Page 10 of Tutoring a Lady into Sin
“Hmmm…” Christianna hummed in a non-committal way. She was not quite so certain of anything. They were but twelve days from the wedding, and while she saw the duke with more regularity now, they spent very little time in each other’s company without having at least half a dozen others in attendance. She’d not had one substantial conversation with him, and while it seemed he was content with their situation at present, she was not.
“Oh, I do wish I had been invited to ride in their carriage,” Bianca murmured, and Christianna cast a quick, sidelong glance at her friend. “I am sorry to admit as much, Christianna, but the duke is a dashing man.”
And regardless of everything else, Christianna had to agree with her friend’s conclusion. The Duke of Bixby cut a very striking figure. He was tall and lean with broad shoulders. He looked quite dapper in his olive-green riding jacket and silk cravat.
His chestnut brown hair was combed into a messy mop of curls, and his light brown eyes were warm and inviting. As he smiled impishly at the two ladies who he was still making a show of escorting from the carriage, Christianna wished that she was on the receiving end of his attentions.
“There is no need to be sorry,” Christianna whispered to her friend. “The duke is…”
“Oy, Phineas,” Percy called loudly as he let go of Lady Lydia’s hand and rapped on the side of the coach. “Are you coming or not?”
Bianca gave a little squeal. “I did not realise Lord Phineas was set to join our party. What a delight, for he is just as handsome as his brother.”
“Bianca,” Christianna hissed, “whatever has come over you?”
“This is your wedding celebration, dear friend,” Bianca replied as a playful smile floated onto her thin lips. “Can you not feel the love that is in the air?”
At that moment, Phineas stepped from the carriage. He held one hand to his temples as though he was nursing a headache. “No need to bang on the carriage, Percival,” he grumbled as he looked at his brother. “You knew I was just about to join you.”
“Yes, well, I do not want to waste the day standing about in the street,” the duke replied peevishly.
“Where shall we all go first?” the dowager duchess asked as she moved forward and claimed the arm of her eldest son. Christianna once again felt she was being forced to the side, and so, instead of nudging herself forward and taking the duke’s other available arm, she hung back for a moment.
“May I join you, ladies?” Phineas asked as he fell in step with Christianna and Bianca.
“But of course,” Bianca answered as she smiled coyly at him. He offered them both his arms, and while Bianca eagerly looped her hand through and grasped him around the elbow, Christianna lightly placed the tips of her gloved fingers on his forearm. “Lead on, Lord Phineas,” she said as she batted her thick fringe of eyelashes. “I do wish to see all we can today.”
They trailed behind the rest of the group, and as a matter of course, the party came upon the milliner’s shop first. “Come!” the dowager duchess cried. “We all need new bonnets, I believe.” Percy disentangled himself from his mother’s grasp, and as the ladies and Lord Linfield filtered into the shop one by one, he waited near the doorway.
“Lady Christianna,” he said as he bowed his head politely. “And Lady Bianca,” he continued while giving another gracious head bob.
“Your Grace,” the ladies replied in unison.
“If you do not mind me depriving you of your escort, I wish to steal my brother away.”
“But where are you going?” Bianca asked as her eyes opened wide, and she questioned innocently.
A roguish smile lit up Percival’s features. “Just down the street, there is a gaming hall I like to frequent whenever I am in town.”
“No, thank you,” Phineas said automatically. “I am quite content here with the ladies.”
“But you never come to Palby’s with me,” Percy whined a little. “It has been so long since you joined us at Bixby Hall and even longer since we did anything together. Come, be my companion as I fritter away some of our family’s fortune.”
Christianna could not fail to see the look of irritation that floated onto Phineas’ face. “Forgive me, Brother. But I thought we came into town today to spend time with the ladies.” He jerked his head to the side, clearly indicating he thought Percy should stay with the party and spend time with his fiancée.
“The ladies will be shopping for hours,” the duke replied as he gave a slight eye roll. “We can pop into Palby’s, spend a few hours, and return to their sides once more without—”
“Why are you blocking the doorway?” Percy’s lament was interrupted by Lord Linfield, who stepped outside.
“He is trying, unsuccessfully, I might add, to convince me to join him at Palby’s,” Phineas explained. He arched his eyebrow haughtily, and that made Lord Linfield laugh.
“But Palby’s is great fun,” the earl hooted a bit of a laugh. “We should all go.”
“The ladies might not think such an establishment was so—”
“The ladies are not invited,” Percy interjected as he winked roguishly at Christianna and Bianca. “They should entertain themselves as they see fit, and we should do the same. Now, come on, Phineas. No more standing about, arguing in the street. You can see Uncle Felton does not object to a bit of gaming, so you must be persuaded to join us.”
Phineas turned to look at Christianna. “I was actually hoping I might invite Lady Christianna…and Lady Bianca to join me at the nearby library. They have an expansive display of books and—”
