Page 6 of The Duke's Hellion

“That’s true. I can always trust him.”

“Why bother with letting Rudolph stay at your place at all then?”

“I don’t want him to know that I’m onto him. At this stage, I think I have the advantage, but I can’t be sure. If I reject him, or avoid him, I might give myself away.”

“True…” Chris mirrored the thinking pose that Sam still held. “What’s the plan?”

“Right now the plan is to attend the house party and draw it out for as long as possible. Secondary to that, I’ll surround myself with people I trust. And I’ll avoid Rudolph as much as I think I can without it being noticeable. The rest I’ll have to figure out as I go.”

“Is there anything else I should know?”

The answer to that question felt almost ridiculous to say aloud. That a man should fear his cousin. A power-hungry, money-seeking, status-hunting lout. But he wasn’t the only man in the history of the world who had ever been on his guard around family. Sadly, it was a more common occurrence than it should be. Taking a deep breath, he said the words aloud, “All I know is that he is up to something. I don’t know what it could be other than to obtain the dukedom for himself.”

Without flinching, Chris asked, “What are we going to do about it?”

And that right there, that one word—we—that was enough to let Sam breathe a sigh of relief.

He wasn’t in this alone. That’s all he needed to know for now.

“When I know, you’ll know.”

“All right. Well, this is one less thing you have to worry about, Sam.” Chris stood, taking the box under one arm. He slapped Sam on the shoulder. “I’ve got this. You worry about the rest.”

Despite not being a very physically affectionate man, he couldn’t stop himself from standing and giving Chris a quick embrace.

“Thank you.”

When the two separated, Chris waved and exited the room, leaving Sam alone to ponder everything. It was exactly where he thought he wanted to be, except now that he was here, the contemplations were more abundant than he expected.

Rudolph would arrive in a couple of days. Sam would already be gone. He had briefed his servants on how to handle his cousin, and so long as he could trust them, which he was fairly certain of, everything should work out fine. So really, all he needed to worry about was the upcoming house party.

There, he would be surrounded with people he liked. For the most part. Really, there was only one person he wasn’t too eager to see. But surely she would fade into the background. Who was he kidding? She was not the fading type. In fact, she might be the least fading type that he knew. That was part of the reason he wasn’t too eager to see her.

Fade? No. Display? Dissect? Dramatize? Yes, yes, and yes. If she caught wind of anything going on, she would be the one to interrogate everyone until she found what she was looking for. Even if she had no clue what she was really looking for.

Sam shuddered. All the more reason to maintain his status quo and keep his secrets. No sense in letting her see anything—even a small thing—was off. It was easy enough to stay away from her…well, that wasn’t true. Chris was going and Nobi was going. And since Mimi would be attached to Nobi’s hip, and Sam would be attached to Chris’s hip…well, the four would definitely be in community.

Sam scrubbed his face again. Perhaps the house party wasn’t the best idea. But he had already accepted the invitation, and if anything, he was a man of his word.

As long as their host, Sally, organized a few activities. Challenges. He should be all right. A challenge. That’s exactly what he needed. If he could sink his teeth into a challenge that would keep him distracted and would give him purpose.

It was settled. And really, it was quite simple. That’s all Sam ever needed. A challenge.

Chapter Three

Sam arrived atthe house party early that Saturday morning with Chris in tow. The two had planned to arrive together, mostly for Sam’s sanity. Sam assumed Chris was being a good friend and helping him out. If he had other motives, well, Sam could guess at what (or who) that might entail, but he pretended to let the man have his secrets.

“Do you think we’ll see much of James at this house party?” Chris asked as the two men found comfortable spots to have a quiet drink.

Sam scoffed at the question. “Doubtful. The man is head over ears in love with Joan. Pfft. With their recent engagement, we’ll be lucky to see them for meals. That man will be sequestering that woman every chance he gets.”

“Of course, you’re right. And I don’t think she’ll be fighting him on that at all. What with the way she looks at him.” Chris’s hands rubbed the sides of his armchair before he added, “I’d be the same way with a woman.”

“I, for one, would not.”

Chris laughed. “Every man says that until he meets the love of his life.”

“First of all, not every man says that.”

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