Free A Question of Impropriety by Michelle Styles Page B

like the boy she remembered from child hood, rather than the embittered man she’d discovered when she returned from London. ‘Trust me to do the right thing. It will work, Diana. I know it will. Have faith in me.’
    â€˜I do have faith, Simon. How could you ask that of me?’ A shiver went down Diana’s back. ‘I hope you are right. I don’t think Lord Coltonby is a good man to cross.’
    â€˜Neither am I, Diana, neither am I.’
    Diana offered up a silent prayer that it would not come that. She glanced one last time at The Duke, sitting there black and brooding. How much was bravado on Simon’s part?

Chapter Five
    â€˜I s it true what Miranda Bolt says?’ Charlotte Ortner asked Diana, leaning over her tea cup, her face alight with excitement.
    â€˜What does Miss Bolt say now?’ Diana regarded the candlesticks on the Ortners’ mantelpiece. Her weekly round of visiting had proved more tedious than she’d thought possible. Everywhere she went hummed with whispers of Lord Coltonby and his arrival in the neighbourhood, endless questions and speculations. One would be forgiven for thinking nothing else had happened recently in Ladywell or the Tyne Valley. She had only a few minutes left before she could make her excuses and leave. She always stayed precisely a quarter of an hour—no more, no less. ‘What new entertainment for the ball has she devised?’
    â€˜Miranda says that Lord Coltonby singled her out for special attention and it is merely a question of time. She said you were a witness and saw his preferential treatment at close quarters.’
    â€˜Charlotte!’ her mother called. ‘Modulation!’
    Charlotte lowered her tone and glanced over her shoulder,but, seeing her mother was actively greeting new arrivals, she continued in a low voice, ‘I thought I could ask you as you weren’t in the running, so to speak. Mama will be livid if Lady Bolt beats her in this marriage stake. And you are the only person who knows the truth. Does he have a penchant for Miranda Bolt?’
    â€˜I am really not able to indulge in idle speculation or gossip.’ Diana folded her hands on her lap. Trust Miranda Bolt to twist the encounter. There had to be some way of rectifying the situation without calling attention to her own part.
    â€˜But Miranda said you were there and would confirm every thing.’ Charlotte’s eyes danced and her mouth quirked upwards. ‘Mama’s eye is very firmly fixed on Lord Coltonby at the moment. Miranda is planning a strata gem for the ball, and so naturally I wanted to know. Does Miranda tell a tale that is too good to be true?’
    Diana shifted on her seat. She needed to stop Miranda Bolt. If she continued in this fashion, the result would be heart ache—or worse. Everyone appeared to have little understanding of a London rake’s methods. Lord Coltonby would only be caught when he chose to be and not before. ‘I have no reason to believe any wedding bells will be ringing for Lord Coltonby in the near future.’
    â€˜Wait until I tell Mama.’ Charlotte placed her tea cup down with a bang. ‘Miss Clare has made one of her pronouncements: Lord Coltonby is destined to remain a bachelor.’
    â€˜Please, don’t say anything… My acquaintance with Lord Coltonby dates from London. I know what he is like.’ Diana’s cheeks burnt with a sudden heat. Why did people insist on reading too much into things? She had merely wanted to protect Miranda and ensure her reputation was kept safe, not begin an on dit of her own. Her hands wentto straighten her cap, but instead encountered her hair. Hurriedly Diana placed them in her lap and made her face assume a beatific expression.
    Charlotte’s eyes narrowed. ‘Why, Miss Clare, I do believe you have abandoned your cap. I cannot see it peeking out from your bonnet.’
    â€˜It…it did not suit the