Page 7 of What A Rogue Wants (Lords Of Deception #1)

“The breeze is turning chilly,” the queen said.

“You are all young, so you don’t notice it as I do.

” Everyone nodded dutifully in agreement.

The queen let out a long sigh as if being constantly agreed with was tedious.

“I’m off to read.” She pointed at Lady Juliette and Lady Annabelle.

“Come keep me company.” To everyone else she waved a negligent hand.

“Be inside by the time the sun hits noon, or sooner if Lord Grey and Lord Gravenhurst no longer wish to keep you company.”

Murmurs of agreement scattered amongst the remaining ladies. Once the queen had walked out of earshot, Grace addressed Lord Grey. “Perhaps Lady Madelaine will sing for you.”

“Or play the pianoforte,” Lady Cecelia chimed in a nasty tone that matched Grace’s.

Madelaine lifted her chin and forced a smile as she looked at the two men before her.

She wouldn’t let Grace make her appear embarrassed when she certainly wasn’t.

The only reason she now wished for a single feminine talent was so the queen might not find fault with her at every turn.

“I’m afraid I was a beastly daughter and never paid heed to the things a proper lady is required to know. ” Useless as those things were.

“Such as nonsensical conversation and not appearing too educated?” Lord Gravenhurst speared Grace with a slanted-eyed look that dared her to say a word.

Finally, a sensible man. “Exactly,” Madelaine replied, enjoying Grace’s gasp and her splotchy cheeks.

“I’m curious, Lady Madelaine…” Lord Grey said.

“About what?” Her pulse skittered unnaturally in her chest.

“If you didn’t master your lessons of pianoforte, singing and…?”

“Embroidery,” his sister supplied with a small smile tugging at her lips.

“Ah, yes, the all-important skill of embroidery,” he exclaimed. She wanted to laugh at his dramatics, but she somehow managed to hold it in.

“Pray tell, what did you master?”

She nearly gasped at his question. Was he challenging her to lie? She didn’t want her secret to be revealed but she refused to be ashamed of the things she knew. “Archery, riding, and how to use a dagger.” Her eyebrows lifted in defiance.

“I’m impressed and intrigued. I, too, am interested in archery.

” Lord Grey’s friend coughed and sputtered beside him.

She glared at him for trying to goad her.

He smiled, and her pulse skittered oddly.

Whatever was the matter with her to respond to him like all the other silly dimwits at Court probably did.

She should ignore him. He proffered his elbow.

“Will you walk in the gardens with my sister and me? I confess I’d love to learn if you have any special techniques you use with your bow and arrow. ”

Madelaine understood exactly what Grace had meant when she’d said Lord Grey thrilled her to the bone with just one look.

His face had haunted her dreams many nights since she had met him, possible preening peacock or not.

Court life had been a lonely, cruel surprise and fantasizing that Lord Grey was good and gallant had helped her keep hope she’d meet someone eventually.

Her stomach swirled with butterflies. The way he stared at her made her believe there could possibly be something special about her.

She felt charming. The notion was silly.

She was an oddity, but he was looking at her as if he liked that.

Wasn’t he? Maybe she’d been wrong to think there was no one who’d accept her for who she really was.

Perhaps she would meet a man who she really did want to marry for love.

Maybe, that man could be Lord Grey. How ridiculous she was.

She didn’t really know him. He probably bestowed that mesmerizing expression on every new lady he met.

Yet she wanted to take a chance. She slipped her arm through his and refused to care one bit that Grace would make her life holy hell if the murderous look on the lady’s face was a good indicator.

As Lord Grey tucked Madelaine’s hand into the crook of his elbow and reached for his sister’s arm, Grace said, “I’ll come too. I’m positively dying to hear what sorts of accomplishments intrigue the notorious Lord Grey.”

“Notorious?” A sense of foreboding weighed down upon Madelaine’s newly light mood.

“But of course,” Grace murmured. “You’re well known for wooing the ladies but never committing to them. Aren’t you, Lord Grey?”

His arm tensed under Madelaine’s light grasp. She fully expected an annoyed denial, instead he looked supremely bored. After a moment, an amused smile played at his lips. “I suppose I am, Lady Grace.”

Madelaine tugged her arm for Lord Grey to release her.

Heavens she was a fool for falling so quickly under his spell.

Bewitching eyes didn’t mean a man was a good candidate for a husband.

A fact she needed to remember. A walk with a scoundrel would do her no good.

Avoiding him would be her wisest course, and she fully intended to take it, once she spoke with him about keeping their meeting secret.

But now, surrounded by others, was not the time.