Page 1 of Beauty and the Rake
Chapter One
Never had Roxannethought she would miss the four distinct seasons of England. But as she glanced outside the carriage she had hired, she noted the fog from the Thames had thickened, making visibility nearly impossible, and it made her smile. Not that there was much to look at. The house she was in front of was nothing in the way of spectacular, and given the fog, it made the brick structure almost spooky.
Neither had she ever thought she would find herself in this sort of predicament. Her marriage had been one of convenience, bringing two powerful families together. Once the papers were signed and vows said, she found herself alone. As she stared at the barely visible structure, she was determined to claw herself back up the ladder she fell so far down.
She heard the driver and his man come down off the seat. The driver opened the door and put down the stair as his man began to haul her trunks to the front door. Stepping down as graciously as she could manage, Roxanne smiled at the driver. Six trunks she’d brought back from her three years stay in the south of France. There was no staff left to help. All had been dismissed by her late husband’s son in accordance with his father’s will.
Rather than allow her to live out the remainder of her life in the dowager house on one of his estates, Lord Casper Smith, eighth Earl of Temple instead left her a house on the outskirts of London in a less than fashionable area. The house had oncebeen occupied by one of the earl’s mistresses until her death. Roxanne had no idea what she would be walking into. Never had she been inside. Given the key at the reading of the will, she left the attorney’s office and immediately fled to her aunt’s outside of Provence. If it had been Casper’s idea to embarrass her and see her laughed and gossiped over by the ton, he succeeded. No longer did she live in Mayfair. Her fall from grace was his last delight.
She would have to swallow her pride and ask for help.
“Sir, my staff is not scheduled to start until tomorrow morning. Do you think you and your man could take the trunks inside to the entrance?”
He turned to study her face as he pondered his reply. He must have taken pity on her because he nodded his head of thin, graying hair. “No problem, milady. Happy to help.”
Roxanne managed a smile, nodded, and walked to the front door, putting the key in the lock, opening the door for the men to enter. But before she could step aside for the men, a shiny black carriage, pulled by four black horses, stopped at the curb. She immediately recognized the carriage by the ducal seal on the door as belonging to her brother Arthur.
He sprang out of his carriage before a footman could open the door or lower the stairs and quickly came toward her. He turned to the driver for a moment. “I am the lady’s brother. She won’t be staying here.” He nodded to his footman. “See all her trunks are delivered to my house.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Arthur continued up the stairs to Roxanne and immediately took the keys from her hand. “You’re not staying here. You’ll stay at Jameson House.”
“But…”
“No excuses, Roxanne. I will not have my sister living in this neighborhood just because her late husband bequeathed the property to her.” He leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek.
“Very well.” She watched as he locked the door. He turned, offered his arm, and led her down the stairs to his waiting carriage. Roxanne ascended the carriage with the help of a waiting footman and settled on the red leather seat. Arthur followed, choosing to sit across from her. He removed his hat and set it on the seat next to him.
“How did you know I’d be there?”
“I knew what date your ship was due.”
“So you decided to rescue me?”
“Casper was a cruel man. I never did like him. He treated you horribly.”
“Not only me, but he treated Thomas horribly too.” Thomas was the only child she and Casper ever had. Once it became apparent that Thomas was mentally challenged and would never mature past a toddler, Casper stayed away from Roxanne’s bed. According to Casper, the boy’s problems were all Roxanne’s fault.
“I know,” Arthur said. “We have a lot to talk about.”
“I suppose we do.”
“How did you enjoy your time in France?”
“I liked it well enough. The south of France is quite a bit different from Paris. I saw a lot of places I might not otherwise have ever had the opportunity to visit.”
The last year had gone by slowly. She had been ready to return to England. She missed her friends, Georgiana in particular. Georgiana had encouraged her to return home. After almost three years, it was time. The last thing she anticipated was finding herself left with this house which had been occupied by one of Casper’s mistresses.
The fog seemed to be lifting the closer they got to Mayfair. She could make out the outline of some of the buildings and parks along the way. Roxanne glanced at her brother who was watching her. They had always been close growing up and remained so to this day. Unfortunately, Arthur had been away on a business trip when Casper suddenly died. Roxanne had sent word to him while he had been in Scotland, but he never got her missive. They were convinced Casper’s son, Perry, had had something to do with the letter disappearing. Same with a telegram she sent. That was all in the past and hopefully Perry had moved on.
The carriage turned down a street across from Grosvenor Square. The ancestral family home, built by her great-great-grandfather, sat on prime Mayfair land. It was where generations of her family lived while in London. Roxanne had lived there until her father sold her to Casper. That’s how she looked at her marriage. It had been a marriage of convenience. Convenient at least for her husband.
She smiled at her brother. At thirty-two, a duke and unmarried, he was one of the most sought-after men in London.
“What are you smiling about?”
“That you’ve still not married.”
