Free The Secret Life of Lady Lucinda by Sophie Barnes

Wouldn’t you have worried that your brother was getting involved with a dishonest woman—one who appeared to be leading two separate lives?”
    Choosing to ignore the question, Alexandra said, “Let’s not forget that you probably wouldn’t be married if it weren’t for me—honestly, the amount of times I had to champion your cause with Ryan…countless!” Reaching for a grape, Alexandra pointedly popped it in her mouth while William did his best to hide his grin. This little repartee was becoming more amusing by the second.
    “Granted,” Mary agreed. “But that is beside the point, and before you say otherwise, Alexandra, for I can see that you are quite eager to do so, I merely think it prudent to suggest that you ought to give Lucy the benefit of the doubt. It is true that what she did was wrong, but I still believe that it would be wise to refrain from calling the kettle black.”
    William choked back a laugh while Alexandra simply gaped at her sister-in-law, apparently unable to comprehend her candor. “Excuse me?”
    “All I am saying,” Mary continued blithely, “is that from what I’ve been told, you weren’t exactly forthright yourself when you first met your husband. Indeed, if anyone here is a master of deception, then it surely must be you.”
    Alexandra responded with a pout. “I didn’t trap him against his will.”
    “You did other things that we’d best not discuss at present,” William muttered. “May I remind you of a certain duel?”
    “That was…” His sister wisely clamped her mouth shut in order to avoid saying anything else. And while they didn’t discuss Lucy or his marriage any further during the course of their meal, William had to admit that both women had given him something to consider.
    R etiring to the parlor with the ladies while the gentlemen enjoyed their after-dinner drinks in the library, Lucy decided that dinner had gone quite well. Everyone seemed to have had a pleasant enough time, and considering how hungry they’d all been thanks to Stanton and Galensbury’s delayed arrival, Cook’s bountiful feast had been met with unsurpassed greed.
    She herself had had a lovely conversation with Lord Moorland about agriculture—not that she knew a great deal about it for that matter, but her Uncle George, who’d managed her parents’ estate before their departure from England, had spoken to her at great length about various varieties of corn, when to harvest, and how to determine what to plant for the following year’s crop. She couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old at the time, but she still had fond memories of riding out into the fields with him.
    From what Lord Moorland had told her, Moorland Manor dealt mainly with wheat, while her uncle had shown a clear preference for barley. Her father hadn’t seemed to care one way or the other. He’d been much too busy advancing his political career from what she recalled. She closed her eyes momentarily as the memory of both him and her mother came rushing back to her. It hardly seemed as if the time that had passed since that terrible night had healed the wound that ran so deep inside her chest.
    Sucking in a breath of air, she opened her eyes once more only to find Constance staring back at her with concern. “Are you all right?” she asked with the beginnings of a frown.
    Lucy nodded as she took her by the arm and steered her toward a couple of chairs that seemed forgotten in a corner. “Yes, thank you—just one of my flashes.”
    “I worry about you, Lucy. It doesn’t appear as though the…incident…is getting any easier for you to deal with.” Taking her seat, she patted the one next to her and watched while Lucy sat. “Keeping all this anguish and hatred inside you cannot be good for you. Perhaps if you were to confide in your husband…”
    Lucy expelled a deep breath. Things were rocky enough between the two of them without her giving cause to further arguments. “I know that I will