He tossed his hand onto the table, face down. "It seems," he lied smoothly, "that the luck of the Vanes holds true. The fair is yours, Delilah."
"It is a simple request, Your Grace," Delilah said, snapping her lace fan shut as they stood on the edges of a crowded London ballroom. "I wish to host the Midsummer Fair in the Hollow. It has been a tradition for decades, one your father never contested." Lady Delilah Dares a Duke by Sofie Darling
The following is an original story inspired by the title and style of Sofie Darling's Regency romances, focusing on the tension between a spirited lady and a formidable duke. He tossed his hand onto the table, face down
They retired to the card room, the air between them thick with a different kind of tension than the one they had shared for years. As the cards were dealt, Delilah realized that for all his talk of rules, Arthur played with a ruthless, predatory grace. "I wish to host the Midsummer Fair in the Hollow
Delilah took a step closer, ignoring the scandalous proximity. "You are a dull man, Arthur. A marble statue in a cravat. I bet you haven’t felt a moment of genuine excitement since the Regency began." One of Arthur’s dark eyebrows arched. "Is that so?"
As she walked away, Delilah realized with a start that while she had won the land, she was very much in danger of losing her heart to the very man she had spent a lifetime daring to notice her.