AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh dear, I’m very sorry to hear that. I know we just met but I quite like you, MissPenny. I don’t want him to marry Lady Millicent, though she is this Season’s reigning beauty.”
“Don’t you have another brother?” Mina asked casually.
“No respectable girl speaks about Rafe these days if she doesn’t want to be tarnished by association.”
That’s precisely what Mina wanted. Bring on the tarnishing! Bring on the adventures.
“Will he be attending this evening?” she asked, keeping her tones admirably modulated.
“He usually arrives around midnight with his inebriated friends. They dance with a few ladies, say scandalous things, and then leave again for the night’s real entertainment in the demimonde. That goes on until he stumbles home to his nearby town house in the early hours of the morning. Repeatad nauseam.”
“You don’t think very highly of your brother.”
“You obviously haven’t met him.”
“I have met him. That is, he visited my uncle’s estate from time to time.”
Lady Beatrice gave her an alarmed look. “I do hope you’re not thinking of reforming him.”
“Of course not.”
“You can’t, you know. Many have tried. All have failed.”
“I’ve no interest in reforming your brother.” At least not in the sense Lady Beatrice meant.
“Do reconsider my brother Andrew—Thorndon—won’t you? He may be brusque and he may appear to be unfeeling, but he improves upon acquaintance, I promise. I know he has a good heart, be it buried ever so deep. His life has been... troubled.”
Mina hadn’t read the Duke Dossier closely enough to uncover any troubles.
Peering through the fronds, Mina searched the room for Lord Rafe. He wasn’t there, and neither was Thorndon, not that she was looking for him.
Now was her chance to escape. “If I go back out there, Marmont will claim me for another dance,” she said.
“You can hide here with me, I don’t mind,” Lady Beatrice offered.
“That’s very kind but I think some air would do me good. Is there a way for me to access the gardens from here without being seen by everyone?”
Lady Beatrice nodded. “There’s an entrance to the gardens directly behind us. You can hide there until Marmont loses interest.”
“Thank you, Lady Beatrice. It was very nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. I do hope we’ll see each other again soon.”
“I would like that.”
It was nice chatting with Lady Beatrice but Mina had urgent plans.
She was still wearing the demure gown Grizzy had chosen for her, but not for long. She had a transformation to complete. She must be ready to make a truly memorable impression when Lord Rafe arrived.
She’d made her plan carefully, considering all of the variables. She’d followed the path of logic, written everything out, every possible outcome, and then burned the paper.
If she stayed at Sutton Hall she would die slowly inside and go dull, and eventually flicker out. Lord Rafe was her escape route.
He would be the handsome face of the operation, and Mina would do what she excelled at: keeping thorough records, cracking ciphers and codes, piecing together small tidbits of information into a greater whole, and modifying and inventing weaponry.
With Mina at his side, they couldn’t lose. They would become even more celebrated than her parents had been. Together they would defeat Le Triton and Mina would finally have her revenge.
He’d thought he could do this. He’d thought he’d banished the memories.
