The Unexpected Duchess (Playful Brides #1)(10)

A sharp movement across the room caught his eye, and a flash of pale yellow skirts revealed … Lady Lucy Upton.

“Your Grace,” Lady Lucy said before he’d even had a chance to greet Lady Cassandra. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?”

Her voice dripped with sarcasm. Derek eyed the beauty up and down. A pity she was such a harridan, because the woman had a lush exotic look to her tilted eyes, dark shiny hair, high cheekbones, and full lips that nearly begged for a man to kiss them. Only he’d no doubt draw away bloody and bitten, he thought with a wry smile. Why Lady Cassandra insisted upon keeping Lady Lucy by her side, he would never understand, but apparently Lady Lucy was the price Derek must pay for Lady Cassandra’s company. So be it. If he couldn’t handle one little spoiled Society miss, he wasn’t worth his salt.

“I came to pay a visit to Lady Cassandra,” he replied with a tight smile.

“Please, have a seat.” Lady Lucy gestured to the chairs across the room and blinked her long, sooty eyelashes at him.

“Y … yes,” Lady Cassandra echoed softly. The poor young woman looked as if she were about to bolt at any moment, like a soldier caught stealing rations.

Derek strode over to a chair near the settee where Lady Cassandra perched. He waited for the prim Lady Lucy to flounce over and take a seat before he took one himself. Ah, the aristocracy and their tiny fancy chairs. A man his size was likely to break it to bits. He shifted uncomfortably and pointedly ignored Lady Lucy.

“I trust you are well today, Lady Cassandra,” he said.

Lady Cassandra nodded. “Oh, yes. I’m quite well. How are you”—she cleared her throat—“Your Grace?”

“Excellent. And how are your mother and your father?”

“Both quite well also, thank you. Mother is out paying afternoon calls and Father is at his club.”

Derek nodded. Lady Lucy was sitting at an angle behind him where he couldn’t see her face but he got the distinct impression, from the many times Lady Cassandra’s eyes flitted over to look at her friend, that she was somehow feeding her information. She was like a bloody spy from the War Office, that woman.

“Not too tired from the festivities last evening, I presume?” he asked.

Lady Cassandra’s eyes flitted over to Lady Lucy. “No. Not at all.”

Derek gritted his teeth and shifted in his ridiculously small seat. “What are your plans for this afternoon?”

Another quick glance toward Lady Lucy. “Oh, I … um. That is to say, we…”

“We’re having a look at the shops,” Lady Lucy announced from behind him. “Quite busy today. Quite.”

Lady Cassandra looked a bit relieved to have been spared the need to answer the question.

“And what about tomorrow afternoon?” he asked Lady Cassandra, but his entire attention was attuned to the little minx behind him.

Again, Lady Cassandra looked to Lady Lucy for her cue. “I … we…”

“Quite busy tomorrow afternoon as well,” Lady Lucy interjected.

That did it. Derek stood, lifted his chair with ease, and placed it at an angle where he could see both of them properly. “Seems I’m addressing my remarks to the wrong lady.”

Lady Cassandra’s hand flew to her throat. Lady Lucy’s unusual eyes lit with fire, and she stared down her haughty little nose at him. “I don’t know what you mean.” She blinked innocently.

“Don’t you?” He arched a brow at her.

Lady Lucy shrugged. “You’ve asked after our plans and we’ve told you.”

He gritted his teeth. “I asked after Lady Cassandra’s plans and you’ve answered for her.”

Lady Lucy crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down. “I’m Lady Cassandra’s chaperone.”

“Oh, really? An unmarried female acting as a chaperone?” he retorted.

“Yes. I’m eminently qualified,” Lady Lucy replied.

“That I doubt.” Another tight smile from him.

Lady Lucy nearly came out of her chair. “How dare you?”

“Oh, I dare quite easily, my lady. What I don’t understand is why you insist upon acting as if—”

A small, ladylike throat-clearing interrupted them. Lady Cassandra’s attempt to get the two of them to stop arguing, no doubt. He turned his head to face her. “My apologies, my lady.”

“What are your plans for the afternoon, Your Grace?” Lady Cassandra ventured.

“Seeing as how you’re already occupied, I may ride out to Huntingdon and see the new estate.”

“The estate that was endowed upon you with your title?” Lady Cassandra asked.

“Yes, seems I’m a landowner now,” Derek replied.

“You might want to get under way as soon as possible,” Lady Lucy offered. “It’s quite a journey from here, is it not?”

“Ready for me to take my leave, my lady?” He eyed her with suspicion.

She innocently batted her long lashes at him again. “I meant no such thing. That would be rude.”

“Ah, yes, and you’ve no experience in that quarter, do you?” he replied tersely.

Lady Cassandra gasped quietly and Lady Lucy gave him a withering glare. “Seems you do, Your Grace.”