by Olivia Drake
If he could just reach his carriage, spring his horse, head for the coast …
He backed toward the door, dragging her along with him, his gaze fixed on his cousin’s murderous expression. “You’re to stay right here, Clayton, while she and I go to my phaeton. Bert, get his pistol.”
The groom started around the table. It was then that it happened.
Miss Fanshawe shifted one arm slightly. Richard yelped as something sharp pierced the tender flesh of his groin. A knife.
“No,” she stated. “You give your pistol to Hadrian. Unless, of course, you prefer to be gelded.”
Her threat wrested a whimper from him. God only knew what tricks she’d learned from living in the wilds of America. He slowly lowered the gun and then stood paralyzed, his attention fixated on the proximity of the blade to his privates. “Do have a care!” he choked out.
The next moment happened in a blur. As Clayton took a step forward to collect the weapon, Bert made a dive for the duke. Clayton spun toward him. A gunshot split the air, and the groom crashed to the floor with a loud thump. He lay there, moaning, clutching his leg, blood staining his thigh.
Horror-struck, Richard surrendered his own pistol to Clayton. His limp fingers had lost the strength to grasp it, anyway. “The knife, Miss Fanshawe! Do remove it at once!”
The duke removed Richard instead, pulling him away from her with an ungentle yank. The brutal fury on his face curdled Richard’s blood. “I wouldn’t have hurt her—or the boy, I swear it! It was my blasted debts … I’m sorry!”
“Sometimes being sorry just isn’t enough.”
Clayton’s fist flashed out and struck Richard’s jaw. The force of the blow jerked his head back and propelled him into the wall. Fiery pain splintered his skull, a torment so excruciating that he lost the ability to hold himself upright. He crumpled into a groaning heap on the floor, his mind dazed to all but the throbbing agony in his head.
He lay there in a half-faint, sensing movement around him but unable to comprehend what was happening until he felt someone staring at him. He cracked open his watery eyes and struggled to focus.
The enfant terrible stood gazing down at him with unholy interest. “Miss Fanshawe, what does gelded mean?”
The memory of that singular horror sent Richard into a full swoon, and he sank into oblivion without even hearing her reply.
Chapter 28
She was dreaming of Hadrian.
His tantalizing caress stirred tingles over the bare skin of her arm and up to her neck, traced the shape of her ear and then lightly stroked her face. Purring, she snuggled her cheek into his palm, her hips moving restlessly as heat began to pulse in her depths. A tender fingertip outlined her lips, then the brush of his mouth against hers took on a curious note of reality.
Enticed from the mists of slumber, Natalie lifted her lashes to see the duke gazing down at her with the crooked half-smile that always melted her heart. She watched him in happy bemusement, too absorbed by his beloved features to question his presence in her bedchamber. Then she blinked up at the blue-and-gold bed hangings and the events of the night came rushing back.
This was not her chamber, but his.
After putting Leo to bed, she had come here to wait for Hadrian. He had been closeted in his study with Lord Godwin and Wymark, and she had been anxious to hear the outcome of that meeting.
She sat up, attempting to straighten the wrinkled bronze silk of her ballgown. Her diamond jewelry lay in a heap on the bedside table beside a guttering candle. “Heavens, I just put my head on the pillow for a moment. I didn’t intend to fall asleep. I hope I didn’t startle you.”
“Not in the least. Chumley warned me there was a hoyden in my bedchamber who’d had the cheek to banish him from the room.”
The twinkle in his eyes made Natalie blush. “Well, it was three in the morning and he was snoozing on a stool in the dressing room, awaiting your return. So I sent him off to bed.”
“Hm. I found him snoozing on a bench outside my study. Amazingly, he didn’t even grumble once he saw how pleased I was to learn you were here. I do believe the crusty old fellow is beginning to like you.”
But it was only Hadrian’s feelings that mattered to her at the moment. In particular, his reaction to her confession of love the previous evening. My darling, I can’t begin to tell you what that means to me …
His husky response had been cut short by their discovery of the kidnapping. What had he intended to say? Would he now try to coax her into marriage without opening his own heart and soul? Would she allow him?
