Duchess of Sin Read Online Free PDF

after all.
    Her younger sister, Caroline, lay on her stomach across Anna’s bed, a book open before her. The flickering light of one candle
     glinted on her spectacles.
    “So you’re back at last,” she said calmly, turning over a page. “You were gone a very long time.”
    “Caroline!” Anna cried in a whole new rush of panic. She crossed her arms over her midriff, wishing she still had her cloak
     to cover the scarlet gown. Surely even Caroline, who cared nothing for fashion, would notice such a thing. “What are you doing
     here? Are you spying on me?”
    “Certainly not. I merely happened to glance out thelibrary window earlier tonight and saw you leaving. I was rather curious because you claimed to have a headache after dinner.”
    “Did Mama see?”
    “No, she had already retired.” Caroline closed her book,
Great Battles of Ancient Ireland
, and sat up on the bed. Her brown eyes were bright with inquisitiveness.
    “Are you going to tell her?” Anna asked warily.
    “That depends. Where were you?”
    She could hardly tell Caroline the truth—that she had run off for a night of dancing and gaming at the notorious Olympian
     Club and ended up kissing a wild Irishman in a dark conservatory. To buy herself a moment to think, she ducked behind her
     dressing screen to struggle out of the gown. Luckily, Jane’s garments were made to get out of fairly easily. Her Gianni must
     be so happy.
    “I just needed a breath of fresh air,” Anna said, draping the slippery red fabric over a chair and kicking off her heeled
     slippers. “This house is so stuffy sometimes.”
    “So it is,” Caroline answered. Anna heard her climb down from the bed, the sound of pouring water. “No wonder Eliza always
     hated it. But why did you need a ballgown to go for a stroll?”
    Anna froze as she rolled down her stockings. She had a sudden flashing image of Adair dragging up her skirts, his dark hand
     on her pale thigh, warm and strong and delicious.…
    “Blast,” she whispered, shivering at the thought. She tore off her light stays and chemise, pulling her nightgown over her
     naked skin before she could have any more such fantasies.
    “What did you say, Anna?”
    “I said—what else would I wear for a midnight stroll?”
    Caroline suddenly poked her head behind the screen, holding out a damp washcloth. “You have rouge on your lips still.”
    Anna took the cloth in silence, scrubbing at her rouged lips and powdered cheeks. She wished she could wipe away Adair and
     the burning intoxication of his touch so easily.
    “Were you meeting Sir Grant Dunmore?” Caroline asked.
    Now
that
Anna did not expect. “Grant Dunmore? Why would you think that?”
    “He sent you flowers again today.” Caroline gestured to a basket of deep purple violets. “And you brought them up here and
     left all the other bouquets in the drawing room. Everyone says he is courting you, but then again so is every man in Dublin.”
    “I brought those in here because I happen to like violets.” Anna made herself laugh, pushing past her sister to sit down at
     her dressing table. Her hair was still a mess, falling down around her shoulders, and her cheeks were red from excitement
     and fear. Surely she couldn’t fool anyone. Guilt was written all over her face.
    She snatched up her hairbrush, yanking it through the tangled waves of hair. “Out of every man in Dublin, why do you think
     I was meeting Grant Dunmore? He is hardly courting me—we’ve only danced a few times and gone for a ride in the park once.”
    But then again, Jane had also thought he was courting her. Was that what everyone in Dublin thought?
    “He is very handsome,” Caroline said. She took thebrush from Anna’s shaking hand. “Here, let me do that. You’ll pull your hair out by the roots and then no one will want to
     marry you.”
    “Least of all a man as handsome as Grant Dunmore?” Anna asked, suddenly curious. Caroline never seemed to notice men at all;
     she cared