Free Yorkshire by Lynne Connolly Page A

comfortable partner?” I didn’t want that. “Do you know such a man?”
    In preparation for our next year’s London visit, my sister read every newspaper and magazine she could lay her hands on. She rejected politics and news in favour of society gossip. She studied prints of society notables until she could recognise them on the street—not that any of them ever came to Exeter, the centre of our social world. She’d be well prepared to explode upon the London scene, and she would probably capture the heart of a duke in the first month. I wished I could be more like her, confident and charming, but her success didn’t make me jealous. She was my sister and I loved her. She had always been generous with her expertise, helping me to choose the right fabrics for my clothes and showed me how to ply my fan flirtatiously, but it didn’t help. I was too tall and plain for flirtation.
    “Have you read anything about Lord Strang and his brother?” I asked her now.
    “Oh yes,” Lizzie said.
    I sat up in bed, hugging my knees. “Tell me.”
    “Why the sudden interest? Can it be you feel a sudden interest in one of them? Has Mr. Gervase Kerre’s charms reached even your stony heart?”
    I managed a laugh, trying to keep our conversation light. “No, it’s just that when one meets them face to face, it becomes more interesting.”
    “Yes, of course.” A gleam in her eyes belied her docile agreement. She settled down in the chair and told me their story, or as much of it as could be gleaned from the papers she pored over. “Well, twelve years ago when they had both just turned eighteen, a terrible scandal erupted when the Honourable Gervase eloped with their neighbour, Lady Boughton. They ran away to France together. After six months, the families prevailed upon Lady Boughton to return. She lived apart from her husband for a year before he finally forgave her. Lord Southwood is a stickler for propriety, and he refused to let his son into his presence again, so Mr. Kerre took the Tour. He went first to Italy, then went on to India, where he engaged in various speculations. He returned to England at the beginning of last year, enormously rich.” She looked at me, her eyes shining. “Still not interested? The family seemingly reconciled. But when he returned, he resurrected the scandal. Until Lord Strang offered for Miss Cartwright the papers were full of it.”
    “A beautiful summary.”
    Lizzie laughed. “Oh, I went and read it all when I knew they were to be here.” She leaned back in her chair. “Lord Strang, meantime, has tried every extravagance he is capable of, but he didn’t actually step over the line. He dresses beautifully and has affair after affair, but he never stays with any of the women for long. Wherever he is, trouble seems to follow. There have been scandals aplenty. Whenever you read about an elopement, a suspicious death, or a theft, he always seems to be there. I think he’s more dangerous than his brother and now we’ve come into the title, I shan’t look in their direction for my matchmaking.”
    “Lizzie.”
    “What? You want me to be less than honest with you?” She gazed at me, wide-eyed, lovely. “I thought we agreed a long time ago we would always be honest with each other.”
    She was right. Lizzie even knew about the mess with Steven. She’d implored me, for months, to sever all connections with him, but she’d told no one else, as she’d promised at the start of the flirtation. I knew I could trust her.
    Therefore, I told her of my strange feeling. “After the accident, I felt something I’ve never experienced before for anyone. When I look at him, I feel weak, excited and very, very nervous.”
    I didn’t look at her as she asked, “Who? Gervase Kerre?”
    “No. His brother.”
    “Oh dear.”
    I met her gaze. “I’ve decided to do what I can to avoid him. I’m sure it’s only the shock or something like that. I’ll recover.”
    “I hope so. It’s the only