As if sensing her emotional muddle, he stepped back to allow her space. She scooted off the bed and stood up, feeling unsettled by the heat of his gaze. He had discarded his cravat and coat, and his hair was attractively tousled. She ached with the need for him to sweep her into his arms. But though he radiated a banked desire, he seemed disinclined to act on it.
“It’s nearly dawn,” he said. “I thought you might appreciate a small repast since we missed supper last night, so I raided the kitchen. Come and eat and I’ll tell you how things went with Godwin.”
With gentlemanly courtesy, he took her arm and led her to the hearth, settling her into one of the overstuffed chairs. On a nearby table sat a silver tray heaped with pastries and other leftovers from the ball. As he poured her a steaming cup of tea, adding the perfect trickle of cream, Natalie had a lovely vision of them as an old married couple, sitting down for a cozy chat.
The fantasy vanished under the realization of just how ravenous she was. She filled a plate with goodies, tucked her stocking feet underneath her, and nibbled to her heart’s content while Hadrian took the fire iron and stirred the glowing coals into a blaze.
Watching him, she marveled at his strength and fortitude. If not for his quick action, they wouldn’t have found Leo. She shuddered to think the little boy might still be in Wymark’s clutches, perhaps punished for having dared to pick up that pistol.
While she’d cut Leo loose from his bonds, Hadrian had warned Bert that the watch would be dispatched to arrest him. Then he had loaded the unconscious viscount in the back of his phaeton, tied his own horse behind it, and driven back to Clayton House, while she had ridden alongside.
Leo had been excited to sit with Mr. Duke, but began to yawn hugely as they’d reached Mayfair. Since music drifted from the ballroom, they had entered through a back door, she to take Leo upstairs to the nursery, and Hadrian to summon Lord and Lady Godwin to his study.
That was the last she’d seen of him until a few moments ago.
As he sat down opposite her with his own plate of food, she said, “After that awful event, it seemed strange that there were still guests in the ballroom when we returned. I’m glad the duchess had the prescience to concoct a story about me having suffered a sprained ankle and you refusing to leave my side.”
“That’ll cause a little stir in itself, but not so great a scandal as what she presumed we were busy doing.” He flashed a wicked smile over his cup of tea. It almost made Natalie forget about the delicious peach compote on her spoon. He went on, “Did the brat fuss about going to bed?”
“Leo was asleep before his head hit the pillow, though he did give me a very tight hug first. He also told me that he does not wish to be a criminal when he grows up.”
Hadrian chuckled. “Proving the old adage that experience is the best teacher.”
“A pity Wymark never learned that lesson.” Troubled, she put her plate on the table. “What will happen to him?”
All humor vanished from the duke’s face. “Godwin was furious, of course. He blames himself for being too soft on his son. Lady Godwin tried to make excuses, but even she was shocked into silence when Wymark confessed everything. To cover his gambling debts, he’d borrowed a large sum from an unscrupulous moneylender, and with the repayment looming, he plotted Leo’s abduction as a means to extort the funds from me. I made it clear that I was prepared to hand him over to the magistrate at Bow Street.”
“But you didn’t?”
“Godwin and I agreed that it will be sufficient punishment to banish Wymark to Canada for the next ten years, to oversee the earl’s timber and mining properties.”
“Canada! That hardly seems much of a punishment.”
“Perhaps not to a fellow inhabitant of North America, but he’ll be separated from the temptations of London, and who knows? Perhaps this time, it will be the making of him.” Hadrian’s gaze intensified on her. “Besides, I don’t care to be involved in the scandal of a lurid court case at this particular time.”
Her heart lurched at that steady stare. She saw the heat of passion, of course, but something else as well, something profound and spellbinding. Yet despite her penchant to face life head-on, she felt nervous to hear what he might say about their future. If he didn’t love her, then she must leave England—forever.
How strange to think that just a few weeks ago, she had been eager to return to America. Now, it seemed a bleak and colorless prospect to live her life without him.
