To Desire a Duke: Dangerous Dukes Vol 8

by Wendy Soliman

  ‘I know,’ she conceded with a wry smile.

  ‘Anyway, if you do decide to sell, let me know. I have contacts who might be interested.’

  She looked at him askance. ‘That is a very generous offer, but you do not need to involve yourself in my affairs.’

  ‘I know that I don’t need to.’ He lowered his voice. ‘But has it occurred to you that I might like to?’

  ‘Actually, it hadn’t.’

  ‘I think it unfortunate that life has made you wary of genuine offers, kindly meant.’ He sighed. ‘But then I imagine a beautiful woman such as yourself has received more than her share of disingenuous overtures, which explains the caution.’

  ‘The same could be said of you, one imagines. Every invitation to dine with neighbours or friends must be carefully considered for fear of it being…’ She glanced down the table at the various unmarried ladies, all of whom he must be aware had been invited for him to admire. ‘Well, a trap of some sort. No wonder you took yourself off to the Peninsula. You preferred to take your chances against Boney rather than the matchmaking mamas.’

  ‘Quite so.’

  They both smiled, and the rest of the meal passed quickly to the accompaniment of light conversation and gentle teasing. Brione enjoyed herself once she overcame her initial reticence but knew when the ladies withdrew that she had exhausted any further right to his exclusive company. She told herself that was just as well and took an early opportunity to retire.

  She spent a restless night trying to decide how best to tempt Lieutenant Vaughan into revealing his hand. There was a concealed air of menace and dissatisfaction about him that had convinced her he must be the traitor.

  Her opportunity came the following morning. The good weather had given way to a brisk wind and cloudy skies which kept most people indoors. Brione had wandered as far as the lake on a solitary ramble but encountered the lieutenant on her return. She expected him to lift his hat and continue on his own walk but instead he turned back and asked permission to accompany her.

  ‘We shall have rain,’ he said, throwing back his head and sniffing the air.

  ‘So it would appear.’

  She felt uncomfortable being alone with him, away from the confines of the keep, and wondered if he had deliberately set out to intercept her. His next words made her decide that he had.

  ‘You had ample opportunity last night to inform the duke about Gilliard’s suspicions,’ he said in a languid tone that didn’t completely disguise his anxiety.

  ‘At a dinner table, when anyone might have overheard us?’ She arched a brow at him. ‘It was neither the time nor the place.’

  ‘And you were enjoying one another’s company too much to give more than a passing thought to such unsavoury matters, which I think is wise. You would be best advised to forget the entire business. Nothing will bring Gilliard or any of the other good men who sacrificed their lives back, so it seems futile to concern yourself about some obscure reference that probably means nothing.’

  And which you are taking far too seriously. ‘You are very likely right about that,’ she said absently.

  He knew she suspected him, Brione realised, and wanted to know if Troy did too. He was giving her an opportunity to back away, but she didn’t delude herself into thinking she would be safe if she accepted. Her jittering nerves added to her anxiety and she quickened her pace, keen to regain the relative safety of the keep. Common sense told her there was nothing he could do to harm her here on the duke’s land. Even so, she had no desire to prolong their conversation.

  Troy had been most insistent about her not being alone with any of the suspects, Vaughan in particular. She thought he had been allowing his annoyingly overprotective imagination to run away with him at the time. Now she was no longer quite so sure.

  Brione had almost made up her mind to let the matter rest. The gossip about Evan would die down, he no longer deserved her protection and she didn’t much care what people thought about her in the meantime. Perhaps Evan had been involved with Vaughan, which would account for Vaughan’s tenacity. Perhaps Vaughan had started the rumours about Evan after his death in order to deflect suspicion away from himself. She wouldn’t put it past him.

  Standing aside and letting him get away with it would be the safest thing to do, but the rebellious part of Brione’s nature wouldn’t allow it. Some things were worth taking a stand for. This was no longer about Evan’s reputation; it was about her own self-respect. She couldn’t look at herself in the mirror if she allowed Vaughan to escape unpunished for a crime that had cost good men their lives.

