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Fifteen
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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
The Duke And I Twenty-Two
None of the duchess's plan fit into Cassy's ideas. And now, there was her birthday fete the duchess's idea to launch her into 'polite society.' She'd hated the court presentation, and had no illusions about the stiff boredom of any other social gathering. Cassy wondered if she would even catch a glimpse of Eastland. He had pointedly avoided any of the few social functions his aunt had already arranged, but this was to be at his townhouse.It was her brother's birthday too, so at least he would be there, but still, it was hard to remember everything she'd been told. She'd practised and practised, and had finally come to the conclusion that common sense and good manners would have to suffice. If she erred, the world would not end, in spite of Miss Abigail's dire predictions.Fortunately, their birthday coincided with the height of the London season. That marvellous time that Miss Abigail spoke of in tones as reverent as those reserved for god and Kings."It will be an absolutely marvello
The Duke And I Twenty-Three
The Duke's London townhouse on fashionable Park Lane was four stories high, and had many elegant rooms available for what was commonly known as a "squeeze." Cassy saw immediately why it was referred to that way when she stood beside the dowager duchess to greet the guests who had been invited. Lilian didn't make it because she was sick, but she sent in a letter telling Cassy that something amazing was going to happen.The guest were divided into two classes, the curious, who had never been invited to a party given by the notorious "Devil" Eastland, and the highborn rakes who had. Those who "had" were faintly startled, then amused at the tameness of the dancing, drink and damsels provided. None of the fair Cyprians, as those ladies of the evening were euphemistically called, were present. Instead, only young ladies of birth and or breeding were present, a great many with their mamas, and the others with proper chaperones.Looking around the assemblage with a jaundiced eye, one fellow wa
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