Setting aside his plate, Hadrian leaned forward in his chair. His lips firmed with a hint of discomfiture. “I owe you an apology, Natalie. It was my fault that Wymark held that gun to you. I oughtn’t have taken my eyes off him, not even for a second.”
“You couldn’t have guessed what he would do. Besides, all’s well that ends well.”
“Thanks to your quick skill with a knife.” He gave a cringing chuckle. “I must say, what you did is every man’s worst nightmare.”
“What I threatened to do,” she corrected. “One can only imagine Lord Godwin’s fury had I actually gelded his heir and denied him a future grandson to continue the male lineage. The nobility cherishes bloodlines and dynasties.”
Hadrian eyed her pensively for a moment before arising from his chair to come down on one knee in front of her. Taking her hand in his, he held on tightly. “I know you dislike our class system, Natalie, and the dukedom I inherited as my birthright. But I hope you can come to appreciate that it’s a valuable component of England’s social order. Hundreds of workers depend on me, servants and tenant farmers and shepherds—even all citizens, considering my lawmaking duties in the House of Lords.” He brought her hand to his lips and tenderly kissed the back. “I can’t change that. Yet, if it were possible, I would abdicate my position for you.”
Stunned, she could only gaze at him in wondering silence. His unwavering stare attested to the sincerity of his words. He would give up everything, his wealth and status, his very uniqueness—for her?
She hardly dared to hope what it might reveal about his feelings for her. He still clasped her fingers, and she put her hand over his. “I would never expect you to do such a thing, Hadrian. The dukedom is an essential part of who you are. Your rank and your background have shaped you into a fine, admirable man.”
His mouth twisted wryly as he glanced away. “Yes, the rigid upbringing that taught me to hide my emotions behind a wall of cool hauteur. At least that is something I can change.”
When he returned his gaze to her, she was touched by the vulnerability on his strong features. Out of necessity, he had learned at a young age to steel himself against the pain of affection after he’d been torn from the arms of his mother and placed under the tutelage of a cold guardian.
Now, he looked hesitant and uncomfortable, but she was pleased to provide a little gentle prodding. “And?”
He drew a ragged breath. “And … I love you, Natalie. With all my heart and soul. And with everything that I am.”
Her heartbeat quickened as she absorbed the words she’d so yearned to hear. In his warm gray eyes, she saw a naked love and longing that matched her own. Could it really be true? Yes.
“Oh, Hadrian, I love you, too. With everything that I am.”
Joy propelled her up from the chair and into his arms. Their mouths merged in a kiss of fire and fervor, as a wild hunger consumed them both. His touch, his ardor, made her feel as if she were drowning in a sea of happiness. Mutual passion brought them down onto the plush carpet in front of the hearth, where she lay draped over him, reveling in the strength of his hard, muscled body. It seemed a lifetime that she had craved him like this, needing to know that he belonged to her alone, and she to him.
In a frenzy of lost buttons and torn fabric, their clothing vanished until they lay tangled together, skin to skin. Despite her glowing memory of the one time they had made love, she quickly realized that the bond between them had created a vast capacity for pleasure beyond her wildest dreams. Fire and tenderness and exultation transported them upward, and in the glorious heat of the moment, it seemed they were one flesh, one body.
Yet nothing brought her greater bliss than his whispered words of love.
In the aftermath, as they lay sated in each other’s arms beside the fire, Natalie smiled to remember how much she had resisted the notion of falling for an English duke. It seemed they both had needed to learn that love was the most precious gift of all—and that all else in life paled by comparison.
Rubbing her cheek against his raspy jaw, she murmured, “Now, it wasn’t so terribly difficult to admit your feelings, was it?”
“Had I known this to be the reward, I’d have analyzed my heart much sooner.” His eyes gleaming, he let his hands glide appreciatively down her silken curves to cup her bottom. “To be honest, I fell hard for you from the very start, but I was so scornful of love that I failed to recognize it in myself.”
