My Duke’s Desire: Wicked Lords of London Read online

  He sat back down too. In all honesty he hadn’t considered much of what she was saying until now. He’d been so busy trying to discover who he was without the oppressive shadow of his father. He hated to admit, he saw the truth in some of her words. “I’ll think over all of it.” He placed his elbows on his splayed knees and pressed his palms into eye sockets.

  “Thank you,” she whispered softly.

  “But I must honestly tell you, whatever I decide, I’ve no intention of marrying this girl. It’s a bridge too far.” He lifted his head to look at his sister again. She’d closed her eyes but still gave a terse nod.

  “I understand.” She opened them to look at him. Despite having auburn-colored hair, her irises were the same shade of blue as his. “I’ll explain to mother that you’d like to postpone marriage, provided you can bring yourself to take on the responsibilities of the dukedom.”

  Theo gave a terse nod. He would manage his own affairs. Being gone was clearly straining Tabbie and her husband. He could see his error. He did not plan on living in England full time, but he needn’t share that with his sister now. It would, however, be his problem to solve. He’d figure out a way to travel and still maintain the dukedom.

  * * *

  Violette looked at the massive stone structure that loomed before her. This was the country estate of the Duke of Waverly. Her parent’s London townhome would fit into on corner of this massive structure.

  She had distant memories of their own country home, but that had been sold years ago. Looking back, she realized the money from that sale had sustained her parents for some time but must have run out. Why had her father not seen that he needed to build something, work toward a better life? Despite loving his family, he hadn’t taken on his responsibilities as an earl or even a provider for his family.

  Smoothing her skirts, she waited as the driver opened the door to the carriage. She and her mother stepped out to find two young couples waiting for them. One of the women was very pregnant and she stepped forward to greet them.

  “Good evening.” She gave them a warm smile as her eyes swept over them. “May I introduce my brother-in-law, the Duke of Landon, and my sister, the Duchess of Landon, along with my husband, the Earl of Sussex.”

  She and her mother both curtseyed. Violette couldn’t help but note that neither the Duke of Waverly, nor his mother, who’d extended the invitation, were in attendance. “Pleased to meet you.” She tried to give a warm smile.

  Lady Sussex waved them forward. “Please, step inside.”

  As they entered the house, her mother turned to Lady Sussex. “It is a pleasure to meet you. We’re very excited to meet your mother as well. I enjoyed her correspondence tremendously, and we’re looking forward to our introduction with His Grace.”

  Her mother was clearly as anxious about the family members who weren’t in attendance, as was Violette.

  Lady Sussex visibly winced. Violette’s heart sank. That couldn’t be a good sign. “My mother isn’t feeling well this afternoon, my apologies. And my brother only arrived an hour before you.”

  Violette gave another polite smile, hoping it was genuine enough. She saw both the duke and the earl assessing her. “We’re honored to be here, thank you for having us.” Smoothing her skirts, she took a steadying breath. This situation needed some conversation and she tried her best to come up with a starter. “Where did His Grace travel from?”

  Both men winced. Lord Sussex gave the rumbling answer. “Barbados.”

  She wasn’t sure how many times she blinked but it was several. “Barbados?” A lump formed in her throat even as a knot tightened in her stomach. “How strange. We met a man on the road who had also travelled from Barbados.”

  Her words were met with silence until the Duke of Landon finally offered an explanation with a gracious smile. “Must have been someone from his ship.”

  Of course. A ship had many men on it, she told herself. And knowing that did little to make her feel better. If His Grace and Mr. Riley were acquainted, would she see him again? She stopped that thought before it had begun. That would only muddle the situation further. “What a coincidence.”

  “Perhaps you’d like to rest before dinner?” Her Grace, the Duchess of Landon, gestured to one of the footmen. “You must be exhausted after such a long journey.”

  Her mother jerked her head in agreement and Violette turned to look at her. She was quite pale with dark circles about her eyes. Worry creased her brow as she reached out a steady arm to her mother. Her worries about her meeting with the Duke of Waverly were forgotten.

  The situation, however, only got worse. Her mother did not join her to be escorted to dinner. Instead, she sent a note saying she did not feel well enough. She knew her mother. Unless the situation was dire Lady Bradford would be in attendance. She was a stickler for social grace.

  Violette approached the drawing room where the family had assembled before the meal. Now she was to meet the Duke without the aid of her mother. She briefly considered returning upstairs to attend her parent but she knew that her mother would only be upset if Violette did. This meeting was the most important thing to her mother and the rest of her family. As she approached the drawing room, the voices were hushed, not at all what she expected to hear from a family reunion. After all, hadn’t His Grace arrived just today?

  “She was lovely,” she heard a man’s voice rumble.

  “Easy for you to say, you’re married already. Your family isn’t proposing you attach yourself to a social-climbing debutante just for the sake of marrying someone,” another replied. There was a familiar tone to it that made her heart flutter faster. Or perhaps it was the words. He clearly didn’t want to meet her. If she hadn’t already known this trip had been a waste of time, she was certain of it now.

