Desert Song (DeWinter's Song 3) Read Free Page A

was just an old woman who preyed on peoples' hopes and fears for profit.
    He tapped his gold-tipped cane on the top of the carriage and called to his driver. "To my club."
    As the horses clopped along the deserted street, he thought of Lady Samantha. He supposed he would one day ask her to marry him. Yes, they would deal quite well together, he thought with no particular exhilaration. He had to marry someone, and she was more acceptable than most of the others. At least she didn't bore him.
    Michael's thoughts turned to his family. Perhaps it wouldn't be so tedious spending the holidays in the country. By Christmas his father should have returned from Egypt and they would hunt together. There was no one he admired more than his father, and no one he loved as much as his mother. His sister, Arrian, had married a Scottish chieftain. Since Arrian was expecting her second child, she wouldn't be coming to Ravenworth this winter. But no matter—perhaps he and his father could go to Scotland for a bit of hunting.
    He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. His mother and father had a marriage everyone envied. Arrian and Warrick were deeply committed to one another. What was wrong with him? he wondered. Was there a woman who would make his eyes soften as his father's did when he looked at his mother? Perhaps he was incapable of love. He certainly didn't like clinging females. He shuddered at the thought of spending his life with a woman who would demand his entire attention.
    Again he thought of Lady Samantha. She never made demands on him. Perhaps next spring he would ask her to become his wife.
    The carriage stopped at his club, and he ascended the steps, hoping to find amusement in gaming with his contemporaries. Still, in the back of his mind the old Gypsy's warning haunted him.
    After spending the better part of the night at his club playing cards, Lord Michael climbed into his coach and directed the driver to take him home.
    A warm sun bathed the wet cobblestone streets with a soft golden glow as his crested carriage turned the corner and stopped before a three-story town house. Four prancing grays stomped their hooves, impatiently tossing their shimmering manes, while the coachman kept a steadying grip on the reins.
    The street vendors were already about, selling their wares. "Lavender, buy my sweet-smelling lavender." A woman sang out her melodic chant as she moved through the more fashionable part of London, hoping to sell her flowers. "Lavender for your lady—lavender."
    An outrider dressed in green livery jumped from his high perch and hurriedly lowered the steps and opened the coach door, speaking respectfully to Lord Michael. "Do you require anything further, m'lord?"
    "No. Go to bed, Simmons."
    Lord Michael yawned sleepily as he climbed the steps. Another long, dull evening, he thought, longing for his bed.
    The door of his town house was thrown open, and his valet, William, rushed toward him, his usual calm manner forgotten in his anxiety. "Her Grace is inside, m'lord. She's been here since midnight. She seems most distraught. Your aunt, Lady Mary, is with her."
    "Mother and Aunt Mary here at this hour?"
    "Yes, m'lord, and they've been waiting all night for your return. I sent Horace to Lady Samantha's, thinking you'd still be there, but he was informed you'd already left."
    Michael's path was suddenly blocked by a woman selling lavender. Absently, he thrust a shilling at her and unconsciously took the flowers she pushed in his hands.
    "Thank ya', sir. Thank ya' kindly," she said, biting the coin to make certain it was genuine, and smiling when she was satisfied with its value.
    Lord Michael pushed past the woman and hurried up the steps. His mother would never arrive in the middle of the night unless something was amiss. His first thought was that something was wrong with his sister, Arrian. Perhaps the birth of her child had not gone well.
    He rushed inside, calling his mother.

Chapter 2
    Her Grace, the duchess