by Dawn Brower
“Angeline needed an escort,” Alex supplied the ready answer. “Mother and Father haven’t returned from the country yet. We couldn’t decide which one of us would escort her, so we both came. Misery loves company and all that.” He took a drink of his brandy. “The parents should be home tomorrow before we’re off to take over Father’s project.”
Lucian laughed. “Well, at least we’re all in it together. If you’re chaperoning your sister, where is she?”
Angeline Marsden was a hellion. Most of the Marsdens were strong-willed and wild in some way, but she somehow managed to make the lot of them look tame. She’d followed them around as a young girl and often dragged Emilia along with her. Somehow, she’d managed to infuse her hoydenish spirit into his little sister as they aged.
“She’s over there in the corner with Emilia.” Drew pointed in their direction. “They’ve had their heads tucked together for the past half-hour. I’m not afraid to say that it frightens me. They’re hatching some plot. I’m certain of it.”
Lucian had to agree with him. He studied the two girls and they were whispering together as if they were sharing some dark secrets. Emilia’s blond hair was pinned back elegantly—not a strand out of place. Her gown was a pale pink that bordered on white that gave her skin a soft glow. Angeline… Her dark hair was pinned so some of her curls framed her face enticingly, and there was nothing innocent about her dress. The darker shade suited her, and as a red-blooded male he appreciated the more risqué cut to the bodice.
Every now and then, one of them would glance up and check their surroundings. Whatever they were discussing, they wanted to make sure it wasn’t public knowledge. What was Angeline Marsden getting his sister involved in? That girl needed a keeper, and if the twins weren’t going to rein their sister in, he’d have to step in and do something. Otherwise, his own sister would be embroiled in the scandal Angeline was sure to cause with her mischief.
When would she grow up? Both girls were one and twenty now. They should be considering settling down and finding husbands. But no, they were up to their old tricks, and he’d have to swoop in and save them.
“Are you going to let your sister corrupt mine again?” He lifted a brow in the twins’ direction. “Someone should at least try to stop them.” It would be Lucian, but he thought he’d at least attempt to reason with his friends.
“I think you’re worrying about nothing,” Alex said. “They don’t do anything that we need to overly concern ourselves with.”
“I agree. It’s usually harmless fun. What trouble could two girls get into anyway?” Drew glanced past him. His tone held a hint of curiosity as he asked, “Is that Julian?”
Lord Julian Kendall was another schoolmate of theirs. He was the spare to a dukedom and still trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. His twin brother would inherit, and Julian was free to do almost anything he wanted to with his life. There was talk he’d join the army, but he had yet to make that decision. They’d become friends because, with two sets of twins at Eton, they figured they should band together and wreak havoc wherever and whenever they could. They had all been a part of the best mischief and pranks the school had ever seen. Julian’s brother had decided to go his own way once they went on to Oxford. He felt he’d needed to concentrate on his responsibilities as the future Duke of Weston.
Lucian should be concerned about the same thing. He was the heir to a dukedom too. In his mind, his father would be around for many years to come though. He wasn’t close to being ready to take on the responsibility of being the Duke of Huntly. He couldn’t imagine what his father had gone through when he’d inherited the title. He’d been much younger than Lucian currently was when he’d come into it.
Julian made his way over to them. “Glad to see some familiar faces here.”
“What in the blazes are you doing here?” Alex asked as he brushed a stray blond lock behind his ear. The tone in his voice suggested he was shocked Julian would show his face in society. “This doesn’t seem to be your usual entertainments.”
“It’s not.” Julian grimaced. “But Eleanor wanted to come. There was no one else around who could accompany her. She has her friend, Lady Hannah Jones, with her too. So I’m stuck with two ladies to chaperone. Don’t they know I’m a rake and I shouldn’t be trusted?”
“Well,” Lucian began. “Eleanor is your sister. I think that she’s safe in your company. She’s a buffer where her friend is concerned.” He tapped Julian’s shoulder with his hand. “Hate to break it to you, but they’re quite safe in your care.”
“Bloody hell,” Julian muttered. “Laid low by respectability and family connections. Never thought I’d see the day.”
They had all been knocked down a peg or two. They couldn’t shuck their responsibilities as much as they wanted to. Their wild days were fast closing in on them. “There are worst things, I suppose.” His words were more Lucian’s inner musings than anything, but speaking them aloud seemed to calm him some.
“Bite your tongue,” Drew said. “I’m not going to give up my roguish ways because respectability is trying to creep its way into my life. It’s too much fun to stop now.”
“You don’t think you’ll fall in love some day?” Lucian lifted a brow. “There have been many men who have given up on debauchery for the love of a woman.”
Drew’s laughter echoed through the room. “I don’t have to find someone to love. It’s up to Alex here to carry on the title.” He shoved Alex to the side, who in turn shot an irritable glare at his brother apparently unhappy about the offense bestowed upon him. “That leaves all the fun to me. Someone has to comfort all the ladies he rejects. I’ll gladly take up that mantle.”
Lucian shook his head. Drew was the more wild of the Marsden twins. “I doubt Alex is in a hurry to marry anyone.”