  Violette took a deep breath, wishing she could be anywhere else. Do anything but walk into that room. “Introduce me, please,” she said to the footmen who looked at her uncertainly. His look actually helped her composure. “Really, it’s far more polite to just enter than to stand here and eavesdrop.”

  But the room within had gone silent. They had heard her, apparently. Nothing to do but square her shoulders and grit her teeth through the evening, then move on.

  The footmen stepped inside and Violette followed. She put on her best face, hoping to move through this with some measure of grace. But as she rounded the doorway, her heart nearly stopped in her chest and then began thumping wildly. Air seemed difficult to breathe as she tried to understand what she was seeing. In front of her stood Mr. Theodore Riley.

  Chapter Six

  The mistakes Theo had just made compounded in his mind as he tried and failed to form words. Both his sisters, Luke, Ryker, and his mother watched him intently. Violette stood in front of him, her large brown eyes shining with what looked to be tears. How could he be so daft? A lady, traveling within hours of his home, was the very lady his mother was attempting to match him with.

  Faced with her now, it made complete sense.

  And though he’d only known her a day, his chest ached with the thought that he’d just hurt her. He’d lied about his identity and she’d overheard his scathing words. He could not have handled this any worse. He was beginning to think Barbados had scrambled all his good sense.

  “Lady Violette,” his voice reverberated in his chest, coming out as a near growl.

  “Mr. Riley.” She drew out the Mister and her spine seemed like a broomstick, she held it so straight.

  His mother, who had been silent, chimed in. “Mr. Riley?” She stood. “You’re acquainted?”

  “We met on the road yesterday,” he said without expanding. The need to protect her surged in his gut. He didn’t know what his mother knew about Violette, but he didn’t want to share that he’d paid for conveyance. It would tarnish her reputation, her viability as a candidate. Not that she was being considered. He needed to finish the venture he’d begun in Barbados. This shipping company would prove to his family that he was a man
—and a successful one at that. He nearly growled at the circles in which his own thoughts were spinning.

  “And you introduced yourself as Mr. Riley?” His mother’s voice grew shriller by the second.

  His molars ground together. He was confused enough and he hadn’t answered to anyone for some time. This is what he’d been rebelling against. “Habit, Mother. I didn’t share my station abroad. It was a measure of protection.”

  Violette gave him a gracious curtsey. “I’m honored to make your acquaintance…again.”

  He knew what she meant and he nearly grinned. He liked her bit of sass, wished he could see it more. They had a great deal in common with one major difference. He’d had the funds to live as he chose. Violette was trapped. Which was why he couldn’t trust her. She needed a man like him and he needed to remain untethered. But Theo noted that she looked stunning in her formal gown. She should always be dressed as such with her creamy shoulders exposed by her pale blue silk and her tiny waist highlighted by the cinch of her dress.

  He wanted to explain to her, tell her he found her lovely, and if ever a woman could tempt him, it would be her. But how did he say that in front of his family? How did he say it at all without revealing too much about his own feelings and giving her the information she needed to catch a duke? Because he clearly felt something. It had been difficult to leave her this morning and now that she was here, in front of him, he had the distinct urge to pull her close.

  He wanted to apologize. He tried to remember the last time he’d felt compelled to ask for forgiveness. It had been a long time.

  “How was your journey?” Tricia asked with her usual sunny demeanor.

  Violette’s features softened. “Quite easy overall. Thank you for asking.”

  “Where is your mother?” He stared at her, wanting to read the answer on her face as well as hear it.

  He got his answer before she’d spoken a word. Those expressive eyes crinkled as her mouth tightened. “The journey seems to have taxed her.”

  “Is that normal?” He took a step closer, wanting to help her, support her, understand what was happening.

  She gave a stiff shake to her head.

  “Do you think we could step onto the veranda? The rain has stopped.” Another step and he was next to her, offering his arm.

  She gave a sharp inhale before she gently placed her gloved hand in the crook of his arm.

  He ignored the stares of his family as they crossed the room. They would, of course, stay in plain sight. But that was likely not why they stared. He’d just declared he would not court this woman and here he was asking her to walk about. But he simply needed a chance to give her an apology. Whatever else he felt about her, he shouldn’t have lied.

  She placed her gloved hand on the crook of his arm and he guided her to the doors.

  As they stepped out into the cool night air, he brought his free hand to cover hers. “I am sorry for the conversation you overheard. It was uncalled for.”

  “Don’t apologize, Your Grace.”

  She shook her head as she spoke, and try as he might, he couldn’t hear any sarcasm in her words. “It’s Theo to you. I think we’ve reached that point.” He honestly wanted to tuck her against his side, hold her close. “And I was not polite.”

  Her eyes widened as she nibbled at her lip. “You were mostly right, and you were having an honest conversation with your family. Though I’m not a social climber.” She turned to look at him, her large brown eyes shimmering in the moonlight. “My husband doesn’t need to be titled. Just rich.” She gave a breathy laugh, though it held little humor. “But I’m sure you’d already puzzled out our need for funds.”

