Page 6 of Taken By the Beastly Duke

"Father..." she began.

"That's enough. I am not going to listen to anything about this again. Charity is going to marry the Duke of Devlin and that is final." He said with a set quality to his jaw

Victoria looked at the man that was her father in astonishment. Her father was usually tender with his daughters listening to their needs and proffering the solutions the best way he knew how, but the stranger who stood before her, had no resemblance to her kind papa.

He was reckless and had absolutely no empathy for their plight

The stranger before her was quite comfortable with selling off his daughter for a few bags of coins and that knowledge filled him with a righteous anger.

She turned and matched in the opposite direction back into the ballroom

There was one more way to handle the matter and she was ready to take proverbial bull by the horns, if that was needed to prevent her sister's distress.

* * *

Anthony stood speechless in the fringes of the ballroom when a passing server passed him a note that he said was for him.

'Please meet me in the library. It is urgent' the note read simply, it was not signed but the scrawl was decidedly feminine in nature. His mind wandered in puzzlement, which lady would want a private assignation with him?

Granted, if this had happened a few months earlier before he went to war, he would have thought that to be from an admirer, but he had little of those this days. He thought with a bitter smile.

Whichever reason was the reason for the note, he was definitely not going to find out standing in the middle of the ballroom.

Besides he needed something to distract him from the continual whispering and finger pointing that went on around him, when they thought he was not looking.

He suspected thar if he stood there for longer, he would probably explode with tension, so it was probably better to expend that extra energy meeting the author of the mysterious invitation.

Which was why he was heading to the Danbury's library at that time of the night

When he entered the room, he realized he was right because the figure that stood close to the shelf was female, dressed in a dark colored gown, blue or green he couldn't ascertain in the dim light of the library.

"Good evening my lady" he greeted. "I believe I came across your note, but I fear I no longer provide adventure of the nature you seem to be seeking, my lady,"

"And what sort of adventure might that be?" she asked calmly, lighting more candles that were strategically placed around the library.

The increase in brightness of the room brought the woman's features to his notice.

With her dark eyes and hair that glinted in the light and the curvy nature of her body. She looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he had known her from.

A faint part of him wondered what this beautiful Amazon could possibly want from him, so he stared until the woman's forehead furrowed with annoyance. He realized he had not provided answers for her previous question.

"My lord, I asked what adventures you refer to,"

"Why, an affair of course,"

At his answer, her lips widened in a smile, a dimple appearing on both cheeks transforming her from just beautiful to arresting

"I am sorry to disappoint you sir, but I approached you today for a different reason entirely"

"What might the reason be?" he asked.

The woman stared into his eyes. Her easy smile transforming into a stare of determination

"I am Miss Victoria Hobbs, the first daughter of the Viscount of Wynten and Miss Charity's elder sister. I am here to ask you to call off your engagement to my sister," she said

Anthony was surprised by the audacity of the girl He had often heard described as a recluse. First, she had sought him out despite knowing he was a man and he could pose a dangerous threat to her since they were both alone and then because if they were caught, her reputation could never survive it.

He listened deeply then for footsteps wondering if that were part of her plan.

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