Lady Vivian Defies a Duke by Samantha Grace Page A

please allow her to speak freely. It is rare to meet a lady with much knowledge of history.” The duke’s manner was kind even as he overruled her cousin. “Your time frame was not out of a reasonable range, Lady Vivian. Forgive my uncouth manners. Please, continue with your thought.”
    “Thank you.” Truly, the duke surprised her at every turn. She had never known a gentleman to acknowledge she had anything worthwhile to add to a conversation. Her rigid posture relaxed a smidge. “As I was saying, it has been a long time since Captain Cook’s discovery. Why hasn’t the continent already been found if it exists?”
    Foxhaven tapped his fingers against the tabletop, appearing to consider her argument. “I suspect no one was looking. The threat of war then war itself was foremost in everyone’s minds. Only peace allows for discovery.”
    “And you wish to discover the Antarctic?” She wanted to ask how he could entertain such outrageous ideas when he was a duke, but she feared sounding like her brother. Still, if Foxhaven was like most men of his station, his entire family relied on him to provide for them. How could he set out to discover a hypothetical continent when he had real responsibilities at home?
    Gads. She sounded exactly like Ash.
    “I enjoy a good adventure,” he said. “Captain Pendry holds an interest in the Antarctic. I have simply provided him with a means of accomplishing his task.”
    This was the most preposterous thing she had ever heard. Did her brother know of the duke’s plans?
    “It seems like a risky venture, Your Grace. Are you certain this expedition is wise?”
    Foxhaven’s lips thinned and curved into a parody of a smile. “You needn’t worry, my lady.”
    She needn’t worry because she would not become his wife. She braced to hear the words spoken aloud.
    “Sunday is the church picnic,” Patrice said, guiding them toward a more benign topic of conversation. “I don’t know if I’ll be strong enough to venture out. I’m not quite feeling myself yet.”
    Vivi was more than happy to shift the focus of the dinner conversation. Despite the duke’s observations, she could be amiable when she chose. She aimed a teasing grin at her cousin. “Mrs. Honeywell will be disappointed you won’t be able to attend. Who will she accuse of cheating when she loses the pie baking contest this time?”
    Patrice’s cheeks flushed pink. “Now, Vivi.”
    Vicar Ramsey judged the contest and without fail had awarded the first place ribbon to Patrice and her perfect peach pie every year she had entered. In fact, he loved Patrice’s pie so much he had called at Brighthurst every day for a week upon his return from America last summer. Each morning her cousin had risen at dawn to bake a pie for the minister, which bespoke of her mutual affection.
    Vivi hoped her cousin might someday find happiness with the vicar, even though she had refused his offer of marriage once before. Patrice insisted she must see Vivi settled before she entertained thoughts of matrimony.
    She’ll be free when you join the convent . Vivi tried to shake that depressing thought from her mind. That life wasn’t for her.
    “I can just imagine the look of horror on Mrs. Honeywell’s face when someone else bests her in the contest this year,” she said, hoping she sounded more cheerful than she felt. “I hate to miss it.”
    “If you linger by the judging table, you will not miss a thing.”
    Vivi balked. “You want me to go without you? Shouldn’t I stay home, too?”
    “Oh, dear. I thought you appeared peaked yet. You are still unwell, aren’t you?” Before Patrice did something foolish, like test her forehead for fever, Vivi waved her off.
    “I feel fine.”
    Patrice’s forehead scrunched. “We can’t be too careful. I know you refused to see Dr. Fredrick, but—”
    Vivi held up her palm to stop her cousin’s unnecessary fretting. “I swear I am fully recovered. The picnic will be just the thing to make