Taming the Rake Read Free Page A

wouldn’t know what had hit him.
     
     
    “Well, which one do you want?” Cecelia asked Gina, the frustration evident in her voice. “How about Lord Ashley?”
    They’d been going on like this for nearly an hour, suggesting names with no consensus. Gina had to pick somebody. Lord Ashley was handsome enough, but she knew him—and had witnessed his lechery for herself. “No.” If she must woo someone, she might as well make it enjoyable. “No,” she repeated firmly. “I think perhaps Lord Ponsonby?”
    Cecelia pursed her lips, displeased. It was obvious she had come to a similar conclusion herself.
    “Is he the outrageously handsome one?” Claire asked.
    Gina and Cecelia both nodded.
    “Oooh. I think I should like him too.”
    “I thought you might want Beaufort,” Gina suggested to Cecelia. “An eye for an eye and all that?”
    Her cheeks flushed. “No. Of course not. I want a challenge, not an impossibility.”
    If they kept going round and round like this it would take all night, and Gina had her party to get ready for. “I suppose the only fair thing would be to draw lots.”
    “But that seems so horribly random,” Cecelia whined. “What if I choose someone I cannot abide?”
    “This was your idea. Besides, you’re the one who said you wanted a challenge,” Gina pointed out. Deciding to limit their choices to the Hellfire Club, Cecelia rattled off a dozen of the worse offenders and Gina jotted the names on small bits of parchment and tossed them into Claire’s straw bonnet.
    Claire pulled out the papers and folded them again. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. To Gina’s silent question she said, “We don’t want anyone cheating.” She glanced significantly to her sister who scowled, then asked, “Who gets to pick first?”
    Gina groaned. If it was this difficult just to choose a name, it did not bode well for the rest of the game. “Wait a minute.” She had an idea. She opened the doors to the drawing room and motioned to a housemaid who was sweeping the carpet in the adjoining hall. Grabbing the broom, she flipped it around and removed three pieces of straw of differing length. Handing the broom back to the baffled maid, she closed the doors behind her. “We shall draw straws. The longest shall have the first pick.”
    “But who should pick the first straw?”
    Gina fought to contain her frustration. “Just pick, Claire.”
    Claire smiled and chose the middle straw from behind Gina’s hand, pulling out the second-longest straw. Cecelia went next and picked the longest, leaving Gina with the shortest.
    “I hope it’s an omen,” Cecelia said naughtily with a jaunty lift of her brow.
    Gina pretended not to understand her ribald attempt at humor. She pushed the bonnet under Cecelia’s nose and shook it. “You’re first, so pick.”
    Cecelia closed her eyes and dipped her hand into the hat. She removed the paper. Opening her eyes, she carefully unfolded it. “Mr. Ryder,” she said evenly.
    Gina studied her expression carefully, but couldn’t tell whether Cecelia was pleased. Ryder was something of a mystery, but he didn’t seem a particularly bad sort—compared to his friends at least.
    “My turn.” Claire plunged her hand in the hat and playfully dug around for a moment.
    Cecelia rolled her eyes. “Just pick one, Claire.”
    “I am.” Claire fished around for another moment or two then slowly drew out a slip of paper and opened it. The excitement drained from her face.
    “Who is it? Did you get Lord Coventry?” Gina asked consolingly, knowing he was the lowest of the low. The most depraved of the depraved.
    Claire shook her head.
    “Then who?” Cecelia asked impatiently.
    Almost apologetically, Claire handed the scrap of paper to her sister. This time Cecelia could not control her expression, her lips curled and flames sparked in her dark blue eyes. She looked angry and something else—maybe a bit jealous. “Beaufort.”
    Gina winced. “My turn,” she said, dipping