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Thirteen
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The Duke And I Fourteen
Life at Eastland hall had never been better. Cassy found it a shocking turnaround that she could actually smile now, and she was actually beginning to grow fond of the place. Even more shocking, perhaps, was the sudden improvement in everything the Duke laid out for her. The activities which she’d failed at earlier, now seemed like mere chores That’s she could expertly breeze through. It was almost as if the Levington that had gone to London with the duke was replaced by another one, more apt and skilled than the other one. Cassy slowly began to understand the intricacies of fending which her tutor desperately wanted her to understand. "Yes, yes, my lord," monsieur Fournier would exclaim excitedly whenever she successfully parried his thrusts or when her blade would skim right under his arm and straight at his rib. "Zat is exactly what I was saying."Tutoring went well enough, and she soon began to catch up on the many subjects which she was supposed to learn. Her tutors noticed this
The Duke And I Fifteen
Everything started to fall apart from the moment Colin kissed her. It was on a Saturday evening, right after he’d finished teaching her how a man was supposed to shake. Cassy’s grip hadn’t been firm enough, and he’d taught her how to position her fingers, even slightly squeezing the person’s fingers. And then he’d pulled her in and kissed her on the cheek. It wasn’t supposed to mean anything, but it was dangerously close to her mouth and Cassy had bristled at the sudden invasion. "What do you think you’re doing?" she asked, shoving him away. Colin regarded her coolly. "I didn’t mean to offend you," he said quietly. "I was just...""Don’t ever do that again," she said. "Just don’t."He stepped back, stung by her anger. "Cassandra, I..."Cassy ran from the spot, leaving him staring after her with a confused expression. She ran all the way back to the house, willing herself not to cry. She’d known Colin was attracted to her; had suspected it from the first day he found out her secr
The Duke And I Sixteen
For a long moment, Eastland didn’t speak. Cassy stood frozen before him, desperately trying to cover all that he’d already seen. There was no hiding no; no secrets that hadn’t been exposed already. His formidable gaze swept over her once. Twice. "Get dressed," he said in a clipped tone. "I shall wait for you in the carriage."He turned around and left, leaving her shaking in the wake of his inaction. What on earth just happened? Why, oh why did she have to leave Colin’s letters lying around in her bedchamber? It was over now. Eastland would surely finish her off for good. Cassy dressed slowly, methodically. Her heart was pulsing as she wondered what he had in mind. But even when she met him afterwards, sitting in the carriage with a vacant expression, he didn’t let anything slip. The carriage lurched forward with a jerk. Eastland said nothing, and when the carriage stopped a while later, she flashed him a worried look. From they lamplights standing on each side of a doorway, she kne
The Duke And I Seventeen
When Cassy woke the next morning, she was slow to realize that she was in a different bed. It looked much the same, yet something was different. She blinked, then it all came back to her, the unpleasant bath from yesterday, arriving at London, and the unpleasant events afterwards.Eastland had gone out the day before, and he never returned, leaving her roaming about the town house and retiring earlier to her room than usual.She groaned as she slid from the bed, and found sore muscles where she hadn't known she had any. It had been a perfectly horrible day yesterday, to end a perfectly horrible month.At least, she thought with a sigh, she didn't have to hide her sex anymore. What would Eastland do?The answer came quickly enough, as there was a discreet knock on the door and a pert ladies maid announced that she was there to help Lady Cassandra dress.Glancing down at her rumpled clothes, Cassy opened her mouth to say that she was already dressed, but the maid had beckoned to someone
The Duke And I Eighteen
"I knew it will get to this!" The duchess said as soon as she arrived at the house. "And I knew there was something about you I liked at that party. You're indeed the feisty little thing I thought you were!"Cassy’s smile was indulgent as she curtsied before the duchess. The townhouse suddenly came alive with the arrival of several visitors. Two days after Cassy’s arrival at the house, the duchess’s personal dressmaker arrived. She was a pompous old woman, who regarded Cassy over the edge of her nose, as though sizing her up on sight. The woman was accompanied by two young, bright eyed girls who smiled openly and warmly at her. They kept her busy, talking about fabrics, the latest styles, what would look good and what wouldn’t, their ramblings seeming to be endless until Cassy’s head began to spin. Their madame stopped them then, asking them to take Cassy’s measurement and be done with it. That was the purpose of their visit after all. Barely an hour after they left, Cassy was force
The Duke And I Nineteen
March 1819Jonathan Trenton slammed from the oak paneled study, smarting from the abrasive scrape of the duke's wrath. His blue eyes glittered with suppressed fury and humiliation, and he certainly didn't appreciate his twin sister's gurgle of laughter as she waited for him in the hallway."How do you like the Duke, Jonathan?" She asked in an innocent tone that didn't fool him for a moment."He's a bloody bastard!"Cassy grasped her brother's arm with a sudden flare of anxiety. "He didn't... didn't hurt you, did he?"Some of the rage faded from his gaze as Jonathan saw his sister's fret in her smoky blue eyes, and he shook his dark head. "Just my pride," he murmured. "And my ears."Cassy smiled with relief. "I was afraid you would provoke him into doing something terrible."Jonathan gave a wry shake of his head. "I've learned to curb my temper a little better since the last time we met," he said. "And I have gained a great deal of humility."Looking at him with new eyes, Cassy recogniz
The Duke And I Twenty
When the Duke had left them alone in the drawing room, Jonathan slid his sister a wrathful glance. "It's amazing that I can still turn my head without having it fall into my lap, isn't it?"Cassy couldn't help a small, nervous giggle. "He terrifies me, too."Jonathan lifted a dark brow. "I saw a lot more than just terror in your eyes when you looked at him," he said bluntly. "Is that what you were trying to tell me earlier?"A hot flush stained her cheeks, but she couldn't deny it. "I suppose. Oh Jonathan! What shall I do?""For God's sake, don't let him know it! Don't you know his reputation, Cass?" He asked irritably. When she shook her head, he shrugged with exasperation. "I always thought the female of the species had access to juicy gossip. Look, my innocent sister, your precious Duke is known as 'Devil' Eastland in most circles.""Because he's so hateful?""Partly. No one dares to cross him, he's deadly with a sword and a pistol, and has been known to duel three men in one week a
The Duke And I Twenty-One
Jonathan was right. They were both thrown into a whirl of activity that left them little time to speak to one another. Jonathan had his studies, and Cassy continued the rigorous training from Miss Abigail, the petite, cheerful woman with a mind like a steel trap when it came to social functions and the peerage.As Cassy's chaperone, Miss Abigail rarely left her charge's side. She had been employed by the dowager duchess to fend off gossips before it became known that the infamous 'Devil' Eastland had acquired a young and very pretty girl as his ward. The woman's reputation was impeccable, her knowledge of manners unrivalled. She would mould Lady Trenton into the soul of propriety and fully intended that the American girl take the ton by storm. And best of all, as the duchess had foreseen, she knew how to use connections.Connections, Cassy was informed, were especially important. Her chaperone had been married to a charming man of consequence and wealth at one time and, upon his demise
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