  ‘I shall return home, I have decided,’ she said as they neared the castle walls, ‘and look through Evan’s papers. I am absolutely sure I shall find the reference to Conrad that he alluded to somewhere amongst them.’

  If her comment caused him concern, he was too suave to allow it to show. ‘You have not already been through his things?’ he asked in a casual tone.

  ‘No. I have been too upset. But now, I think, the time has come. If I find anything relevant then I shall take it to the duke. As things stand, he will likely dismiss my concerns as female hysteria.’

  Brione was very pleased with her ploy. Troy had forbidden her from telling Vaughan that she already had the required evidence in her possession. Although she didn’t accept orders from him, she hadn’t actually gone as far a defying his wishes. She had instead fudged the issue and now felt fairly sure that someone would break into her house while she was still here in Lincolnshire. She would tell Troy. He could set a trap for that person and the situation would be resolved.

  It was a clever ruse that she would have thought of sooner had Troy not distracted her with his salacious smiles and drugging kisses, she decided. She parted from Lieutenant Vaughan in the keep and returned to her room to contemplate the ramifications of what she had just put in motion.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Troy was kept busy all day with final preparations for the race, and more importantly making sure that Omega was in peak form. He stood with his trainer, watching the stallion’s impressive gait as he circled the paddock on a long lunge rope, fighting the restriction by bucking and twisting his hind quarters, desperate to let off steam.

  ‘He thinks the rope is beneath his dignity,’ the trainer remarked, struggling to retain control.

  ‘Tomorrow,’ Troy told the stallion, stroking his muzzle when the training session came to an end. ‘Save your energy until tomorrow and then we will show the world what you can do.’

  Troy ordinarily looked forward to the annual event his grandfather had started, but this year his mind was on other matters. He returned to the house with just enough time to change for dinner. Kensley, whom he had charged with keeping Brione in his sights, reassured him that she hadn’t got herself into any mischief.

  ‘Other than speaking with Vaughan for a few minutes on her walk this morning,’ he qualified. ‘Apart from that she’s stayed with the other ladies and hasn’t gone looking for trouble.’

  Troy grunted, unsure if he believed it. Mischief and the rebellious female who occupied so many of his thoughts were on first name terms. ‘Right,’ he replied absently.

  Troy told himself that he felt reassured, but his sixth sense—an instinct that had brought him through the conflict with Napoleon more or less unscathed—was telling him otherwise. Something untoward was going to happen, but he was fully involved with the race and couldn’t offer Brione his personal protection. He snorted at the thought of her meekly accepting it even if he could. He would find a way to have a quiet word with her during the course of the evening. He couldn’t take her in again, much as he would have liked to, without creating even more speculation. Annoying though Deb could sometimes be, he wouldn’t repay her efforts by flouting convention and giving the wrong impression.

  Or perhaps the right one.

  Troy stopped in his tracks, almost knocking his valet from his feet when he backed into him, astonished when the thought of marriage to
Brione Gilliard didn’t bring him out in a cold sweat. The type of sweat he was obliged to endure whenever he considered any of his sister’s choices. Even so, Brione had issues to resolve, he reminded himself; she had the machinations of a disloyal husband to come to terms with. And even if she had not, Troy suspected that she might not have accepted his proposal anyway.

  ‘Good heavens!’ he said to his reflection.

  ‘Something amiss, your grace?’ his valet asked.

  ‘Nothing of consequence.’

  Given the direction his thoughts had taken, Troy knew that he couldn’t break with convention and take her into dinner two nights in succession. It would be tantamount to a declaration, but if no announcement ensued, society’s gossips would assume that Troy had publicly taken her as his mistress, thereby destroying the remnants of her reputation.

  Troy sighed. The privileges that came with his position were sometimes a heavy burden to bear.

