One Moonlit Night (Moonlight Square: A Prequel Novella) Read Online Free PDF Page B

France.” She winked at her. “Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal…”
    “Er, that sounds very exciting, my lady. Of course, I can’t really do any traveling until my sister’s wedding passes.”
    “Mmm.” Lady Kirby conceded this with a regretful nod. “How I wish I could go there again…”
    All of a sudden, the double front doors to the marble entrance hall below burst open, and a crowd of rakehells poured in from the windy night outside.
    They traveled in a pack, like wolves. They were rowdy and loud, fashionable and merry, windblown and more than a little tipsy, one more handsome than the next.
    From the corner of her eye, Trinny saw Felicity flinch when the ringleader of their set swaggered in: the tall, handsome Duke of Netherford. Trinny’s own breath caught when she spotted Lord Roland among the pack of pretty fellows.
    Promptly, her heart began to race. It was a foolish reaction, no doubt, but it couldn’t be helped. When a young lady shared a kiss in the moonlight with a dashing stranger—her first kiss, at that—it must understandably have at least some lingering effect.
    Hiding her reaction as best she could, she ran her hand along the smooth hardwood of the banister, grateful for how it steadied her, as the sight of him made her slightly dizzy. She bit her lip at his striking good looks, the white flash of his teeth as he laughed at something one of his friends said. His tall, elegantly muscled form was lean and hard, as she well remembered when she’d been crushed against him, and she could see that his smooth, shiny hair was not just dark but a dramatic ebony.
    She still had no idea what color his eyes were, though…
    Quickly stopping herself from staring, she looked away and wondered where the gentlemen had been. Their set always came late. But on second thought, maybe she didn’t want to know. It was probably someplace disreputable.
    A few of the young men spotted Lady Kirby coming down the steps, but Naughty Netherford’s gaze traveled past the old woman and clamped on to Felicity. Trinny saw him give a slight jolt and freeze briefly as he caught sight of the blonde. Well, well.
    Trinny knew the duke was a longtime friend of the Carvel family. Indeed, he was funding Major Carvel’s current expedition. So it didn’t make much sense to Trinny why Felicity always turned her most prim and proper whenever the so-called Duke of Scandal came into sight, considering she’d known him all her life.
    For his part, seeing Felicity seemed to put a damper on Netherford’s rakish swagger. He offered the blonde a respectful nod from across the room, and then glanced at Lady Kirby and seemed to note her difficulty in coming down the stairs.
    Turning away, the notoriously wicked duke clapped one of his friends on the shoulder, murmured something, pointed to another one of the men, and nodded toward the staircase.
    Trinny did not know the two young rakehells who came bounding up the steps, but Lady Kirby burst out laughing and scolded the lads simultaneously as they surrounded her, declaring themselves on a mission.
    “We shall carry you, my lady!”
    “It would be our honor!”
    Trinny got out of the way, but Felicity practically yelped as the two young lords clasped arms, bent down, and fashioned a queen’s seat for the dowager to sit on.
    “Oh my God!” Felicity uttered, thunderstruck, as they proceeded to carry the old girl away. “They’re drunk! They’ll drop her!”
    Mrs. Brown looked aghast, as well. But Lady Kirby was delighted, her bony hands planted on the broad shoulders of the two rascals who’d been sent to convey her smoothly down the rest of the steps, easing her long, painful journey.
    The rest of the rogues applauded and hooted for their feat, and Lady Kirby laughed like a debutante.
    “Ah, that’s sweet,” Trinny murmured.
    But Felicity sent her a scowl, her lips pursed. Clutching her heart, she sent the Duke of Netherford a glare, which he either ignored or simply missed due to