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Excerpt from
Rescued by a Rake
(The Beresford Adventures, Book 4)
Who the devil was Miss Lucy Beresford? Why was
the brazen woman writing to him? Monty knew none of Devere’s sisters
were called Lucy. Such a pity all three of those beauties were now
wed. Dare he hope this Lucy was half as lovely as the former Lady
Sophia Beresford, who was now married to one of the sinfully wealthy
Birminghams?
Monty might as well call around at Devere House
today and satisfy his curiosity. He had little else to do. After
discovering Hutchinson missing from the House of Commons yesterday,
Monty had made inquiries about his friend at White’s and Brook’s,
but no one had seen Hutch.
He stared at the lady’s missive. The lady’s
hand lacked the flourishes that characterized most women’s
handwriting. This woman’s script on perfectly straight, invisible
lines was quite small and exceedingly neat. Even without the
flourishes, it was distinctively feminine.
My Dear Lord
Montague,
Would you be so
kind as to call upon me at Devere House on Curzon at your
convenience? I wish to discuss with you an important matter
concerning a mutual friend.
Most sincerely,
Lucy Beresford
How could they have a
mutual friend when he had no idea who she was? From the surname and
the fact she was staying at Devere House, he deduced she must be a
Beresford cousin.
That deduction struck
a long-buried memory . . . by Jove! After a nasty string of gaming
losses few years back, Hutch had gotten himself engaged to a
Beresford cousin.
While Monty had never met the chit, he knew two
things about her: she had a fat dowry, and she was plain. Which
explained why her father had been particularly anxious to marry her
off to Hutch.
Now, at least, Monty
knew who their mutual friend was. No doubt, Miss Beresford would be
trying to locate her missing fiancé. The very thought of
Hutchinson’s absence sent Monty’s gut plummeting. The two men had
been friends since they were dropped off at Eton at age seven, and
in all that time, each of them always knew what the other one was
doing. Hutchinson’s mysterious disappearance was unprecedented.
Monty felt something was wrong.
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