  He noticed her the moment he walked into the drawing room, in conversation with another lady and with Frazer loitering close by, damn his impertinence! Troy was late and dinner was announced as soon as he arrived. He offered his arm to the first silly chit he encountered and endured two hours of mindless chatter that bored him rigid. It was his penance, and he held Brione entirely responsible for it. She had been taken in by Frazer and was seated at the far end of the table, making it impossible for him to overhear their conversation.

  He would find an opportunity to speak with her after dinner, he decided, but when that time came, he was again disappointed. The persistent drizzle made strolling in the keep inadvisable and Deb’s suggestion of noisy parlour games precluded private conversation.

  It was impossible for Troy to snatch more than an occasional glance at Brione, who appeared to be avoiding him. Had he offended her with that kiss? It seemed unlikely, since her instinctive reaction to it couldn’t have been feigned. It had been inappropriate, he conceded, given her circumstances. Even so, he was a man, damn it, and sometimes his instincts got the better of him.

  The games came to an end and Troy lost sight of Brione. He cursed beneath his breath, thinking that she had taken herself off to her bed, only to find his senses assailed by her light fragrance as she glided up to his side.

  ‘I assume your thoughts are all for the race tomorrow,’ she said. ‘Indeed, I have heard the gentlemen speak of little else since I arrived here. Excitement is at fever pitch.’

  ‘You are quite wrong, at least insofar as the nature of my thoughts is concerned,’ he replied, smiling at her.

  ‘I hear that wagering is rife and that you and your stallion are favourites.’

  ‘My neighbour, Charles Bryce, is a close rival, but there are a lot of other good riders and horses competing against us. We shall not have it all our own way. The course will be muddy and the hurdles this year seem higher than ever.’

  ‘As good a way as any to break your neck.’

  He chuckled. ‘Thank you for the vote of confidence.’

  She laughed; a light, silvery sound that stirred Troy’s blood. ‘Oh, I am perfectly sure that you don’t need me to bolster your confidence.’

  ‘Heartless wench!’

  Her expression clouded over. ‘I spoke with Vaughan for a few minutes this morning.’

  ‘So I understand.’

  ‘Ah, so you did have someone watching me.’

  He arched a brow. ‘And that surprises you?’

  He prepared himself for a barrage of complaints directed at overprotection and interference. Instead, she surprised him as she so often could by treating him to a sunny smile. ‘In that case you will know that I obeyed your ridiculous orders and did not go in search of him. He crossed my path whilst I was walking. I got the impression that he did so deliberately. He wanted to know what I had told you about Conrad.’

  Troy scowled. ‘He is a little too interested in that particular subject.’

  ‘That is what I thought. I told him that I had decided against telling you anything, since I was convinced you would dismiss my concerns as those of an overwrought female’s lively imagination.’

  A smile touched his lips. ‘As if I would dare.’

  ‘Well, obviously, I know that but he does not.’ She paused, looking suddenly evasive.

  ‘What have you done?’ he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

  ‘Actually, I have been exceedingly clever and thanks to me I am convinced that you will soon know the identity of your traitor.’

  ‘Brione!’

  He saw others sending them speculative glances as they continued to stand slightly away from the rest of the party and speak in low voices.

  ‘We shouldn’t continue this conversation,’ she said, clearly noticing the interest they were creating. ‘Not here. Suffice it to say, I have told him that I intend to go home and search Evan’s papers for more definitive proof before bringing my concerns to you.’

  Troy opened his mouth to upbraid her, then closed it again, thinking that it wasn’t such a bad plan. ‘We will talk about this tomorrow,’ he said. ‘In the meantime, I will arrange to have someone watch over your home. Needless to say, you cannot return to it until we have caught the rogue. I will not allow it.’

  ‘You will not allow it!’ Her voice had risen, drawing more attention to them. ‘You seem to forget that I do not answer to you.’

  She walked away from him with her head held high and he didn’t see her again for the rest of the evening.

