Page 52 of My Dangerous Duke

“And I will help you,” he agreed.

He had soaked her through the moment he had first hugged her, but she had been numb to it. Now, she could not wait to get the heavy, drenched fabrics away from them, to free their cold, wet flesh and warm one another in a most feral way. With the last oftheir clothes gone, Xander picked up Eleanor’s naked body only to lay her down before the fireplace on the fur rug.

“I hope Penelope and Rhysand do not come in,” Eleanor whispered, her voice bright with mischief and laughter.

She then sighed in pleasure as Xander brought his weight down on her, settling over deliciously so that she could still feel all of him but still breathe.

“They already hate me,” Xander chuckled hoarsely, his lips trailing down her chest, “Might as well give them one more reason.”

At that, Xander’s mouth clamped down on her right breast, and Eleanor let out a high-pitched gasp. Her back arched as her head pushed itself back into the pillows, and her hand gripped tufts of his hair tightly; keeping him there.

“I will apologize to Penny later,” Eleanor breathed, then wrenched Xander’s head up to hers and kissed him deeply.

Chapter 24

“Imust say, Honey, your forgery skills would be desired by the most devious criminals in London,” Xander mused, watching his wife put the finishing flourish on her father’s fake invitation.

Like the letter she had penned in his name to White’s, the invitation from Almack’s Assembly Rooms she was replicating now was identical. Her plan was brilliant, simple, and most importantly of all, it would work. Eleanor looked up at him, pausing from her work, and gave him a mischievous smile.

“Remember that should you ever get the notion to lie to me again,” she replied slyly, giving him a wink.

Xander chuckled as he leaned down and bit her neck in response. No, he would never lie to his wife again. Nor would he stand in front of her and keep her in the dark. Instead, he would be by her side, protecting and loving her just as equally as she was protecting and loving him.

“A warning I do not need,” he replied with wit, making her giggle.

They kissed, a shock of passion skittering through them, and then Eleanor handed Xander the finished invitation and envelope; both of which looked to come straight from Almack’s. He carefully slid the invitation into the envelope, and then turned and handed it to Jared.

“You have the jacket?” He asked his valet.

The man nodded, taking his part in the plan very seriously.

“I do, Your Grace,” he agreed. “I paid off one of the servers to loan it to me for the day, as you requested. It has the Almack’s insignia on it as you said.”

“And you are sure my father has never seen your face?” Eleanor asked him, rising from the desk with a tense look.

Jared nodded again.

“I am positive, Your Grace,” he agreed. “I have always waited for His Grace in his carriage during any visits and was not present at any of the parties. He will not know I work for you.”

Eleanor gave him a single nod.

“Good, that is good,” she agreed. “And you know what to say?”

Jared repeated his lines perfectly, and Xander noticed his wife relax a little more as she nodded once again.

“Well done,” she praised.

She looked from Jared to Xander, then smiled as she took a steadying breath and squared her shoulders.

“Well then, let’s get this plan underway.”

As Eleanor had predicted, Victor took one look at the Almack’s invitation and the insignia on Jared’s jacket and confirmed his attendance on the spot. Jared had reported that the man had nearly convulsed with pride before turning up a snobbish nose and demanded Jared run his way back to Almack’s with the reply.

That was days ago, and now it was time to put the rest of Eleanor’s plan into play. If it was successful, as Xander believed it would be, then tonight would be the night that they all got their freedom from Victor Langley. Xander looked down at Eleanor and smiled with pride and love as he took her in as they stood inside the doorway of the club.

She had chosen a crimson red gown for the evening, the hue of it offsetting the gold strands of her brunette hair and bringing out the rosiness of her lips. It was a gown fitting for revenge, there was no more perfect evening for it.

She knew now that Rhysand had once attempted to help Xander get the letters written by Richard, and while they had once known the location of them, they had since lost them. It was through Eleanor’s dubious planning that they were able to discover another way to get to them; a servant, who, with little more than the promise of new employment at the Larsen Estate, was eager to help Eleanor.

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