Page 106 of The Duke's Indecent Match
She could not fathom a parent being so uncaring of his children and their futures, so selfish as to leave them with problems he created and never even tried to solve.He got what he wanted when he was alive and left the mess for Nathanial to clean up once he was gone.
The anger she felt at a dead man she’d never met was shocking.
There was suddenly quiet in the room, and Kalina frowned, pressing her ear more firmly to the door.Had they lowered their voices for some reason?
With so much of her weight pressed against the hard wood, her knees against Julianna’s shoulders where the other woman knelt, there was nothing to keep her upright when the door suddenly gave way.She shrieked as she tumbled forward, over Julianna, falling in a heap of skirts at the entrance to the room.Julianna was knocked over by her own fall, leaving them both floundering at the feet of a very tall, very handsome man.
“Well, hello there.”He purred the words as he stared down at her and Julianna, his gaze flicking back and forth between them.
“Good morning.”Kalina did not know what else to say.He held out his hand, and she took it, allowing him to help her to her feet, which was when she realized how much taller he was than her.Or maybe he was just very good at looming.Though he dropped his hand fairly quickly, she’d been able to feel the strength in his fingers.
Though he held his hand out to Julianna, she eschewed taking it, getting to her feet on her own with a haughty sniff.
“I am not marrying you.”
Kalina groaned inwardly as a flash of something flared in the man’s dark eyes.She could have told Julianna that some men took such blunt statements as challenges—and those were not men to trifle with.
Thankfully, Nathanial had gathered his wits and was coming around his desk to take control of the situation.
“Kalina, Julianna, this is the Marquess of Carmathen.Carmathen, this is my wife, the Duchess of Hereford, and my sister, Lady Julianna.”
“Your Grace.”Carmathen bowed to her.Then he turned to Julianna, a dangerous smile flashing across his lips.“Lady Julianna.”The way he said her name was like a caress, and Julianna sucked in a breath as her eyes went wide.
Nathanial appeared as though he wanted to punch the marquess, but of course, he could not.
The man had not actuallydoneanything.
“I think I need to speak with my wife and sister privately,” Nathanial said, giving Carmathen a dark look.
“Of course.”The marquess smiled at Julianna and winked at her.“It was a pleasure to finally meet you, little fox.”She bristled, and Nathanial’s face went red while Kalina watched, fascinated.The marquess turned to her and gave her another bow.“Your Grace.”
And with that, he was gone, whisking his way out the door and closing it behind him.
Nathanial scowled.
“You are both in so much trouble.”
39
Kalina
Whatever punishment her husband wanted to subject her to, it was not forthcoming.Instead, he and Julianna railed at each other for several long minutes, and Kalina moved out of the line of fire as they shouted at each other.Apparently, Julianna had known that her father had arranged a match for her with Carmathen… and neglected to tell her brother in hopes the issue never surfaced.
Nathanial was resigned at discovering that Kalina knew everything about his father’s death, thanks to her friends, which left most of his focus on Julianna.He was furious with her for allowing him to be caught off guard by the debt to Carmathen and not trusting him to protect her from an unwanted wedding.
They were finally interrupted by Fiona, holding Telemachus, wanting to know what all the shouting was about.Julianna went off in a huff with her younger sister and the little fox, declaring that they were going to the park.
Rather than address the fact that Kalina had been listening at his study door along with his sister, Nathanial immediately sent notes to the other dukes, asking them to come.When she found out that he felt the Marquess of Carmathen had given him a potential clue into the death of his father, Kalina immediately insisted that one be sent to Lady Astrid as well.
While they were waiting for the others to arrive, Nathanial went over the full discussion he’d had with Carmathen.
He’d just finished when Stalling came to announce the Duke and Duchess of Clarence’s arrival, at which point they relocated to the drawing room.Kalina greeted Tiffany and Gregory, then rang for tea while they all settled themselves.It did not take long for the room to fill up.Everyone had come immediately—thankfully, it was early enough in the afternoon that they had all been home when Nathanial’s summons arrived.
Zachary was the last to arrive, Monkey Sinclair clinging to his shoulder, the monkey’s tail twined around his neck.As usual, the monkey was wearing a ribbon that matched Zachary’s waistcoat; today's was a pale yellow that looked a touch wrinkled.
“My apologies,” he said, frowning.His face appeared paler than normal.“I would have been here sooner, but my horse threw me the moment I got in the saddle.Somehow, a burr got stuck under the blanket.Thankfully, I landed on a pile of hay in the stable yard; it could have been much worse.”
“My goodness!”Tiffany fussed over him until he waved her off, seeming shaken.He was not entirely displeased about being fussed over, just a bit embarrassed.Kalina poured him a cup of tea to bolster him.
