Free England's Perfect Hero by Suzanne Enoch Page A

slowed almost to normal.
    Robert ventured a glance around him as he pulled open his bedchamber door and emerged into the hallway. He still felt the effects of it, the tiredness and the shaking, but he'd beaten it back this time. For the first time he hadn't let the blackness win. And he owed that to roses—and to Miss Lucinda Barrett.
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    Chapter 6

    From this time a new spirit of life animated the decaying frame of the stranger.
    —Robert Walton, Frankenstein

    Lucinda couldn't help slowing as she and the general reached the front steps of Halboro House. Before Evie and St. Aubyn had married, she'd crossed the threshold only once, and even then had ventured only as far as the foyer. And yet now, in the bowels of the house where until a few weeks ago virtuous females had feared to tread, she was popping in for an intimate dinner with family and friends—and a potential future spouse.
    "Welcome, General Barrett, Miss Barrett," the butler said, ushering them in. "Lord and Lady St. Aubyn are in the drawing room."
    "Thank you, Jansen."
    The drawing room door was three-quarters closed, and at the last moment, remembering that Evie and Saint had only been married a month, Lucinda loudly cleared her throat. "You know, Papa," she said in a carrying voice, "I couldn't help noticing that you twice brought Madeira to Mrs. Hull at the Wellcrist soiree."
    "Well, the heat in the ballroom was stifling, and Mrs. Hull had neglected to bring her fan," the general replied. "If—"
    The door was pulled open. "Good evening," Evie said, smiling as she kissed Lucinda on the cheek and tugged the two of them into the room. "You're our first arrivals."
    St. Aubyn appeared at his wife's shoulder to slide a hand possessively down her spine. "And you have fortuitous timing, too. I was just about to win an argument."
    Evelyn blushed. "No, you weren't."
    "We'll have to continue later, then," he drawled, green eyes assessing his bride. "General Barrett, allow me to challenge you to a game of billiards. I believe the ladies wish to chat."
    The general lifted an eyebrow. "Considering the relationship of Lucinda and Evelyn, I believe you should call me Augustus."
    The marquis nodded. "I do seem to have joined a larger family than I expected. This way then, Augustus. If I win, you may call me 'Saint.' In the unlikely circumstance that I lose, I will insist on being referred to as 'Your Most Beneficent Lordship, the Marquis of St. Aubyn.'"
    Augustus chuckled. "Don't think that'll sway me, young man."
    The two men vanished down the hall, and Lucinda watched after them for a moment. "I still can't quite grasp it."
    "Grasp what?" Evie asked, taking a seat on the couch.
    "His most beneficent lordship," Lucinda returned with a smile. "Michael Halboro. I mean, I know what lengths he went to in order to win you, but… my goodness, you married the Marquis of St. Aubyn."
    "My mother refuses to believe it," Evelyn said with a small grimace, "and my brother still barely speaks to either of us."
    "I know. I'm sorry."
    "Oh, I'm not. Michael thinks it bothers me, too, but it really doesn't. I leave it to them to accept that I'm brave and independent and that I love Saint as much as he loves me. Because I'm not about to change now. Arriving here took far too much effort."
    Effort . "Do you think I'm cheating?" Lucinda asked abruptly. "And please, please tell me the truth."
    Evie grasped her hands to pull her down onto the couch. "Truthfully," her friend said, gazing at her closely, "I don't see how making a decision and then taking steps to realize your goal could be cheating."
    "I meant about the lessons."
    "Luce, you're not cheating. Whatever we thought we were talking about that day, I think we were actually expressing a certain… dissatisfaction with our own lives."
    "I don't need a husband in order to be happy," Lucinda retorted.
    "That's not what I mean." Evie sighed. "I am much happier now, with Saint. But I'm also happier because my family's not controlling my