Page 3 of His Duchess' Wicked List

Maddie’s parents never mentioned it and would take her to task if she asked about it. She supposed that Augusta was probably aware of the details, but something stopped Maddie from asking her sister. Perhaps it was loyalty to Selina. She didn’t want to gossip behind her best friend’s back, even with her own sister.

That was just the way of things with Selina. She didn’t like talking about the past—or her family at all, really. She wished to live in the present moment. Maddie respected that and would never pry.

“Anyway, let us not talk about such things.” Selina took a deep breath as she peered at the list in her hand again. “This is much more diverting entertainment! Dearest Maddie, perhaps you should contemplate creating a scandal with a gentlemanyou admire. If that happened, then you would not be forced to endure someone your mother chooses for you.”

Maddie gave a bark of laughter. “If only it were that easy, dearest. But unfortunately, there are no gentlemen I admire. They are all so very dull, just like the two gentlemen Augusta just sent away.”

“Sadly, I must agree with you.” Selina snorted, shaking her head. “But perhaps we just haven’t been looking hard enough.” Her eyes were twinkling with mirth again. “After all, we must find at leastoneagreeable gentleman, so you may complete some of the things on this list, even if he is not marriage material. Should you start at the top, or simply tick them off as the opportunities present themselves? There is simply no time to waste!”

CHAPTER 2

“Imust put my foot down.” The Dowager Duchess of Everly’s voice was firm and implacable. “You have been gallivanting around the Continent for years, Daniel. The time has finally come to settle down and take a wife.”

Daniel Huxley, the Duke of Everly, glared at his mother. He had barely been back a week in England, and she had already started on her quest to marry him off. He had thought that he might be given a brief period of grace, at the very least. It was enough to give a man a raging headache.

Daniel glanced at his cousin, Christopher, who had very kindly taken on the responsibilities of the duchy in his long absence. His cousin was leaning against the drawing room mantelpiece of their London residence, watching carefully, not saying much at all. Clearly, Christopher was playing the diplomat. He didn’t want to get overly involved in this particular game of verbal sparring between his relatives.

Good old Chris,he never did enjoy battles.

Daniel stood up, feeling agitated, pacing the room. His mother and cousin kept watching him. The tea service lay cooling down on the side table. It seemed no one was in the mood to touch it.

He looked around the drawing room. It was exactly as he remembered—not one little thing was different or out of place. The same stuffy furniture. The same old ornaments, dusted to death. His father’s portrait still hung over the mantelpiece, staring down at them all, somewhat disdainfully. Daniel gazed at it. It was a wonderthathadn’t been removed, at the very least.

“I mean it, Daniel,” the Dowager Duchess continued, her jaw set. “If you do not find a suitable bride by the end of the Season, I shall find one for you.”

Daniel whipped his head around, glaring at her again. Christopher coughed into his hand. Daniel rounded on him, eying him carefully.

Chris had aged a bit in his absence. His dark hair was thinning ever so slightly, but it seemed he was still the same cautious, reserved person he had always been. He always thought twice before he spoke. More often than not, he had his head buried in a book.

He wasn’t a man of impulsive action. But that was often a good thing, and a character trait that Daniel had greatly appreciated during his years abroad, as it meant he didn’t have to worry about what was happening here in his absence.

Chris had taken the reins reluctantly but firmly.

They had always been good friends, as well as cousins, even though they had dissimilar characters. Christopher wasn’t a ladies’ man like Daniel was, for instance, preferring his books to wild nights in the arms of a good woman. He had never been much interested in the fairer sex. Whereas Daniel couldn’t seem to keep away from them.

Still, that might have changed in Daniel’s absence. He had been away a long time, after all.

“What say you about this business, Chris?” Daniel demanded. “I think you must pick a side, Cousin.”

“I believe Her Grace is right, Daniel,” Christopher said in a clear, calm voice. “You have been gone for years, and now it is finally time to accept the duties of being the Duke of Everly and all that comes with it. You owe that much to the title you have inherited.”

“Quite so,” the Dowager Duchess piped up, nodding vigorously. “It is a long, illustrious line, my son. You have a duty to provide an heir to it. You are not getting any younger! Why, in a few short years, you will turn thirty years of age, Daniel.”

Daniel rolled his eyes. “I am hardly heading towards my dotage, Mother.” His jaw tightened stubbornly. “I have a mind to turn around and find the first ship sailing back to the Continent.”

Abruptly, the Dowager Duchess stood up. Her blue eyes were blazing with anger, and she was stiff-backed.

“For shame!” she growled. “You were raised to become the Duke of Everly. You always knew it. I gave you time to adjust… after everything that happened.” Her voice shook slightly. “You have been gone for years, Daniel.Years. Your cousin kindly took on the duties of the duchy in your absence. You have been indulged! I wish that had never sent you away on your Grand Tour ifthisis the result!”

“Now, let us not speak in anger, Auntie,” Christopher interjected, looking concerned. “Daniel has only been back in England for a week. Perhaps we need to give him some time to adjust.”

“Fiddlesticks,” the Dowager Duchess snapped, her chest heaving. “He has had years to come to terms with his responsibilities. If we give him more time, he will only find another way to wiggle out of them!”

Daniel’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. He could feel his anger starting to overwhelm him, and that wasn’t good. The last thing he wanted was to say something he would regret. And he knew that was exactly what would happen if he stayed in this room with his mother.

“If you will excuse me,” he said in an icy voice, bowing slightly. “I must take some air.”

He turned on his heel, marching out of the room, ignoring the hiss of indignation from the Dowager Duchess. He knew that Christopher would pacify her in his absence. Nothing could beaccomplished when they were both in this high state of emotion. He was doing the right thing.

---