Page 47 of Saved By the Rakish Duke

He backed the other man up against the wall. “But your blood isn’t worth the price it would take to clean it off this tapestry.”

Newshore let out a yelp as Duncan put out his cigar on the front of the brute’s shirt, burning a hole through the white linen.

“Enough, Blackmoore!” Direpeak boomed, pulling Duncan off of the marquess. “If this is about competition, there’s plenty of women to go around for-”

The earl didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence as Duncan had already grabbed his shoulders, thrown him against the wall, and pinned his throat with his left arm.

“Every time you open your mouth, Direpeak,” Duncan growled, “you incentivize the rest of us to shut it for you... permanently.”

“The-en what do-o yo-ou want, you ba-stard?” Direpeak choked out, clawing at Duncan’s arm in vain.

“For you two to leave those poor women alone,especiallyLady Penelope,” Duncan answered, leaning on his arm harder. “Is that clear?”

The red-faced earl frantically nodded his head. Duncan waited just a moment more before finally releasing him.

“Enjoy the rest of the Season, lads,” Duncan remarked, before retrieving his glass of brandy off of the rug and returning to the banquet hall.

He spotted Inglesfield in the far corner conversing with a few others, so pulling him away would draw too much attention. Instead, Duncan asked a servant if he could borrow a pencil and a sheet of paper.

Once he had finished his note, he had the servant pass it along to Inglesfield, who upon reading it narrowed his eyes at Duncan from across the room.

Sorry!Duncan mouthed at his former classmate and infrequent fishing partner,And thanks for everything!

* * *

“...and so, I wish you both a good night, my darlings,” the dowager duchess stifled a yawn as Mr. Rowley helped her amble up the stairs.

“Good night, Your Grace!” Penelope called after her.

“Good night, Mother,” His Grace chimed in.

Under ordinary circumstances, Penelope would have marched right behind Her Grace, eager to get some sleep after such a long, exhausting night.

But with the excitement still running through her, Penelope wanted to stay back and pick His Grace’s brain on the evening’s proceedings.

He met her eyes while in the middle of taking his coat off and flashed her a smile, “What?”

Penelope craned her neck to check that Her Grace and Mr. Rowley were out of earshot. “What do you mean ‘what’?” She let out an excited squeal, “Didn’t our dinner go splendidly?”

His Grace cleared his throat, folding his coat over his arm. “Did you get the chance to speak to either Direpeak or Newshore after dinner?”

“Well... no.” Her shoulders dropped. “They seemed quite busy with other matters for the rest of the night, and I didn’t want to disturb them but-”

“Don’t waste your time with those lowlifes,” the duke simply remarked, turning on his heel as he walked towards his office. “Don’t go near them, don’t greet them, don’t acceptanycorrespondence from them.”

“What’s gotyouin such a sour mood?” Penelope frowned, following him down the hallway. “You saw for yourself, that Lords Newshore and Direpeak were perfect gentlemen all-”

“I know what you’re thinking.” His Grace spun around on his heels. “You’re thinking that perhaps you could settle for one of them.” His expression darkened. “But neither of them is fit to stand next to you, let alone become your mate.”

Penelope crossed her arms. “Need I remind you, Your Grace, my father was anearl, not a duke like you. You keep telling me to raise my standards, but this is about as high as I am allowed to raise them given my family’s station.”

“No, it isn’t,” he firmly returned, lowering his voice. “Be careful not to rush into anyone’s arms, Lady Pen. You must choose wisely, both for your own sake and your mother’s.”

Penelope began to protest his pickiness, but her eyes caught something on His Grace’s left sleeve. “Is that blood?” she gasped.

The duke inspected his arm in a much calmer manner than expected and mumbled something, she couldn’t quite hear it clearly, but it sounded like he said “...it must have dripped from his nose.”

Bewildered, worried, and annoyed, all Penelope could do was heave a giant sigh and ask, “Your Grace, what's going on?”

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