Free How to Dazzle a Duke by Claudia Dain Page B

in,” Edenham said cheerfully.
    “I brought the vase,” Cranleigh said, looking at Iveston.
    “I brought the man with the vase,” Iveston said. “An escort,
    you might say, to ensure safe delivery of the vase.”
    “I brought Penelope for the very same reason,” George Prest
    wick said, looking at Penelope. “An escort, ensuring safety.”
    Oh, dear, another impromptu game and Miss Prestwick quite
    out of her shallow element.
    “I’m afraid I’ve only brought myself,” Penelope said, looking
    quite miserable. Iveston could almost feel some pity for her. And
    then he looked at Edenham and the thought passed.
    “Which was quite more than enough,” Sophia said. “Men
    How to Daz zle a Duke
    61
    must bring gifts. A woman need only bring herself, for her com
    panionship is worth at least a small stack of gold coins.”
    “Is it?” Edenham asked.
    “It is to me,” Sophia said. “Oh, Tannington, how good of you
    to come,” she said, rising to her feet to greet him. They all rose
    with her to greet the Viscount Tannington.
    He was a tallish, leanish, sharkish-looking fellow with either
    a slightly sinister or slightly dangerous aspect, depending on the
    lighting. At the moment, he was looking more dangerous than
    sinister, but it was the sort of dangerous look that women seemed
    to fi nd compelling more often than not. Iveston glanced at Pe
    nelope. She did not look compelled in the slightest. He found it
    strangely gratifying.
    “I beg your pardon,” Tannington said softly. “I had antici
    pated fi nding you alone.”
    “But of course you did, darling,” Sophia said smoothly, “and of
    course, I am just as surprised as you are, but here we all fi nd
    ourselves.” Sophia shrugged. “Yet isn’t it always pleasant to
    find oneself in such company, so unexpectedly? The unexpected
    does add such a thrill to what could have been merely a drizzly,
    quiet May afternoon.”
    Tannington sat. They all sat. Sophia smiled seductively at
    Tannington. Edenham looked on and smiled tolerantly. The look
    on Edenham’s face put any thoughts of Edenham being amo
    rously connected to Sophia Dalby out of Iveston’s head, not that
    he’d had any thoughts of that nature to begin with, but one did
    hear so many rumors about Sophia that nothing, and no one,
    could be discounted.
    Mr. Prestwick was watching his sister.
    His sister, the peculiar Miss Prestwick, was watching Sophia.
    Cranleigh cleared his throat and uncrossed his legs. Cranleigh
    was preparing to leave, his gift delivered. Iveston, quite unexpect
    62 CLAUDIA DAIN
    edly and completely out of character, did not want to leave. He
    could hardly stay if Cranleigh left; that would look most odd. But
    he did want to stay, though he couldn’t have said why.
    Miss Prestwick had turned her gaze from Sophia, who ap
    peared unreasonably amused by Tannington, to look at Edenham,
    who did not look at her.
    It was a most peculiar form of entertainment, yet Iveston
    found himself strangely amused. It was clearly high time he got
    out of Hyde House more often; he was becoming quite eccentric
    in his amusements.
    “We had a bit of an amusement going,” Edenham said to
    Tannington, “just before you arrived. In the spirit of the game,
    and not to intrude, but are you here to give something to Lady
    Dalby?”
    Tannington’s pale-eyed gaze went from Edenham, circled the
    room, and back to Sophia. He was in the process of going from
    dangerous to sinister in his aspect, which did not speak well of
    his sense of fair play and pleasant dealings, did it?
    “As you do owe me on a wager of some days past, I do hope
    so,” Sophia said.
    Tannington looked at Sophia, nodded, and said, “As it will
    please you, then I shall freely admit so, Lady Dalby. I have come
    to pay my debt to you.”
    “And never was anyone welcomed with more joy than upon
    those words,” Sophia said with a smile.
    Tannington, by every appearance, did not look the sort to be
    amused at being a part of a jest