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Chris glared at Dashlane. “Your turn is coming very soon.”
“It certainly is,” Juliet added, winking. “And so is mine.”
Balstead cleared his throat. “It would seem weddings are contagious.”
Everyone laughed and Bianca squeezed Chris’s hands. “It’s quite the family we’ve built here after all.”
He gave her a smile. The sort that curled her toes. “What would I ever do without you, my love?”
She gave him a large smile. “We’ve just married. Fortunately for both of us, we’ll never have to find out.”
He pulled her in for another kiss. Bianca was home.
* * *
Why a Marauding Marquess is Best
Romancing the Rake Book 4
Tammy Andresen
Why a Marauding Marquess is Best
Dane Summerset, The Marquess of Hartwell, sat in the carriage staring out at the ocean views as his sister chattered incessantly. “A wedding. It’s so exciting. Isn’t it?”
Dane grimaced, not looking at Charlie. Her proper name was Lady Charlotte Summerset, but no one called her by her given name. Anyone familiar enough to know her, referred to her just as Charlie. “Hardly.”
She clucked her tongue, swatting at his arm. “Our dearest cousin is getting married. We should be happy for him.”
Dane turned to his sister. “Rathmore left our company a week ago a determined bachelor.” He did not add that the duke had been heading to a house party filled with the sort of delights he hoped Charlie never understood. “Now he’s engaged to a completely unknown girl, who isn’t even titled. If you ask me, something dreadful has happened.”
Charlie sighed, the sort of sound that made his brows draw together. The sigh spoke volumes, accusing him of being absurd. He frowned. How did she not see that she was the one being ridiculous? “Maybe they fell in love?” she said, pressing her fingers to her cheeks as she stared dreamily out the window.
He scoffed at her statement. “Or perhaps she trapped him with some claim.” The idea made him shift a bit in his seat. Rathmore was a rake to be certain, but he usually kept his activities to women who understood the bargain. Dane didn’t think he would have knowingly compromised an innocent lady. If he had, there was no helping him. But, if this girl had made some sort of false charge, then there might be something Dane could do. He had no idea what, but his first objective was just to understand the situation.
Since they’d been children, Dane had always had the clearer head. Rathmore, as a duke, had the world at his fingertips and yet, his heart often allowed emotion to sway his decisions. He’d needed Dane to use reason and judgment to help him out of several scrapes and this one was likely no exception.
“You’re always so cynical,” Charlie tapped her fan on his knee.
He crossed his arms staring at his sister. “Or perhaps I am intelligent. Let’s play a game…”
Charlie wrinkled her nose. “Your games are never fun.”
He ignored his sister’s barb. “Which is more likely.” He sensed that his sister was also anxious to find love, though she’d had plenty of opportunity the previous season. She was assuredly painting Rathmore’s situation with her own wishes. “That Rathmore, a young, handsome, eligible duke, had a sudden and immediate change of heart after meeting a woman or—” He held up a finger. “That a lady, upon meeting the young, handsome, eligible duke, decided that he was excellent husband material and set a quick and effective trap.”
Charlie huffed, leaning back in her seat, her arms crossing in a mirror image of his. “While I must admit, the timeline is very quick—”
“Precisely.” He responded, triumph pulling his shoulders straighter.
“I will not go into this meeting with such doubts.” She leaned closer, her eyes narrowing as she gave him a long stare. “This woman, whoever she is, is going to be our family, Dane. Do not make a bad first impression.”
He didn’t reply as he stared back at his sister. Despite Charlie’s warning, he knew she was wrong. This woman wouldn’t be his family if he had anything to say about it. He’d pulled Rathmore out of more than one romantic scrape and he’d have to do so again this time.
His thoughts drifted back to a few years earlier when Rathmore had taken a mistress. The woman had declared herself enceinte and convinced Rathmore to marry her. Dane had stepped in and required Rathmore to wait three months. Within two weeks the woman had bled. She’d been forced to admit she’d lied about being with child. If Chase hadn’t heeded his warning, he’d have been married before he’d discovered the truth.
The carriage pulled into a drive and Dane shifted his gaze from the lovely ocean scene to the large stone house that stood high on a hill. Well, he had to admit one fact: the Moorish home was lovely.
As they made their way up the drive, a crowd of people stood in a line to greet them. As he drew near, he recognized several of the men. His cousin, of course, wearing a bright grin. But near him were two other lords he recognized from London. The Earl of Crestwood and the Baron of Craven. What in the bloody bullocks was happening here? He knew both the men were complete rogues who’d also been bound for Balstead’s party. Why were they here?
