Taming the Rake Read Online Free PDF Page A

opportunity had not presented itself.
    Although the party was originally conceived to mark the day of Gina’s birth, the duchess had thought it prudent not to draw attention to Gina’s advanced marriageless age. So instead she’d turned it into her first town dinner party as duchess—though Gina had received a few well-wishes from those who remembered the significance of the date from previous celebrations.
    A rueful smile curved her lips. No doubt there were some who thought it kinder to forget.
    The guests were an odd mix of old (friends from before her father’s remarriage) and new (friends of her stepmother). Gina was surprised to see the Countess of Coventry and her daughter included in the latter. Apparently, Coventry’s eldest sister was making her debut this season. Their presence tonight was a stroke of good luck that Gina fully intended to take advantage of.
    “It’s a lovely party,” Claire said.
    Gina bristled, trying not to be defensive. Claire was making a pleasantry, not a comparison. Gina knew she was being petty. It would help if the new Duchess of St. Albans was incompetent, but she was nauseatingly proficient at the duties she had usurped from her stepdaughter. Gina gazed around the well-lit drawing room, hoping to find fault. The room was bursting with candles and charmingly decorated with pink and white flowers and soft blue draperies. The servants were in perfect position, the buffet was set out with refreshments, the china matched the decorations, and the silver had been polished to a brilliant shine. Not one dratted detail had been overlooked.
    “Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves,” Gina answered noncommittally. “Especially now that the ladies have removed themselves so the men can enjoy their port.”
    “Something has been bothering me,” Claire said, jumping right in.
    Gina smiled. “I’d rather thought so.” Unlike her sister, Claire was not adept at hiding her feelings. And right now she looked very worried.
    “I’m not so sure this game of Cece’s is such a good idea.”
    Gina located Cecelia across the room engaged in what appeared to be a lively conversation with the duchess. Claire and Cecelia couldn’t understand Gina’s reticence toward her father’s “delightful” new bride. Gina turned away, fighting the unwanted spike of jealousy. “Neither am I.”
    “What good can come of it?” Claire fretted.
    “What good indeed.”
    Claire seemed surprised to find no argument. “I know why Cece is doing this,” Claire said. Cecelia’s reasons were clear to all of them. She wanted revenge. She wanted to humiliate Beaufort and his ilk as he had humiliated her. “What I don’t know is why you are doing this.”
    Gina shrugged. “To relieve the boredom.”
    Claire stared at her, knowing that wasn’t the entire reason. At times Claire’s insightfulness could be unnerving. She had a way of looking at you, an intensity in those clear blue eyes that was in sharp contrast to her usual flightiness.
    “I know it’s been difficult for you since your father remarried. I know the pleasure you took in managing his estates. But this seems to be a very drastic way to relieve your boredom. You don’t do anything without a very good reason. Cece can’t bully you. Unlike me, you don’t get tangled up in her webs unless you want to. And I’m wondering why you could possibly want to become involved with someone like the Earl of Coventry. An involvement that can bring you nothing but censure.”
    Claire had a point. Why was Gina doing this? Trying to woo a man she couldn’t stomach even from a distance. She couldn’t explain it herself, but from almost the first moment Cecelia mentioned it, the idea had struck a chord with her. A slight thrill rushed through her. The excitement, the relief from boredom was part of it. Justice for Alice and others like her was another. But Gina suspected that her reasons went even deeper. Men like Coventry, rakes, were a scourge upon the