Free The Danger in Tempting an Earl by Sophie Barnes

and Lady Winston,” Lucien said as they approached the two women who were standing close to the terrace doors. “Would you care for some lemonade? I’m about to fetch some for Lady Crossby and thought you might enjoy a glass yourselves.”
    “How very kind you are, Lord Roxberry,” Lady Winston said, her voice soft as she spoke. “We’d appreciate that very much, wouldn’t we, Lady Huntley?”
    “Oh, indeed we would.”
    “Very good, then—I’ll be right back.” Leaving Katherine with Louise and Lady Winston, Lucien walked off, moving confidently through the crowd until he disappeared from Katherine’s sight.
    “How was your stroll in the garden?” Louise asked.
    Her question sent an uncomfortable rush of heat up Katherine’s arms and across her chest. “Quite lovely,” she admitted, immediately irritated by the gleam in Louise’s eyes. She decided to quash whatever notion her friend had of her and Lucien developing a relationship that went beyond the bounds of friendship. “Before arriving here, I was unsure if our relationship would ever return to what it once was, but during our walk it almost felt as if he never went away at all—as if things were just the way they used to be between us. Once he marries, this will probably change to some degree, since his wife will require more of his attention, but that is how it should be, don’t you think?”
    “He’s spoken to you about his intention to marry?” Louise asked with marked curiosity.
    “He made it clear that since he must eventually do his duty, he might as well get on with it, or something to that effect,” Katherine said. Why on earth was her heart beating so fast?
    “And has he told you whom he intends to court?” Lady Winston asked.
    “It appears he may be considering Lady Julie,” Katherine replied, albeit a little reluctantly.
    “Well, I cannot accuse him of not having good taste,” Louise said. “Lady Julie will make a fine countess, to be sure.”
    The comment gripped at Katherine’s insides, filling her mind with images of Lucien saying his vows to Lady Julie. To her dismay, she did not feel the least bit happy at the thought of it. “If you will please excuse me,” she said, “I will just pay a quick visit to the ladies’ retiring room.”
    “I hope you’re not unwell,” Lady Winston said.
    “No, not at all,” Katherine told her, attempting a calm tone to her voice even though her stomach was turning itself inside out and she feared she might be ill. “Indeed, I feel wonderful! It’s so good to be out among friends again.” And then she turned and hurried away, hoping that neither woman remarked on the way in which her words had faltered.
    Reaching the other side of the ballroom, she was just about to turn down the hallway that would take her to the ladies’ retiring room when she spotted Lucien, his head bowed toward Lady Julie as he spoke to her. There was an intimacy between them that irritated Katherine beyond reason, and in spite of herself, she felt her whole body grow stiff as she watched the pair. Fearing they might see her, she made up her mind to continue on her way, when a low voice stopped her. “They make a fine match, don’t you think?”
    Vexed by the question, Katherine spun around to find Mr. Goodard, the Duke of Kingsborough’s friend, standing close to her, his deep blue eyes trained on the same couple she’d been watching moments earlier. While she had met Mr. Goodard once or twice before, she had never spoken overly much with the man, and it annoyed her now that he’d noticed where her attention had just been riveted. “I’m sure they do,” she said, her words a little terser than she would have liked.
    “I must confess that I’m a little surprised by Roxberry’s eagerness—I wouldn’t have thought Lady Julie his type.”
    “No? And why is that? He’s been gone from here for quite some time, Mr. Goodard. Who knows what his tastes are like these days?”
    Tearing his gaze away