Page 12 of The Unwanted Duchess

Was he wholly convinced that it was not her? No, but that would come to him in time if it were the case. For the moment, she was clearly frightened by her circumstances rather than triumphant at having ensnared a duke. She quite evidently did not want him to be her husband, which was just as well as far as he was concerned.

“It was not me, if that is what you are thinking.”

“Of course, I am not.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. She seemed to see through him quite well, and whilst he did not particularly like it, he had to admit that it was something quite interesting about her.

“Yes, you are,” she replied, laughing herself. “Your Grace, I can understand how it looks, but I assure you that I have no interest in being your wife. I do not wish to be anyone’s wife. I have other plans for myself, ones that nobody else seems to understand.”

“Believe me, I understand your sort.”

“My sort?”

“No! I do not mean it like that. I mean more — you must have met Lady Penelope last night?”

“I might have. I do not recall anything much at all if I am honest.”

“You shall see her tonight. Speak with her. I believe the two of you have quite a lot in common.”

“Which would be wonderful so long as it was not her that has decided to ruin me.”

“Do you know who it might have been?”

“No,” she whispered. “I know what you think of me. I know what you all think of me, but I never would have thought that someone amongst you could do this. I truly did not expect it.

“Well, the cruelty certainly isn’t out of character, but them covering it up is.”

“Might you know who it was?” she asked. “You know those here far better than I.”

“No,” he replied, “but fear not. I intend to find out, and we shall have the matter dealt with. No harm will be done to you.”

“Thank you, Your Grace,” she whispered, and in spite of himself, he could not help but give her a nod and a smile.

“There is no need to thank me. It is my duty to protect a lady.”

She seemed grateful for his promise, but she must have known that it was for himself, too. He did not wish to marry her any more than she did him, and so he needed to do what must be done — find the person threatening her.

And he knew exactly who to speak to first.

Graham had never liked his brother. Granted, he had three brothers, and he could not honestly say that he particularly liked any of them, but there was none more irritating than Nicholas. He was always the one to feed into what their dad wanted the most, and it had seemingly worked.

That was, until it didn’t. In spite of the threats and the fights and the bad blood between them all, Graham had still been made duke when all was said and done. Neither brother, frankly, had been too content with such an outcome, but Graham could not believe that Nicholas would react so terribly about it.

“Ah, if it isn’t my dear oldest brother!” he chirped in the hallway.

It was too perfect as far as timing was concerned. In a more general sense, however, Graham preferred not to see him at all.

“It would appear that you and I need to speak with one another,” he growled.

“It certainly does, doesn’t it?” Nicholas smirked. “Though I must say, I hadn’t intended for you to discover my secret quite so quickly.”

“And what is that secret, might I ask?”

“I am sure that you would love to know, but all in good time. For now, I think it is best that you and I go somewhere a little more private.”

“I think it is best that you remember your place here and act accordingly.”

But Graham knew that Nicholas was right. He knew what his brother meant, and if he was to out himself so quickly, then it was for the best that it was behind closed doors so that Graham could control the damage with more ease.

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