Regency 09 - Redemption Read Online Free PDF

some of the other gentlemen in the room, as well as
the ladies. He appeared completely unaware of this, however. “You
are just as candid as ever, my lady,” he told her. He sobered
suddenly. “Don’t ever lose that. Act the débutante to the hilt if
you must but never marry until you find someone with whom you can
be yourself.”
    Jenny stared at him. “Does
such a man exist?” she asked with a small amount of
wonder.
    “Of course. I wouldn’t
think your brother ever found much pleasure in talking to stupid
ladies and I can’t imagine that his wife is like that. You know Bri
is outspoken and Adam seems to delight in that. Even Miles believes
women should have some brains and he seems to take Society’s side
in everything.”
    “And what about you?” Jenny
heard herself ask, vastly interested in this topic and curious
about the hint of bitterness she detected in his words.
    His face became shuttered,
distant. “I much prefer stupid ladies,” he remarked in a tone
devoid of expression. He stood. “Please excuse me, my lady.” He
bowed and left her to join a group of young men standing near the
window overlooking the street.
    If that was what he liked,
why was he counseling her to retain her independence of mind? It
made no sense to her and even less the more she thought about it.
When the middle-aged Earl of Tarence joined her, she smiled and
became as distant as Dare had been towards her.

    “I can’t believe you would
make other plans, Dare. Adam wanted you and I to take Bri and Lady
Greville about,” complained Miles that evening.
    “I’m sure you can handle
it, Miles,” he said encouragingly. “I believe in you.”
    “You say that now. But Lady
Greville is six months pregnant and scary beyond reason. And I
think Bri is, too. She just hasn’t told anyone yet.”
    “She is. About three
months, I should think.”
    “You see? I need support,
Dare. Me, alone with two pregnant females? The mind
shudders.”
    Dare’s lips became a grim
line as he studied Miles. “When the devil did you turn into such a
whiner?”
    Miles drew himself up to
his full height of six-feet-one-inch. If he did it to intimidate
him, Dare thought, he was in for a disappointment. Darius Prestwich
was not easily intimidated—especially by his younger
brother.
    “I do not whine, Dare. I
have legitimate concerns. I choose to voice these concerns. And
since they are about you, who better to listen to them?”
    Dare stared up at him from
where he lounged in his chair. His expression was patronizing.
“Miles, when will you learn? I do not listen to anyone. I am my own
man. A violent, irresponsible, and sometimes downright nasty man,
true, but my own man nonetheless. Please refrain from telling me
what I should and should not do.” He stood, patting Miles’s cheek
affectionately. “Thank you, brother. I’ll see you
tomorrow.”

    Miles escorted Bri and
Aurora, Lady Greville, to a rout in Park Lane being held by Sir
Alfred Tinney and his new bride, Lady Matilda. With a lady on each
arm, Miles led them up the front steps and the three of them
greeted their host and hostess. They fought their way up the stairs
to the upper salons. Miles relinquished his charges to some of
their acquaintances so they could further their gossip about Lord
Derringer and escaped to a slightly less crowded room.
    He had stood looking around
the room for only a few moments when he caught sight of the Ladies
Northwicke. They held court from a settee situated near a potted
palm. He moved in that direction.
    Gwen greeted him with
obvious pleasure. This was what a young lady ought to be like. She
was polite, sweet, unassuming, kind, beautiful, elegant…he could go
on forever.
    Jenny looked up at him with
a question in her eyes that Miles couldn’t begin to understand. He
glanced at Gwen, his black brows raised ever so
slightly.
    Lady Guinevere rose to her
feet. “I would very much like to walk a bit, Mr. Prestwich,” she
said sweetly.
    Miles bowed and