desk, gazing admiringly at the duke,
her aunt smiled an unnatural smile, only Lady Cartwright did not seem
overly impressed by His perfectly perfect but impossibly impossible
Grace.
“ Yes.
I knew Carlotta well,” Lady Cartwright nodded. “She and I had
children of the same age. We had great deal to talk about. She was a
remarkable woman and I was very sad about her passing away. You used
to look a lot like her, duke, and I can still see the resemblance.
Well, a Sforza princess surely leaves her mark on the faces of her
children.”
The
duke raised an eyebrow then he gave a little bow. A minuscule bow.
The
marriage of Dominic's father and Carlotta Sforza had, in fact, been
quite a sensation back in the day. A love match. Fortunately,
Carlotta had been so beautiful, so highly aristocratic and so
immensely rich that nobody could find fault in her. In fact, her family still thought
she had married below her prospects by taking one of the richest and
most powerful men in England for a husband. He had only been a duke,
after all.
“ I
believe you've been looking for a book, Your Grace?” Gigi's mother
proceeded unabashed. “I strongly believe in choosing the literature
for my daughter myself .
There are some books in this world that can cause quite an unbecoming
turmoil in a young head, don't you agree, duke? My Eugenia only reads
what I consider appropriate, therefore let me make the
recommendation for your sister.” She strode over to a table of
display and lifted a novel called The
Birds of Cheltenham Gardens .
Gigi
groaned inwardly, remembering a lukewarm plot and unbearable moral
teachings.
“ A
lovely little book. Gigi was quite delighted by it, weren't you?”
Again,
the dark eyes were on Gigi. Seething. Burning!
“ Quite...
delighted.” Gigi pressed out the words with the last air remaining
to her.
“ Were
you...,” the duke purred. Purred?
Why would he purr?
A
shiver went through Gigi, she felt dizzy.
“ My
dear girl!” Her mother cried out. “You are not at all looking
well, we must go home and you'll take to bed at once! You'll not miss the great ball
at Lady Winston's. I'll not have you ill, my little dove.”
Gigi's
cheeks burnt with shame.
“ Yes,
she does look feverish, doesn't she,” Lord Darlington observed.
“ Eugenia,
have you been feeling unwell before?” Lady Tarly, who most
certainly felt unwell, probed from a little further away. The fact
that the duke had once threatened her and her husband over their
afternoon tea was still a vivid memory to her.
Gigi
did not speak. She tried to inhale but her lungs refused her. A few
more moments and she would faint! Right there in front of everybody,
in front of HIM !
“ Come
on, Surrey, we are awaited at court.” Darlington patted Surrey on
the back.
“ Right,”
Dominic St. Yves said, turned abruptly and walked away.
Out
of the door.
Out
of Gigi's life.
“ That
dreadful man! He scared our little bird so much she forgot to
breathe,” Lady Tarly whimpered as soon as the gentlemen were out.
She held a bottle of smelling salts to Gigi's nose and indeed, they
brought Gigi back to full conscious awareness.
Everything
was as it had been before. Shelves, shopkeeper, her mother, her aunt.
Had
it been an illusion? A trick of the mind?
Then
she remembered.
“ Oh
Mama,” she sighed. “Did you really give him The Birds of
Cheltenham Gardens ?
How awful! I think I'm going to die!”
4.
Bond
Street, London, 5 seconds later
Bloody
hell, bloody, bloody, bloody hell! Why me, why this, why me, why me?
Why ME?
“ Would
you be so genial as to explain your behaviour?” Darlington asked as
they rushed down Bond Street. “That was unheard of!”
Dominic
said nothing.
Bloody
hell! Why
me? How did I deserve this?
“ Surrey?
Are you quite alright, man?”
“ Oomph.”
“ I
beg you pardon?” Darlington grabbed Dominic by the arm, forcing him
to stop. “Have you gone insane? We're walking into the