Taming the Rake by Monica Mccarty Read Free Book Online

A glint of warning. A man like Coventry would not be a welcome caller for his cherished daughter, or for any daughter in this room for that matter.
    Coventry understood the warning, though it was unnecessary.
    “Leaving so soon?” The duchess had joined them without either of them noticing.
    “I’m afraid so,” Coventry said, bowing over her hand. Knowing that his attentions would not be misunderstood, he gave her a rare genuine smile.
    “Your mother will be beside herself,” she chided.
    Damn. He’d forgotten. It wasn’t his mother that concerned him, but his sister. He wasn’t used to being beholden to anyone. But he’d promised Augusta, or Gussie as he’d called her as a child. And despite his scorn for duties imposed by others, he did try to honor obligations he took upon himself.
    Family had been such an anathema to him, it was strange having a sister about again. In truth, he didn’t know any of his sisters that well. Eager to escape the hell of his childhood, he’d left for school when they were quite young and rarely returned.
    His sisters had been fortunate, their strict, deeply religious father died before Coventry left for school. But not soon enough. The hatred curdled inside him.
    “The Devil’s in you, boy. I’ll beat him out of you if it’s the last thing I do.”
    He never succeeded, Coventry thought with a wave of defiance, though the bastard had died trying. Coventry wore the proof on his back.
    His mother should have deserved his sympathy. But after his father’s death, she became even more overbearing. She wasn’t sadistic like his father, but her cruelty was almost worse. It was the subtle cruelty of knowing that everything you did was not good enough. He’d been a failure even before he’d tried.
    Any sense of filial duty he might have felt fled after the disaster that had been his “marriage.” He’d avoided Croome Park, his childhood home, like the plague. He glanced at Augusta across the room still in conversation with Lady Georgina. He may have been able to avoid his mother, but his sisters hadn’t been so lucky. And it was probably the residual guilt of leaving them behind, and not Augusta’s well-timed tears, that had caused him to agree to escort her for the season. She seemed a decent enough girl, if a bit shy. He didn’t want to use the term browbeaten, but he couldn’t help but notice the way she seemed to shrink and lower her eyes around their mother.
    A strange emotion, a sense of duty, washed over him. A feeling he quickly shook off. The responsibility was not his. Nevertheless, the sooner he found Augusta a husband, the better.
    The duchess read his quandary. “Don’t worry,” she whispered conspiratorially. “I’m sure Lord Sussex can see them home.”
    Relief washed over him. His visit to Simone could not wait. His grin broadened, spreading to his eyes. “I would be forever in your service.”
    The duchess laughed. “I’ll remember that.”
     
     
    Gina watched with mounting irritation the scene taking place across the room between the duchess and Coventry. Such outrageous flirting. And right under the nose of her poor father. Gina hadn’t missed the admiring glance Coventry had bestowed upon her step “mama” as he bowed over her hand. Yet another male apparently bewitched by the dubious charms of the duchess. Grudgingly, Gina admitted that her stepmother was an attractive woman. Some might even consider her beautiful. Her father certainly seemed to think so. A handsome man in his own right, at two and forty, the duke doted on his young bride.
    Trying to hide her annoyance, Gina turned her focus back to Lady Augusta, who was gazing at her with something akin to reverence in her expression.
    Suddenly self-conscious, Gina asked, “What is it?”
    “My brother doesn’t frighten you?”
    Taken aback, Gina asked, “Should he?”
    Lady Augusta bit her lip uncertainly. “He can be quite cutting. Cruel even.” She blushed. “And there’s what