Page 4 of His Duchess' Wicked List

He grabbed his hat and gloves off the side table in the foyer, pulling open the front door. And then hastily stepped back. He had almost collided with his sister, who was evidently just returning from wherever she had been.

“Daniel!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide. “Whatever is the matter? You look wild!”

He stared at her for a moment, marveling at how much she had grown in his absence, and how pretty she had become. A proper young lady now, and a real beauty. He had always loved her dearly, and they had been getting along very well since his return, but he knew he couldn’t speak in a civil manner even to her at that moment. Not until he had walked a bit and cleared his mind.

He muttered something under his breath, dodging her, heading down the front path and out the high front gate. He didn’t look back.

The sun was shining, and it was a nice enough morning for a walk, he thought, doffing his hat politely to passing couples along the wide, affluent, tree-lined street. At least it wasn’t raining. He hadn’t missed England’s miserable weather during his long absence. Not at all.

He exhaled slowly. Had he missed anything about his home country? He really didn’t think so. But then, his departure forthe Continent had been so hasty, and undertaken under such a cloud, that perhaps it had soured all his memories of England.

By Jove’s beard. How am I ever to settle back here? How am I going to handle my mother’s harping?

Abruptly, he turned left. Hyde Park was in the distance. He hesitated. Every gentleman and his dog would be promenading there on a fine morning like this. He didn’t know if he could stand it. But on the other hand, if he could dodge the ton, he might find a tree to sit beneath, a quiet pocket of peace, to quieten his mind.

I cannot marry.I will not marry.Not even for the sake of the duchy. And she cannot make me.

He reached the park. His instincts had been correct—it was packed with ladies and gentlemen taking the air, promenading around the Serpentine. He grimaced to himself. If he remembered correctly, there was a somewhat private spot further along. He just had to endure the crowd until he got there.

He gritted his teeth, nodding politely at people as he passed them, refusing to stop and embroil himself in conversation. He doubted that anyone would recognize him yet, anyway, or even know of his return to England’s fair shores. Once they did, he wasn’t at all sure what their reaction to him would be. Yes, he was the Duke of Everly, but the name was clouded by scandal now. And he had been away so long that he simply had no idea if that cloud had lifted or still remained.

I do not give a deuce either way. I do not covet the good opinion of the beau monde. Let them do their worst.

He thought of his mother again. And his cousin. Now that he had walked for a while, and his anger was settling, he was starting to see their points of view. He didn’t necessarily agree with them, especially on the subject of matrimony, but he knew that they were only doing what they thought was right. His mother wasn’t entirely a virago. She was just trying to do her best to ensure that the illustrious Huxley bloodline continued.

He was the Duke, after all. That line must come from him. But he balked at the mere thought of it. Hecouldn’tmarry, not even to produce the longed-for heir. If he did, then the marriage would come to grief, in probably the exact same way his parents’ marriage had. He was his father’s son, after all.

A rake begets a rake.But at least I admit what I am and fully accept my nature. I will never, ever hide it like he did. I would never put a woman through that.

Daniel blinked, trying hard not to remember what had happened all those years ago. But it was always there, just beneath the surface. His mother’s terrible pain at her husband’s betrayal.

The double pain of losing him forever as well, without ever having the chance to confront him about it. And then, the salt being poured into the wound—the scandal which had resulted, sweeping over them like a thundercloud, changing their lives forever.

It was old news now—five years had passed since that dreadful day. And yet, sometimes, it seemed like it was only yesterday. The years of his Grand Tour flashed before his eyes, a kaleidoscope of memories, one after the other.

He had wandered the Continent, traipsing from Italy to France to Spain, for so long that the nomadic life had settled into his blood. He didn’t know how to be anything else anymore. He didn’t knowhowto be the Duke of Everly, even though he had been born to the title…

“Oh!”

It was a feminine voice, high-pitched, full of surprise. He had been so engrossed in his reverie that he had actually collided with a lady walking towards him. Instinctively, he reached out to steady her, as she was in danger of falling sideways from the impact. She seemed intent on not dropping a book which she held in her hand, gripping it tightly.

Hound’s teeth!

He was stunned as he gazed upon her face for the first time.

A beauty has just landed in my arms!

He kept staring at her, lost for words, taking in her fine form. A beauty, indeed. She was petite—a full head shorter than he was—but with a womanly figure. She had glossy dark brown hair, the color of mahogany, beneath her white bonnet, and pale,alabaster skin, with a smattering of light freckles across her nose and cheeks.

But it was her eyes that bewitched him, drawing him in further, mesmerizing him utterly. He had never beheld eyes quite like them before. They were the color of honey, or molasses, a rich golden brown, fringed by long dark lashes. And she fit into his arms as snugly as a hand fit into a glove.

She was blushing, her pale skin turning pink, deepening to a rosy glow.

“I do apologize,” she murmured in a breathless voice.

He didn’t respond. He was too busy watching her blush. He didn’t even realize he still had his hands on her shoulders until another lady came into view, coughing into her hand.

“Excuse me, Sir,” the other lady said in a tart voice. “But we must hurry. Our mother will be wondering where we are.”

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