by Lauren Smith
She only had eyes for one man. Lord Nicholas. He was going after her brother and so would she.
It wasn’t until she watched him slip into a carriage that she paused in her pursuit.
Helplessness swept over her. She didn’t know where Jed was heading but it could not be good.
Helplessness and…anger. Why shouldn’t she do something for once? For years she’d watched him destroy himself and very nearly their family with his wretched gambling. And now she knew he was about to do it all over again and she was supposed to just stand here and let it happen?
Not likely.
Perhaps a few months ago she would have sat back and let her brother do as he pleased, but now she no longer had to stay quiet. What did it matter if she behaved rashly? Her family was taken care of now, thanks to Anne. They didn’t need her to be perfect. They didn’t need her to be sweet, docile, boring Claire Cleveland.
Her eyes narrowed on her family’s carriage, waiting at the end of the drive to take her and her sister’s home. For once in her life she was going to break the rules.
The thought made her stomach flutter with excitement and nerves. She latched on to the excitement and let it carry her forward, holding her head high as she approached the driver of her carriage.
She tried to match her mother’s brisk tone as she ordered the driver to follow Jed’s carriage. When he hesitated, she treated him to the same wide-eyed look of shock her mother used to give their younger brother Collin when he’d dare defy her. “What are you waiting for?”
He stuttered something about waiting for her chaperone, but she cut him off, informing him regally that her chaperone was already waiting in the carriage.
The driver’s brow furrowed in confusion at having missed that, but then he gave a short nod.
She looked out the carriage window as the earl’s drive was replaced by the streets of London. With a gasp and a laugh of disbelief, she clasped a gloved hand over her mouth. She was doing it. She was really doing it.
Miss Claire Cleveland was breaking the rules.
More about Maggie Dallen
MAGGIE DALLEN IS a big city girl living in Montana. She writes romantic comedies in a range of genres including young adult, historical, and contemporary. An unapologetic addict of all things romance, she loves to connect with fellow avid readers. Subscribe to her historical newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dgUNif or her contemporary newsletter at http://eepurl.com/bFEVsL
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