“None of us are,” Alex agreed. “We have plenty of time to figure out what we want in life. The right lady will wait until I’m ready.”
There were a lot of things that could wait as far as Lucian was concerned. He glanced over to Angeline and Emilia again. He couldn’t help the nagging worry that had taken root in his gut. They should be watched, but he figured it could wait until later. There wasn’t a whole lot they could do at a dinner party. He’d talk to Emilia in the morning—or make that afternoon. She’d probably not be up early enough for a social call. Either way, it could wait.
“They will be fine,” Alex said as if he was reading Lucian’s mind. “I’ll speak with Angeline on the way home. Might nip the plot in the bud that way before it takes root.”
He wished it was that simple. Angeline Marsden had a glint in her eye Lucian recognized. Her brothers always brushed off her scheming ways as nothing, but Lucian knew better. She wanted attention, and no one gave it to her. If they took the time to acknowledge her, perhaps she would stop finding so much trouble to sink her teeth into. “I think I’m going to talk to them now.”
Lucian had been set on waiting to talk to Emilia. If it had just been his sister, that would have worked, but with Angeline at the forefront of it all… Nothing could be left to chance. What if the plan she was hatching had something to do with the dinner party? Then waiting wouldn’t prevent it.
“You’ll regret that,” Alex said assurance echoing through his voice. “Leave the two of them be. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Lucian ignored his friend and made his way over to Angeline and Emilia. They were still deep into their discussion, and neither one raised their head at his approach. For that, he caught a bit of their conversation without them noticing his presence.
“I promise you it will work,” Angeline said. “Please, say yes.”
“But what if something goes wrong? No one will be there to help you.” Emilia nibbled on her bottom lip. “This doesn’t feel right.”
“Do I have to go over it all again?”
What Lucian really wanted to do was interject and say, “Yes, please do.” That way he’d know exactly what they were doing, or m
ore importantly, what Angeline was plotting? Emilia didn’t seem to be on board and had no intention of being directly involved. His sister usually had better sense than Angeline.
“No,” Emilia said. “But promise me you’ll come see me right after you’re done. I won’t be able to stop worrying until I’m certain you’re all right.”
“You have…” Angeline stopped speaking and turned to look at Lucian. Her eyes darkened a little as she stared into them. “Were you eavesdropping?”
“Not at all,” he replied smoothly. “But now that you mention it—what exactly are you dragging my sister into this time?”
Emilia rolled her eyes. “I don’t need my big brother to step in and protect me from my friend. Go back to your little group of rogues and plan your evening of wickedness. We’re fine here by ourselves.”
The muscles in his jaw tightened at his sister’s words. “I’m afraid I can’t ignore what I overheard. You will tell me what you’re planning and now.”
Angeline’s laugher was a punch in his gut. He wanted to reach over and shake some sense into her. Why was she so bloody difficult? He narrowed his gaze. When had she become so lovely? Her dark hair was twisted up into an elegant chignon, and her blue eyes were like sapphires glittering on a perfect canvas. Her fury made her even more beautiful with her flushed cheeks and pouty pink lips. He wanted to kiss her, and that was an entirely new feeling. One he couldn’t brush off, and it terrified him in ways he’d never thought possible.
“Listen to me,” Angeline said. “I’m not embroiling Emilia in any scheme that will bring her harm. I’d never do that to her. Go away and bother someone else. We both know you don’t care about me, and it’ll be easier on us both if you removed yourself from my presence.”
He flinched at her words. What made her think he didn’t care about her? Sure, he didn’t like some of the things she’d done over the years, but he had never not cared about her. She was like a sister… No, that wasn’t true either. He could never feel for his sister what he did about Angeline. She angered him to the point of breaking and drove him insane on a good day, but he never had sisterly feelings for her. They were far more intense than that. “I’ll leave you two alone for now,” he said as calmly as he could manage. “but this conversation isn’t over.”
Lucian had to put some distance between him and Angeline. He didn’t like the direction his thoughts were going concerning her. Something had changed, and it had taken one moment for it to alter irrevocably. He couldn’t look at her and not see a desirable woman. Lucian should not be feeling something so profound for her. She was Alex and Drew’s little sister. If they ever realized that Lucian desired her… They’d murder me.
Somehow, he had to rein in his unwanted desire. If he didn’t, he feared the path it would lead him down. He would also have to find a way to make it clear to Angeline that he didn’t hate her. How he would manage that and not pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless, he didn’t know. There had to be some middle ground where he could express that he cared about her without making her believe they had a future as anything other than close family friends.
She lifted her chin and met his gaze. “As far as I’m concerned there’s nothing you can say that I need to hear.”
With that, she stomped away in a fit of fury that did nothing for his growing desire. He’d never wanted a woman more, and it had to be the one he could never have. Bloody hell… What was he going to do now?
Chapter 3
The heat had lowered to tolerable levels, but it was still a scorcher. Maybe Angeline had grown accustomed to the prolonged hot days that seemed to travel well into the fall months. At the rate the weather was going, they’d have sweltering weather well into Christmas. She certainly hoped not because the holiday wouldn’t be the same without cooler temperatures and snow-covered trees. Surely, the warmth wouldn’t last until the winter months though. Besides, she had other things to consider well before that became a reality.