  The excitement was palpable when Brione made her way downstairs the following morning. Everyone in the castle, down to the lowliest servant, seemed exhilarated by the prospect of the race. Brione knew that Troy’s time would not be his own today and that she wouldn’t have a chance to speak privately with him. Not that there was anything to talk about. She had told him what she had done to entice Lieutenant Vaughan out of his complacency, and it couldn’t now be undone. It was a good scheme, far better than anything he had come up with, and she refused to let recollections of his scolding and frowns intimidate her.

  She wandered out into the keep. The day was dull but the rain had held off so at least the riders wouldn’t have the added problem of sliding from their horses’ wet backs to worry about. Brione herself was unwilling to admit just how worried she felt for Troy’s safety. She was perfectly sure that he was a first-class horseman, but so would all the others be. She had seen his magnificent, wild and unpredictable stallion and harboured private doubts about his ability to control the beast when the animal’s blood was up, as it inevitably would be when given his head against the other horses.

  But men, she conceded with a resigned sigh, were like children when it came to equestrian sport. They didn’t understand the meaning of caution, and it would be a waste of her breath to point out the pitfalls to him.

  ‘Break your neck,’ she muttered aloud. ‘See if I care.’

  So distracted was she that she almost collided with Lieutenant Vaughan before she noticed him approaching her.

  ‘Oh, excuse me,’ she blurted out. ‘I was not looking where I was going.’

  ‘No apology necessary,’ the lieutenant replied, raising his hat.

  ‘Why are you not with the other gentlemen, examining the course or whatever else it is that they find so necessary? Or are you not competing?’

  ‘I am taking part, yes. Wouldn’t miss it for the world, and I shall join the others momentarily. I have been waiting here, as a matter of fact, in the hope of seeing you.’

  Brione felt uneasy. ‘And here you find me,’ she replied, with a smile that she hoped would disguise her growing disquiet. ‘How can I be of service?’

  He paused to rub his lips with the side of his forefinger as they strolled slowly around the perimeter of the keep. ‘I hope you will not be offended if I admit that I have not been entirely honest with you.’

  She cast a sideways look at his features, but they were obscured by the shadowing brim of his hat and she couldn’t distinguish his expression. ‘Dishonest in w
hat way?’

  ‘It’s regarding Ana.’

  Brione tensed. ‘Oh.’

  ‘She and I are very good friends.’ Brione raised a brow. ‘Friends only,’ he emphasised. ‘When I saw her in London, she told me that she intended to write to you and request a meeting.’

  ‘So you have already mentioned.’ She frowned when he continued to look uncomfortable. ‘What is it that you are trying to say, Lieutenant? All this prevarication is irksome.’

  Vaughan chuckled. ‘Your candour is refreshing.’

  ‘Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for your prevarication.’

  ‘Very well.’ He took a deep breath. ‘That wasn’t entirely true. Ana told me that when she completed her business in London, she intended to travel to Cambridge and take you by surprise. She didn’t think that you would receive her if you had notice of her arrival.’

  Brione canted her head, aware that curiosity would have made it impossible for her to send the woman—the love of Evan’s life—away without first meeting her and getting a better understanding of her circumstances.

  ‘When I met you here that first night, I will confess now that I sent her an express, telling her that you were here. I didn’t want her to have a wasted journey to Cambridge, if you take my meaning.’

  ‘I am not sure that I do,’ she replied in a crisp tone, ‘and I cannot say that I appreciate your meddling in my affairs.’

  ‘You are angry with me, and rightfully so. I fear you will be even more angry when I tell you that Ana is now here, in the village.’

  ‘She is where?’ Brione stopped walking, planted her fists on her hips and glowered at Vaughan, a maelstrom of conflicting emotions rioting through her bloodstream.

  ‘I had no idea that was what she would do.’ But his protest lacked conviction.

  ‘You were aware that she planned to go to Cambridge, determined to see me, but it didn’t occur to you that she would divert to Lincolnshire when she knew I was here.’ Brione shook her head; not for a moment deceived but exceedingly worried by this manipulative man’s machinations. ‘Presumably she asked you to intercede on her behalf.’