“Perhaps saying I love you is a bit like curtsying. It’s difficult the first time, but if you can manage to do it once, then it becomes easier.”
“No curtsying,” he said, his grip tightening on her. “You are the equal of any noble. I won’t have you acting against your principles.”
Meekly, she said, “Yes, Your Grace.”
“Minx.” He leaned over to drop kisses on her face, culminating in a long, deep, tender one on her lips that stirred flames from the embers of passion. In a husky whisper, he added, “Why are we lolling on the floor when there’s a perfectly comfortable bed over there?”
She laughed from sheer exuberance. “Perhaps because you’re far more rakish than the haughty stick-in-the-mud duke that people believe you to be.”
Hadrian waggled a dark eyebrow. “I intend for you to be the only woman who is privy to that secret.”
He stood up in all his naked, powerful splendor and scooped her into his arms. She clung to his neck, her mouth nuzzling his throat and tasting his salty skin, as he gently placed her against the pillows. It was the loveliest notion to think that she was his one and only, forsaking all others.
Sliding beneath the covers, he gathered her close and pressed a kiss to her tumbled hair. “I want you to be happy here in England, Natalie. You may open a school, care for as many orphans and urchins as you like. Only think how much more you can do with the proper funding.”
She gave him a droll look. “Between your mother and me, you’ll end up beggared.”
“Then so be it. And perhaps we can spend our honeymoon in America so that you can show me the country that you love.” He drew back to look deeply into her eyes. “But I’m getting ahead of myself again, aren’t I? You will marry me, won’t you?”
His unguarded look held an anxiety that plumbed the depths of her tender heart, and from those depths arose a smile of pure happiness. “Yes! Of course I will. But are you sure, Hadrian? I’ll be the most unlikely duchess in all of England.”
His handsome face eased into an expression of warm satisfaction and wicked promise. “You’ll be the perfect duchess. My duchess. And I intend to show you how very much I love you every day for the rest of our lives.”
As he made good on his promise, his hands exploring her body with breathtaking skill, she arched against him, deciding that nothing in all the world could be better than forever with a duke.
Don’t miss the next book in the Unlikely Duchesses series by Olivia Drake
WHEN A DUKE LOVES A GOVERNESS
ALSO BY OLIVIA DRAKE
THE UNLIKELY DUCHESSES
The Duke I Once Knew
THE CINDERELLA SISTERHOOD
The Scandalous Flirt
His Wicked Wish
Bella and the Beast
Abducted by a Prince
Stroke of Midnight
If the Slipper Fits
HEIRESS IN LONDON SERIES
Scandal of the Year
Never Trust a Rogue
Seducing the Heiress
Praise for the first novel in the Unlikely Duchesses series
THE DUKE I ONCE KNEW
“Tightly plotted, well-paced … shows that sometimes, love is just meant to be.”
—National Public Radio
“A heart-melting story of forgiveness and second chances.”
—Booklist
And for Olivia Drake’s Cinderella Sisterhood series
“Drake proves the right pair of shoes can change your life—especially if they’re red and belong to the Cinderella Sisterhood.”
—RT Book Reviews on Bella and the Beast
“Lush historical romance, complete with all the sprinklings of a fairytale. Olivia Drake is an excellent writer, and this story knows how to submerge readers completely.”
—Fresh Fiction
“Breathtaking.”
—Night Owl Reviews on Abducted by a Prince
“A compelling romance filled with intrigue.”
—Affaire de Coeur on Stroke of Midnight
“Cinderella knew it was all about the shoes, and so does master storyteller Drake as she kicks off the Cinderella Sisterhood with a tale filled with gothic overtones, sensuality, sprightly dialogue, emotion, an engaging cast, and a beautiful pair of perfectly fitting slippers.”
—RT Book Reviews on If the Slipper Fits
About the Author
OLIVIA DRAKE is a New York Times bestselling author who lives in Texas. Her novels have won critical acclaim and numerous industry awards, including the prestigious RITA. She invites you to visit www.oliviadrake.com. Or sign up for email updates here.
