When the Marquess Met His Match Read Online Free PDF

words would intimidate him into giving up his quest, she was mistaken. “Are you threatening me, Lady Featherstone?” he asked, smiling back at her.
    “Take it any way you like.”
    “Very well then, I shall take it as a challenge. And I have never been able to resist a challenge. But I’m not sure what you can do to stop me,” he added, baiting her, hoping she would reveal her strategy so he would know just what he would be up against. “I appreciate that you are disinclined to help me, but I fail to see what you could do to prevent me from finding a wife by my own efforts?”
    Her smile vanished, and her eyes flashed like cool, polished steel. “I shall make sure that any young lady you are considering knows just what sort of man you are, of your scandalous past, the dishonorable reasons for your courtship, the mercenary quality of your intentions, and just what a horrible husband you would make.”
    He was stung by this scathing and wholly unjustified summation of his character, but he didn’t show it. “You must do as your honor dictates, of course,” he said in his most amiable fashion, “but now that the gauntlet has been thrown, let me say that I don’t think your mission will prove quite as successful as you imagine.”
    “No?”
    “No. You are assuming I will follow society’s customary courtship rituals, but I have no intention of doing so.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I will not be conducting a proper courtship at all. In fact,” he added, his smile widening as he relished her shocked face, “I believe I shall conduct one that is as deliciously improper as possible.” He winked. “It’s more fun that way.”
    “Oh, you are a devil,” she breathed, her hands clenching into fists at her sides, her expression one of barely controlled outrage. “A wicked, black-hearted rake.”
    “No point in denying it,” he said with a shrug. “Many people came to that conclusion about my character long ago, including you, it seems.”
    “With good reason, sir!”
    She knew nothing about the circumstances that had led to the tarnishing of his reputation nor his reasons for allowing the rumors to stand, and he damned well wasn’t going to launch into explanations now. “Either way, it won’t make a particle of difference. Women love a rake who is willing to reform. Especially if he can evoke her passion.” His gaze slid to her mouth. “Mutual affection, like minds, and shared interests be damned.”
    With that, he turned and walked out, leaving the prim and proper Lady Featherstone spluttering behind him.
    U PON B ELINDA’S ARRIVAL in England a decade earlier, the Viscountess of Montcrieffe (formerly Miss Nancy Breckenridge of New York), had been kind enough to guide her through her first few precarious years in British society. She had taught Belinda the three most important precepts of a true lady, to wit: a lady never displayed shock or surprise, never gave way to fits of temper, and never, ever contradicted a gentleman before dinner.
    Belinda, in those days a young, withdrawn, terribly insecure girl, hadn’t had any trouble taking those precepts to heart. But now, as she stared at the empty doorway through which the Marquess of Trubridge had just departed, it occurred to her that she’d just broken all three of those rules as easily as one might break an egg.
    Not that she could find cause to regret it, for his words about conducting an improper courtship could only mean one thing: he intended to seduce and compromise a girl into marriage, and that would give any woman, lady or not, cause to lose her temper. Still, Belinda knew anger wouldn’t serve her well in these circumstances. She had to think clearly, plan strategically, and find a way to stop him.
    Women love a rake.
    His words came back as if to mock her, and Belinda sank down onto the settee with a sigh. Trubridge was right about that, and she knew it better than anyone. Experience was a bitter teacher.
    Charles had been a rake, too,