Page 76 of His Tempting Duchess

Now that I’m married, I can have friends who aren’t considered as respectable as they should be.I’m a married lady, not a vulnerable young woman with a reputation as fragile as glass. I’m free.

She let out a long, slow breath and began to make her way across the room, taking off her spectacles as she did so to wipe them on her gown. She immediately bumped into somebody with athump.

“Oof,” she gasped, blinking up at an annoyingly familiar face.

“Miss Belmont! Or should I say,Your Grace, the Duchess of Clapton,” the Baroness Rawdon greeted smoothly. “Congratulations on your marriage. You Belmont girls must be possessed with the devil’s luck—all three of you, catching dukes!”

The woman looked breathtakingly beautiful in a simple, elegant gown of deep green, decorated with seed pearls. A chain hung around her neck, a ring at the end of it.

“Thank you, Lady Rawdon,” Emily managed, smiling faintly. “We didn’t deliberately set out to catch dukes, of course. It just… sort of happened.”

“Mm-hmm. Well, as I said, congratulations,” the Baroness continued, her smile not budging an inch. “You’ll make a fine duchess.”

Emily eyed the woman, wishing with all her heart that one of her sisters was with her, or perhaps her mother.

Why does she dislike me? Did she want to marry Cassian? Was she one of his mistresses?

That thought sent a frisson of pure rage through her. Of course, jealousy was never a healthy thing, and certainly, she had no right to be jealous of any affairsCassian might have had before he married her.

Or after,she reminded herself.This is a marriage of convenience. My safety and freedom in exchange for an heir. He can do as he likes and share his bed with whoever he likes.

The idea of the beautiful baroness tangled up with him beneath the sheets filled Emily with dread and anger. She’d never felt quite so plain in her life.

The baroness cocked her head, the faint smile still playing on her lips, and Emily wondered if the woman could see her thoughts on her face. Most probably.

Then, before either woman could say anything, a fresh-faced girl of around sixteen skipped over to them, beaming widely.

“Oh, Mama, this is her, isn’t it? This is Miss Belmont, Cassian’s wife! Oh, do introduce me!”

The baroness’s eyes narrowed. “That isYour Graceto you, Frances! For heaven’s sake!” She turned back to Emily, forcing a smile. “Do forgive my daughter’s exuberance. One would never think that she’d just come back from finishing school.”

Frances was quite clearly the baroness’s daughter. She was beautiful, with fair hair and large green eyes set in an exquisitely shaped face.

The girl flushed, looking a little crestfallen. “I’m sorry, Mama. And I’m sorry to be so disrespectful, Miss B—I mean, Your Grace.”

Emily swallowed hard but offered her a smile. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to being calledYour Grace. You must be very close to the duke, to refer to him so informally.”

Frances reddened but said nothing. Her mother also stayed silent, and Emily guessed that she’d hit upon something.

Surely Frances isn’t Cassian’s… daughter?

No, that wasn’t possible, not at her age. But still, something was going on between Cassian and the baroness. There was quite clearly a connection of some sort, and Emily wanted to find out what it was as soon as possible.

She swallowed thickly again. Her mouth was dry. She needed a drink, and quickly. She’d eaten nothing all day, and her stomach growled. Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach was a bad idea, of course, but she snatched up a glass of champagne from a passing tray anyway, taking a large gulp.

“I take it Cassian invited you?” she asked, smiling faintly.

“He did,” the baroness responded smoothly. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.” Emily downed the champagne, the fizzing bubbles spreading in her empty stomach and making her feel sick. Even so, she snatched up another glass when the footman returned.

“I think you look beautiful,” Frances added, with a shy and nervous smile. “I love the color of your gown. And your hair is so pretty.”

Emily immediately felt sympathy for the girl. It was clear that she was out of her depth. Society was not kind to sweet, fresh-faced girls like her. Emily knew that very well. Frances struck her as innocent, probably thinking that everybody in the world was kind and could be trusted.

She would find out the hard way that it was not true. But Emily’s wedding didn’t have to be the place where she learned that. The girl deserved a few more carefree years, after all.

Frances was beautiful, too, which would make her a target for every cad in Society. She had only her strange, distracted mother to protect her, whereas Emily had a fearsome mother and two brave, clever sisters.

---