Page 1 of Duke of Wickedness
PROLOGUE
“Percy Egelton, would youstop that!”
Ariadne Lightholder folded her hands demurely in her lap and tried to pretend that she had never overheard anything in her life, let alone what was clearly a flirtatious exchange between her elder sister Catherine and Catherine’s husband, the Duke of Seaton. The pair had been married well over a year now, and yet they still acted like newlyweds.
As did Ariadne’s elder brother, Xander, and his wife, Helen.
Also, her younger brother, Jason, andhiswife.
And Ariadne’s cousin, Hugh, andhiswife.
It was, alas, an awful lot of affection being constantly bandied about.
And Ariadne was happy for them, of course she was. But also…
It was rather a lot.
“If you didn’t want me to put my hands on you, perhaps you ought to be a little less—oh! Ah, hello, there, Ariadne.”
Ariadne posted a very polite, very proper smile on her face.
“Good afternoon, Percy,” she greeted her brother by marriage, who was looking positively mortified. Catherine, for her part, was looking as though she was struggling enormously against the urge to laugh.
“Oh, goodness, Ari, I’m sorry,” Catherine said, a hand over her mouth. “We had plans to go shopping today, didn’t we? It completely slipped my mind.”
This time, Ariadne’s smile came a bit more naturally. There was a time when Catherine never would have forgotten any appointment, not even a reasonably unimportant one like a trip to Bond Street with her sister. But marriage had relaxed the prim and proper Catherine Lightholder, leaving calmer, less rigid, andhappierCatherine Egelton behind.
Ariadne was thrilled for her sister, who had practically raised Ariadne after the fire that had killed their father and stranded their mother in her grief. Catherine deserved a break.
Which meant that it was Ariadne’s time to be the Catherine of the family.
Even if she would never be quite as good at it as Catherine had been.
“We can go another day,” she said, rising smoothly to her feet. She’d been practicing that. The new Season was upon them, and Ariadne was determined that this one would be her last. She wasnotgoing to spend another year being a burden to her family.
It wasn’t just the expense, though a Season in London did cost an eye-watering amount. Her family was secure enough to be able to afford the cost; Ariadne knew she was extraordinarily lucky in that regard.
But every time she went to one of the events, one of her siblings or their spouses had to come out and serve as her chaperone—goodness knew Ariadne’s mother wasn’t going to do it.
And none of them had ever made Ariadne feel as though she was a burden for this. Catherine had, after all, gone through quite a few of her own Seasons; Ariadne knew that her elder sister would never begrudge her taking the time to find a match.
But Ariadne begrudged herself. Catherine had given up practically the whole of her own childhood to take care of Ariadne. It was well past time for Ariadne to stand on her own two feet—and to let her siblings get their own lives started.
“No,” Catherine protested at once, though she didn’t exactly pull herself free of her husband’s arm. “Of course we’ll go. I said I would. Let me just have a moment to get?—”
“Kitty,” Ariadne interrupted. “Stay home. It’s fine! I shall hardly suffer if I don’t look for ribbons today.”
Catherine bit her lip doubtfully. Ariadne kept her expression smooth, projecting how utterly fine she was. The finest of fine! Not one single problem in her mind.
But it was Percy who made the difference, however.
He whispered something in Catherine’s ear that made Ariadne’s sister blush. Ariadne very much did not notice them. It was astonishing how much she didn’t notice them!
Having all three of her siblings fall disgustingly in love had made Ariadne an expert when it came to selective blindness. And deafness.
Whatever Percy said, Catherine blushed. Horrifying.
“Are you certain, Ari?” she asked, clearly wavering.
