Lady Lorena Cullip is the definition in Mr. Samuel Johnson's English Dictionary for the word: curious.
One might also find her name under
1- scandalous
2- disastrous,
3- slightly mad.
But the latest rumors about the lady have all of London holdin...
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Lorena remembered the first time she'd met Lord Ashwick. It had been the night of her debut into society. She'd been fifteen and, up until that point, Lorena had always had the very best of everything. As the daughter of a duke and an heiress, she'd had the best in tutors and governesses. Lorena knew how to read and write both Latin and French, the etiquette of fine speech, and by all accounts, had been the most beautiful woman of the season.
But what Lorena had never known until that very night was that while etiquette and grace did make a fine wife... money was much better and... her parents had very little of it.
The Duke of Valdeston, who'd never been known to make the best financial decisions, had squandered his family's fortune in one terrible investment after another until the Cullips had been left with nothing. But Lady Constance's parents, who had allowed their daughter to marry for the title, had written in her wedding contract a sum of money that could never be touched by the duke. Thus, Lorena's mother had held onto just enough money to see to her daughter's first Season, Francis' country parties, and ensure her children's happiness. Though it was no secret that happiness for Constance Cullip, the Duchess of Valdeston, meant having a daughter who married quickly.
And, why wouldn't she?
Everyone thought so highly of her, though she was known to be slightly curious. A thing that many believed a strong husband could cure her of. Lorena didn't think so, but she smiled nonetheless.
She was beautiful.
She knew how to say, "What a fine day we are having," in both Latin and French.
She could set a table well enough to host the king.
Lorena was sure she'd have married during that first Season, many years ago, if she hadn't met Lord Ashwick.
She'd danced the first night with several gentlemen, but either they'd all been friends, had been old enough to have attended Oxford when her grandfather had, or young gentlemen who had simply not asked to pay a call on her in the future, and that alone had given Lorena some worry. Then she'd heard the whispers of her father's finances, which had resulted in her fleeing the ballroom. Upon entering the drawing room, Lorena had frozen at the sight of a man standing only a stride away.
Emmett Starr, the Earl of Ashwick, had been the most beautiful thing Lorena had ever set her eyes upon. He'd been speaking to a group of other gentlemen, Lorena's brother Francis among them, but Lorena only had eyes for him. She'd been stunned again when he'd smiled, and thought surely Ashwick was the one. Soft creases had formed around his eyes and a few at his mouth as he spoke.
Lorena had forgotten how to blink when she'd gazed at his mouth and a strange sensation had made her stomach flutter.
Look at me.
Her mind had pleaded for his eyes, sure that with one look, he'd fall madly in love with her, just as she'd fallen for him.
