Lady Gone Wicked (Wicked Secrets)(12)

“I am glad you are in town, Eastwood,” Montrose continued. “There are matters that require our attention.”

Matters? What matters? Adelaide looked askance at Nick. What could possibly require the attention of both a duke and a spy? The war was over.

Moments later, she and Nick joined the couples in the dance—a series of bouncing steps and quick turns. Her hands were in his as they first went left, and then right, and then—oh, heavens—right again. Then they pranced forward and back, meeting other couples as they went. She was dizzy from the effort.

The turns began again. She went right before Nick hastily corrected her, spinning her to the left. Spots danced before her eyes, and the room tilted dizzily. She reached out. The man who took her hand was not Nick, but Montrose. He peered worriedly at her.

“I’m all right,” she murmured.

And promptly fainted.





Chapter Ten


Nick looked at Adelaide’s limp form in the arms of another man and had a lot of feelings he simply did not know what to do with. Fear was the most prevalent, but also the most useless, so he pushed it down in favor of annoyance that she had fainted into the arms of the Duke of Montrose instead of his own. And anger. Why the devil had she not been eating?

Anger, at least, he could do something with.

Montrose laid her gently on the floor, and the other couples parted to give them space, forming a chattering circle around Adelaide’s supine body. Nick squatted next to her and shook her roughly by the shoulders. When her eyes remained stubbornly closed, another cold wave of fear hit him. He reached for her again.

“Eastwood!” Montrose protested sharply. He batted Nick’s hand away. “Be gentle. She is a lady, not a rag doll.” The duke patted her cheek softly. “Miss Bursnell, please wake up.”

Her eyelashes fluttered. Relief flooded Nick’s gut even as his irritation tripled. Then her eyes fully opened and widened with shock, perhaps at finding the duke’s face so close to her own. She flailed against the floor, scrambling to find purchase.

“Easy, now,” Montrose said soothingly. “If you try to stand too quickly, you will only faint again.” He grasped her elbows and stood slowly, taking her with him. “That’s the way. Allow me—”

Her knees buckled, and she leaned more heavily against the duke. Nick moved to assist her, only to be pushed aside by Alice.

“Haven’t you done enough?” she demanded in a harsh whisper. Louder, she said, “Darling, what happened? Are you ill?”

“No—” But she got no further.

“She is not well. I am Duke Montrose. May I ask who your chaperone is?”

Introductions were made while Adelaide quietly starved. Nick gritted his teeth. “She needs—”

But they paid him no mind. He followed as they ushered her across the ballroom to the ladies’ salon.

“If I could just—” Adelaide tried.

“Shh, darling, don’t try to talk,” Alice said. “We will take care of everything.”

Nick could stand no more of this. He turned abruptly and stalked to the table of refreshments. After procuring a cup of lemonade, a cake, and a heap of strawberries, he returned to her side.

Alice gave him an annoyed glance. “Really, Mr. Eastwood, I do not need assistance in caring for my sister.”

He ignored this and pushed the plate into Adelaide’s hands. “Eat.”

“Oh, her dress— She couldn’t possibly,” Lady Westsea protested.

But Adelaide could and did. She devoured the cake in small, eager bites. The strawberries soon followed.

“Thank you, Mr. Eastwood. I feel much better now.”

Montrose inclined his head with a smile. “Yes, thank you, Eastwood. You do seem to have a knack for keeping people alive.”

Behind him, Nathaniel made a strange coughing sound. Nick did not turn. Let his brother suffer under his guilty conscience. It was not his job to make his family feel better about their treatment of him.

“We should return home,” Lady Westsea said. “You need to rest, Adelaide.”

“Perhaps she could rest just as well here as at your home,” Montrose suggested. “I would be happy to entertain you both until supper, after which she might feel well enough to dance again. It would be such a shame for Miss Bursnell to miss all the fun.”

Lady Westsea’s eyes lit up. “How kind of you, Your Grace. I am sure my daughter would be very grateful for your companionship.”

What the devil was happening? Nick looked from Adelaide to Montrose to Lady Westsea. They all appeared completely content with the arrangement. Nay, happy. And Nick was…superfluous.

No, that couldn’t be right.

“Can I get you anything else, Miss Bursnell?” he asked. “Perhaps another lemonade, or a cake.”

“No, thank you, Mr. Eastwood. I am well attended. You have been most kind, but I am fine now. The second set is about to start. Perhaps you should find your partner?” She barely looked at him as she spoke.

He had been dismissed.

It should have been a relief, to leave his loose end firmly in the care of another man. After all, it was his intention to do so permanently, as soon as he could find a man he trusted enough to do the job.

Yet he wasn’t relieved. He was…unsettled. He would have called it hurt, had he been a little boy. But he was no longer a little boy. He was a man, and men did not get their feelings hurt just because a lady refused their offer of lemonade.