We are only late because Mama asked us to call in at home and pay our respects to Great Aunt Maude. You can hardly blame us for that, Lu,’ Alex replied, never moving his gaze from Millie.

Millie blinked hard and with great effort tore her eyes away from his magnetic stare. She looked at Lucy, who gave Millie a pained look of embarrassment in return. Millie’s heart went out to her.

‘Sorry,’ Lucy muttered as her hands fell to her sides. ‘How is Aunt Maude? Mother has been so worried. She only came tonight because Maude finally agreed to the doctor visiting.’

David reached out and pulled his sister into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him, and hid her burning face in the front of his evening jacket.

‘It’s all right, Lucy, Maude is fine. The doctor was leaving as we arrived, and he said it was just exhaustion from the long trip south. A few days’ bed rest and she will be gadding about town before we know it.’

He placed a gentle peck on his sister’s cheek, before his hand went slyly to her hair, which he began to ruffle in a well-practised move. Lucy flinched and struggled to break free of his embrace. She took a step back before reaching out and giving him a solid punch on the arm.

‘Oooh, you are a bad one, David Radley, and don’t think for one minute I won’t tell Mama it was you who fussed with my hair,’ she laughed, wagging her finger at him. David stood rubbing his arm.

‘Sharp right, Lucy; ever considered bare-knuckled boxing?’

Millie stifled a laugh. With an older brother herself, she knew the price of a brotherly hug was always a well-timed ruffling of the hair. David Radley, it would appear, was another exponent of the art.

Another spark of hope flared in Millie; warmth did exist in the cold heart of London society. She immediately liked David; he was just like her own brother Charles.

Her gaze returned to the other Radley brother, Alex, who was slowly looking her up and down, taking stock. She gave him a smile and prayed that her social death would be a mercifully quick one.

He gave a short bow and held out his hand.

She had not anticipated that move. It took a moment for her to unclench her right hand and offer it to him. He captured her hand and held it firmly.

She looked down and saw that her fingers had disappeared under his palm. She sucked in a shallow breath and bit her bottom lip. The sooner this was over the better.

‘Alex,’ he barely whispered. He bent and placed a kiss on her glove.

She felt his hot breath through the glove’s fine cotton and a second shiver went down her spine.

He lifted his head and stared once more into her eyes. If death had come at that moment, she would have welcomed it. For if Helen of Troy’s face had launched a thousand ships, Alex Radley’s eyes could have burned them all.

They stood silently, staring at one another, until David cleared his throat in a none-too-subtle manner.

Alex waved a hand in his brother’s general direction. ‘David,’ he muttered.

Still held by the smoldering power of Alex’s gaze, Millie gave a small nod of her head.

She heard a sudden indignant huff and Alex disappeared, then David and Lucy took his place.

Millie snapped back to reality.

She realised that, with one arm draped loosely around his sister’s waist, David had used his other hand to give his brother a hard shove to one side.

Out the corner of her eye, Millie could see Alex standing nearby, staring daggers at David.

Fortunately for David, Alex could not stare at two people at once, and so his silent punishment lasted only momentarily before Alex resumed his keen observation of Millie.

She looked down at her hand, and was surprised to see it still on the end of her arm. She was certain Alex had taken it with him, so tightly had he held it within his grasp.

‘Sorry. He does lack a certain amount of social finesse at times – you would never think he was a duke’s son,’ David said, returning his brother’s filthy look.

Millie raised her eyebrows and looked at Lucy.

‘So, it’s Lady Lucy?’

Lucy looked surprised. ‘Oh, sorry. I assumed you knew who the Radley family were, but of course since you have only just arrived in England, that was a rather silly assumption on my part. Our father is the Duke of Strathmore. There are the three of us here, as well as Stephen and Emma, who are both still in the schoolroom. I always make a mess when it comes to formal introductions.’

David gave a polite bow.

‘Mr David Radley; pleased to make your acquaintance. This blond buffoon here is the Marquess of Brooke, much to the shame of our family.’

‘Shut up, David; you don’t even know her name,’ Alex snapped.

Millie saw Lucy and David exchange a look of surprise at this display of temper from their brother.

Lucy stepped away from David and took hold of Millie’s hand. ‘This is Miss Millicent Ashton, Viscount Ashton’s niece, recently arrived from India. Her family are the guests of honour tonight,’ she explained.