Read When Only a Rake Will Do for Free Online

managed to put her at ease.  For once her smiles were unaffected and her conversation, no longer limited to the weather or to a tedious discussion centered upon Society’s latest on-dits, was entirely genuine.  Oh yes, she thought to herself, she could certainly understand Lord Brendon’s appeal, for she was fast falling under the charming rogue’s captivating spell as well. 
    And so, when their waltz finally came to an end, it was with a true sense of disappointment that she allowed him to lead her from the floor.  “Thank you, my lord,” she said as he guided her through the crowd, “for the waltz, as well as the stimulating conversation.”
    “It was my absolute pleasure, Lady Daphne,” Brendon assured her with a heartfelt smile as he led her to her brother’s side.  And it truly was, for he had enjoyed their waltz as well as their conversation, more so than he could have ever imagined.
    “Hello, Leighton,” Thomas greeted as they approached.  “Just got back into town I hear.”
    “Yes, as a matter of fact I did.”
    “Humph.  Would’ve expected to see you at Boodle’s or one of the other clubs tonight, not cooling your heels at a Society gathering,” he remarked with an incredulous expression.
    “And you likely shall see me there later this evening,” Brendon replied with a chuckle.  “But as the Chesterfields are close family friends, I was more than happy to postpone my go round of the clubs until the later part of the evening.”  Smiling, he turned back to Daphne.  “Lady Daphne,” he said with a polite bow, “it was an honor to make your acquaintance.  And now, if you will excuse me, I shall leave you to your brother’s care.” 
    “Of course,” she replied with an answering smile.
    “Huxley,” he said with a polite nod, and then promptly took his leave.  Though he would have enjoyed spending a few more minutes in Lady Daphne’s charming company, he dared not, for the speculative eyes of several match-making mamas and their respective daughters had already begun to linger upon him with renewed interest as he’d broken character by dancing with not one, but three unmarried young ladies that night.
     
     
    Unbeknownst to Brendon, one particularly assessing gaze had been scrutinizing his interaction with the Hewitt’s from across the room and continued to watch him as he walked away from the viscount and his sister.
    “I dare say that I have seen that look before,” Nicholas Leighton murmured to his wife as he noted the contemplative quirk of her brow and the calculating expression displayed upon her pretty face as she stared fixedly across the room.  “What is it, or should I ask who is it, that has drawn your attention, my love?” he asked, turning his head to track the line of her gaze, following it until it landed upon a gentleman with features remarkably similar to his own.  “Ah,” he said then, answering his own question with a slight, amused smile upon his lips.  “And what, pray tell, has my younger brother done to warrant such sudden and intense scrutiny?” 
    Ashleigh Leighton, Duchess of Sethe immediately turned to her husband, her features animated.  “Did you see who he just led from the dance floor?”
    Nicholas looked back at his wife and shrugged, his expression blank.
    Ashleigh rolled her eyes skyward and then shook her head as if to say, why did I even ask . “He was dancing with Lady Daphne Hewitt ,” she enlightened him.  “And ‘twas a waltz no less.”
    “Ah,” he said, though his tone conveyed a decided lack of interest in his brother’s choice of partner.
    “Nicholas,” Ashleigh uttered with the slightest touch of exasperation in her voice, “can you recall the last time Brendon paid the slightest attention to an innocent young miss fresh from the schoolroom?   Lizzie and Amelia Warrene notwithstanding, of course,” she added.
    Nicholas hesitated for a moment as he considered the question.  “No, I can’t say that I