  He had. But he scratched at the growth of hair on his face at her words. “Your honesty is refreshing.” Though it only reaffirmed his feelings on the matter. Even if he did intend to marry, which he didn’t, she was only interested in him for the purse he provided. And somehow, that hurt.

  “I am simply following your lead.” Her eyebrows rose. “Not that you hadn’t already made it clear that you were not interested in marriage.”

  “Had I?” He swallowed a lump in his throat. It bothered him to tell her he didn’t want to marry her. How strange.

  This need to protect her, which he’d felt both last night and this morning, had redoubled. He wanted to hold her close and shield her from the world. And while she was in his embrace, he may as well kiss her. He gave his head a shake.

  She nodded. “To continue to be direct, I need to make a match quickly, or I won’t have a dowry with which to make one. So you will understand that we’ll leave as soon as my mother is well enough to travel. I know it wasn’t the proposed schedule but—”

  He couldn’t listen any longer. “You’ll rush to the next suitor in hopes of making a quick match? What of your happiness?”

  He saw her shudder before she straightened again. “This isn’t about me. It’s what I have to do for my family. It’s my duty.”

  Duty…it was the theme of the day. “Tell me about your family.”

  “I have a sister. She is seventeen and a beauty. Everyone thinks she’d have a chance at an excellent match if she had the proper dowry.”

  “You don’t?” He stopped, then clarified. Something in this conversation was unsettling him. “Have a chance at an excellent match?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not nearly as lovely as my sister and—”

  He couldn’t hold it back. Stepping forward he was close enough to smell her. “She must be the most beautiful woman in all of England because you are stunning by any measure.”

  Her blush could be seen even in the darkness. She opened her mouth several times without saying a word and then finally cast her eyes to the floor. “My brother is fifteen and has recently become the earl of a failing earldom. He needs guidance my father never gave him and some method of rebuilding our family’s fortune.”

  His chest ached. She’d lost her father recently too. And her brother had a much more difficult job than he had taking over the dukedom. The young earl didn’t yet have a brother-in-law or two to prop him up and show him the way. Nor did he have the funds to take an extended break and discover what type of man he wanted to be. “That is difficult, to be sure. There is no other answer? What if your husband won’t help your brother or your sister?”

  But Violette was already shaking her head. “He has to. It’s the only way.”

  Theo grimaced down at her. She was giving up her life for the hope that her new husband would save her family. He’d never felt more petty or selfish than he did in this moment. Was that the man he wanted to be? He’d come home swearing he was responsible, a leader. But his family still didn’t believe him, and somehow he needed to prove them and his late father wrong. He was a man of strength. He could make this dukedom great. But he needed not just to run it from England but travel far and wide to strengthen their holdings. How could they not understand that and how did a wife live that life with him?

  * * *

  Despite the terrible beginning to the evening, it went better than Violette had expected. Being honest with Theo was a help and the meal was excellent. She hadn’t eaten that well in a long time. She tried to ignore the fact that she’d leave in the morning and never see him again.

  She also attempted to ignore the intensity of his stare, but it was difficult. Everyone else noticed it too and his family members glanced between the two of them often.

  As the men left to have cigars, she followed Theo’s sisters into a salon. They’d been lovely all evening, but she honestly worried what they might ask or say. Clasping her hands, she took a seat across from the two women. Theo’s mother crossed to the window, seeming content to allow her daughters to conduct the interrogation.

  She searched her mind for a conversation starter and finally settled on a topic she was actually most curious about. “Tell me,” she leaned forward, “How do you find married life?”

  The two sisters gave her knowing smiles. “It suits us both nice
ly for many reasons,” Tricia gave her a wink.

  Tabbie laughed. “Agreed. We both married well, and I don’t mean our husband’s titles. They love us.” Then Tabbie attempted to lean closer too, her belly mostly getting in the way. “I hope you find that for yourself.”

  She shook her head. “I doubt—”

  Tricia stood and crossed to sit next to her. “Forgive us, but we heard you mention leaving. Stay. Just a little longer. Teddy is interested in you and if you give him just a little time, I think you could be an excellent match for each other.”

  Violette shook her head. She would not think these thoughts. “I may not have a choice if my mother’s condition doesn’t improve. But that would be beside the point. His Grace is set against marriage.”

  Tabbie waved her hand. “He’s the youngest. He likes to hold on to his pigheaded notions but he’ll come around. They always do. Luke, my husband, was far more set in bachelorhood than Theo ever dreamed. You just have to give him some incentive.”

  Violette raised her brows. She wouldn’t do anything to tarnish her reputation. It was too important now. “I’m not sure that is wise.”

  But Tabbie’s eyes twinkled. “I meant reject him. But I think you’ve gone about doing that already. Clever girl.”

  Violette’s head snapped back. Had she? “I don’t know what—”

  But Tricia filled in. “Telling him you’ll leave. He could hardly take his eyes off you. And now he thinks he’ll lose you.” Tricia clapped her hands. “Are you a good horsewoman? Maybe he could save you from a runaway horse. That would really twist him into knots. It brings out all their manly instincts.”