Page 5 of A Night of Passion with the Duke

It was until you came to me.

“It is, thank you, Lord Kilroy,” Edward replied, returning the gesture and bowing. “Do you know where I might find the host of tonight’s event, by chance?”

“I wanted to introduce you to my daughters,” Lord Kilroy began, seemingly ignoring Edward’s attempt at walking away. “Emily is eighteen and shares your love for the outdoors, and Rita is twenty and is the perfect hostess.”

Edward raised an eyebrow at the man’s boldness. Other members of the ton who’d tried to proposition him had used indirect advances which he’d simply been able to escape by playing the ignorance card.

“That is lovely to hear, but alas I’m not looking for a wife.” He smiled politely, even though he was feeling anything but polite.

He tried to move, but the man interrupted him with a hand on his arm.

“Oh,” Lord Kilroy said. “But to the best of my knowledge, you’re unmarried. Unless… you already have a fiancée.”

Edward raised an eyebrow at him, folding his arms.

“Perhaps you have no interest in considering the available maidens because you’ve finally decided to tie the knot with your lovely ward after all these years,” Lord Kilroy went on. “I mean… it’s no news we’ve had our suspicions about your relationship with the girl, considering she stays under your roof and?—”

Edward grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt, not caring if there were eyes on them. It was by far the smallest thing he could do to silence him, even though he’d have much preferred using his fists.

“I say this once to you, but I hope you’ll be wise enough to pass my message across to your friends.” He glared. “If I hear one more word of slander against my ward or my relationship with her, you will know just how powerful my duchy is.”

With that, he dropped his hold on the man and went to get himself a drink. By a stroke of pure luck, Edward’s gaze landed on Leonardo Burk, the Earl of Thorne, tonight’s host.

He navigated the crowd of people, periodically giving his greetings to the men and ladies he passed who had yet to step on his toes. Even though he hated Society’s proceedings, he wasn’t a complete harridan.

He noticed a few beautiful ladies he wouldn’t have minded getting acquainted with and a few he’d had dallied with. Suddenly, the party wasn’t a complete flop.

He tried to keep those thoughts at bay, as he knew some were innocent maidens who would enjoy his attentions for the brief moment it lasted but would sooner try to trap him in marriage once the truth of their indiscretion came to light.

He knew that no matter what, he’d never allow himself to be trapped in marriage, and then the poor lady would have a tainted reputation for the rest of her life, and he didn’t want to live with that

Edward would be labeled as selfish by some of those he knew, but he had enough compassion to not purposely ruin a lady’s life because of carnal desires.

Still, the thought was not an unwelcome one.

Lord Thorne spotted him and smiled at him. “Your Grace! It is wonderful to see you,” he exclaimed, reaching out a hand to shake Edward’s.

“It is great to see you too, Lord Thorne. I give you my sincerest condolences and apologize that I could not make it to the funeral of your father,” Edward said, wanting to keep the conversation pleasant so that he possibly could weasel his way out of staying longer than necessary.

“Oh, nonsense, I know the journey here is rather tiresome, so I do appreciate you attending tonight’s festivities,” Lord Thorne assured him, patting their clasped hands before letting go.

“Well, I figured I should answer one of your invitations.” Edward laughed. “It felt it rather rude to not attend one of your impressive parties at least once.”

Lord Thorne laughed as well and beckoned someone over that Edward could not see.

Oh dear, I hope he is not trying to introduce me to any debutantes.

“I cannot remember if you have met my sisters or not,” Lord Thorne continued. “Do not worry, one of them is married and the other one seems to have no interest in tonight’s options.”

In other words, he was not trying to sell his sisters to him.

Edward couldn’t help but smile a little bit at the joke and appreciated the Earl’s understanding.

A woman who looked no older than twenty-and-five made her way over to them with who Edward assumed to be her husband.

The woman was quite beautiful. If she was not already married, he would have asked if he could sign her dance card and enjoy one dance with her. She had light brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a skin so pale and perfect that she could have been a porcelain doll. Not to mention that the light blue ruffled dress she wore complemented her features subtly.

“Your Grace, allow me to introduce my sister Sarah Harris, the Duchess of Ridlington, and her husband Richard Harris, the Duke of Ridlington,” Lord Thorne announced.

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