Free Never Resist a Rake by Mia Marlowe Page A

I’m asking you to come for the next fortnight. Please say you will.”
    Chloe had heard of Lord Somerset’s annual hunts. Each fall, the cream of English aristocracy repaired to the marquess’s vast estate. By all accounts, they had a simply marvelous time procuring dead heads with antlers to hang on the walls of their own country manors.
    â€œI am not received by Polite Society,” Chloe reminded him.
    â€œNeither am I. That’s why my…my family …” He seemed to stumble over the word. “At any rate, they seem to feel a turnabout is in order. If I’m in a position to receive Polite Society rather than be received, it will change matters. As I understand it, being at Somerfield Park will give some of the ton a chance to reconsider me and my unusual circumstances.”
    He leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees. “Perhaps if they have the chance to spend time with you there in the country, they’ll reconsider you too.”
    Chloe hadn’t been welcome in a proper parlor since she returned from Italy in widow’s weeds. Since her very first bereavement, she hardly knew what it was like to meet a respectable woman on the street. Most of them crossed over to the other side rather than be forced to acknowledge her. She’d suffered more than her share of cuts direct before she decided to thumb her nose at the ton and stop seeking their approval.
    â€œI don’t know,” Chloe said with a sigh. “I don’t want to hurt your chances, Hartley.”
    Where on earth had that come from? She hadn’t had an altruistic thought in years. Clearly Lord Hartley was a bad influence on her.
    â€œLet me worry about that. If the ton chooses to cut me over my choice of friends, so be it. When I first came to London, you were one of the few who didn’t make me feel as if I had a bit of dung on my shoe and then tracked it into the parlor. Can you blame me for wanting to be sure of a few friendly faces in Somerfield Park? I hope one will be yours.” He ran the brim of his topper through his thick, capable-looking fingers. At least, she’d like to learn what they might be capable of. “If you’re concerned that you won’t know anyone, don’t be. I intend to invite Blackwood, Smalley, and Pitcairn as well.”
    â€œNow I know you’re trying to bungle your chances.”
    Hartley laughed. “Those fellows aren’t so bad. At least they’re lively and will keep the party from becoming stodgy.”
    â€œThat’s God’s truth.” The Daemon Club was an entertaining lot…if they didn’t burn the manor house down in the meantime.
    â€œThen you’ll come?” Hartley said.
    â€œI will.” Someone had to watch out for this lost lamb. Chloe hadn’t realized before this how very gullible he was. She rose to her feet and he did too. Then a new thought crossed her mind, and with it, her estimation of his intelligence and cleverness ticked up. “Oh! Now I understand. You wish to tweak Somerset’s nose. Inviting the Daemon Club and me will not bring your family any ease, will it?”
    A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “How well you know me, my lady. I confess, the fact that having Blackwood, Pitcairn, and Smalley at Somerfield Park will discomfit the dowager marchioness out of all knowing does add to my enthusiasm for having them there. But that does not apply to you.”
    â€œDoes it not? Surely your family will be horrified to have a merry widow in residence. In some quarters, I am considered beyond the pale.”
    â€œNot by me,” Hartley assured her. “You ought not to be condemned for having had bad luck. And if I can help your luck change, I will be gratified. I understand Lord Somerset invites the most important lords for his annual hunt, and you’ve made no secret of the fact that you are open to taking another husband. No doubt