She rushed down the street toward the London house where Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst held gatherings for the Women’s Social and Political Union assembly—or WSPU for short. She’d been secretly meeting with the suffragette group. She believed in their cause and wanted to help make a difference. Angeline didn’t understand why every woman in the country didn’t stand beside the Pankhursts and demand equal rights for all females.
The WSPU took a lot of risks to be heard, and she was fully prepared to do anything necessary herself. Those in power had to realize women were more than property. For that alone, she’d gladly sit in a jail cell or go on a hunger strike.
Angeline reached the townhouse and rapped on the door. There were hardly any men at these gatherings, and the person answering the door was no exception. Though the person who opened it was a surprise. Emmeline’s daughter, Sylvia, greeted her with a smile pasted on her face. Emmeline should already be in the gathering room not answering the door. She usually participated in the running of the meeting and those lower on the list of hierarchy were left to the more menial tasks. “Please come in. We were about to start. Christabel has some mad scheme for us to do later today.” The Pankhurst’s headed the WSPU. Emmeline was the matriarch, and her two daughters her right hands, though Christabel was more of a fanatic than Sylvia. “Follow me. We can stand in the back together.”
They strolled into a large room that, in normal times, held balls or large soirees. This gathering was a party of a different variety. Every woman in attendance would do their part in the suffragette movement. Angeline leaned over and whispered, “There are a lot of people here.”
Sylvia nodded. “My sister knows how to draw a crowd.”
Angeline turned her attention to the front of the room. Emmeline sat in a chair, front and center. Christabel stood directly to her left. She raised her hand to indicate that everyone should be quiet. “Thank you, ladies. We have a lot to go over before this afternoon’s event.”
Lady Hannah Jones slid into the room as quietly as she could and made her way over to Angeline’s side. She leaned against the wall beside her and stared toward the front of the room. Her auburn tresses were secured into an severe chignon—not a strand out of place. Angeline was surprised to see Lady Hannah at the Pankhurst meeting. She didn’t think the other woman would ever become embroiled in anything that might be considered scandalous. Lady Hanna Jones was the daughter of the Earl of Cavendish. Her father spoke out often against the behavior of any woman who became involved with Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters.
“Today we are going to march for the rights of all women. We will demand equal rights in everything. We should not lose our inheritance because we were born female, and who here doesn’t know a woman bound by the ties of matrimony that wishes they could undo it. Once we marry, we become our husband’s property, and everything we own becomes theirs too. This law has to change.” Christabel raised her fist in the air and all the women cheered. “The women who have to work to help support their families should have equal pay and the right to fair working conditions. We are not lesser because of our gender.”
“The woman does make sense,” Lady Hannah muttered under her breath.
“Did you not know what you were attending?” Angeline couldn’t help asking. “Why are you here?”
Lady Hannah sighed and turned to meet her gaze. Her eyes reminded Angeline of soft grass on a warm summer day—the shade almost an exact match even as they appeared hard like an emerald. “My father is a blowhard. He goes on and on about the evil of the Pankhurst women.” She shrugged lightly. “I’ve decided to act out and defy all his decrees. This was my first step, and honestly I didn’t know what to expect.”
Angeline could understand that and her opinion of Lady Hannah went up several notches with that new information. She had studied the group as much as possible before she’d decided to join them. They had a lot of radical beliefs, but she fully believed in the good they hoped to achieve by those actions. Sometimes risking everything was worth it because it could
lead to the greatest of rewards. If, in the end, the laws were changed to help make women more equal, it would be worth it.
“You won’t regret making the decision to come,” Angeline told her. “This will make a difference in all our lives.”
“I’m not so sure you’ll see the results you think you will,” Lady Hannah replied solemnly. “Many men don’t like the idea of women being seen as equal. Changing the hearts of men will take far longer than any of us will like.”
Sadly, Lady Hannah spoke the truth. Most of the men in her family still thought they could dictate to her on a regular basis. Hell, the men that weren’t even related to her did that often enough. “We have to start somewhere.”
Lady Hannah nodded. “Which is why I’m here. Do you think this parade will be as scary as it sounds?”
Angeline had come to a lot of meetings, but hadn’t actually participated in any of the events. The parade would be her first foray into marching against social injustice. “I fully believe it will be an experience neither one of us will forget.”
Christabel Pankhurst wrapped up her speech and explained where they were to meet later that day. When they marched down the London streets, everyone would take notice. A part of Angeline was as terrified as Lady Hannah openly admitted. At least no one would think to look for her at the parade. Emilia had promised to cover for her, and Angeline’s mother believed she’d be spending the entire day at the Huntly townhouse. It would be fine—she hoped…
Lucian walked into his parent’s townhouse with the sole purpose of seeking his sister out. He had to figure out what Angeline was dragging Emilia into. Something deep inside of him fully believed whatever she had planned would not end in anything good. He had to protect the two of them from themselves. Angeline had always been reckless and foolhardy. Emilia had wanted to emulate her from the start. She couldn’t see how Angeline would eventually lead her down a path of scandal.
