Page 14 of Disguised Desires of a Scarred Duke
“Desperately eligible ladies are my favourite kind, Your Grace.” Edward removed his mask and grinned. “But you didn’t answer my question. I saw you spinning a shapely, dark-haired lady around the dance floor. Did you get her name, or is she still a masked mystery?”
William laughed and followed Edward towards their carriage. He knew Edward wouldn’t stop pestering him until he fed his need for details. “What do you know about the Whitfield family? I heard someone talking about the daughter, Eleanor, when she removed her mask tonight. She’s apparently the Earl of St Coeur’s cousin. Upon learning her name, I asked her to dance. I was merely curious, that’s all.”
Edward stopped in his tracks and turned around. “St Clair, if you find your one true love before I do, I’m going to jump into the River Thames and drown.”
William held up his hands to stop his friend from spewing more nonsense. “That’s enough, Montrose. There’s no denying that the woman is beautiful, witty, and smart. But she’s not going to be my wife.”
“We’ll see about that. And I know very little of the Whitfields other than they’re respectable members of the ton and longtime clients of my father’s. Harrison Whitfield inherited this estate when the previous Earl of St Coeur died early last year. They have a townhouse down the street from yours, where the girls live.”
“The girls?” William asked.
“Yes, the daughters that the previous earl left behind. Both are grown now. I just heard a rumour that the eldest is beautiful, witty, and smart. But those are the romantic words of a man in love, I presume.”
Edward stepped backward to avoid William’s lunge, then ran for the carriage, laughing all the way.
On the long late-night ride back to London, William recalled the moment he knew he would get sick after dancing with Eleanor Whitfield. It was right as he was about to ask to see her again and saw their future unfolding inside his brain.
They would dance at more parties. Probably get dangerously close to succumbing to desire. Then either her reputation would be ruined or he’d have to marry her.
And then stay in England for the rest of his life.
The idea of that fate made his gut twist so violently that he’d had to escape. It reminded him why it was a bad idea to get anywhere near single women in society.
But now he couldn’t get Lady Eleanor’s smile and other less visible but strongly tempting attributes out of his head.
“I need to tell you something, Edward. I introduced myself to Lady Eleanor tonight with my middle name, Anthony. As Anthony Black. I told her I was the estate agent for the Duke of Ashbourn.”
Edward opened his heavy eyelids and abruptly shook his head as if rattling his brain would help it process what he’d just heard. “I see. Then Anthony Black, you shall be, Your Grace. Though I’m not sure how long we can keep that secret intact. Once your mother discovers you’re in town, it will be impossible to hide your true identity. She’ll be parading you around every fancy function left in the season.”
William nodded and scrubbed a hand over his face. The scar running across his chin felt bigger tonight. And more risky. Having a face like his made moving unnoticed through society impossible.
But he wasn’t ready to be noticed yet by more than Lady Eleanor. That meant telling his mother he’d arrived in London had to wait a little longer.
“It was an impulsive response, and I may live to regret it. I thought you should know about it in case …”
“In case somebody asks why the Duke of Ashbourn’s estate agent is marrying the daughter of an earl?” Edward flashed a toothy grin, then ducked as William’s hat sailed past his ear.
…
Barely three days after the masquerade ball, William found himself pacing up and down the street, trying to determine which townhouse belonged to the Whitfield family.
“I blame Edward for this,” he mumbled as he studied each home for signs of her as he passed. “I should be trying to decipher more of my father’s ledgers right now, but I’m sniffing around for a woman to distract me from all the numbers that don’t add up.”
Even with Edward’s help this morning, they’d got nowhere with his late father’s accounting. And by the look on Edward’s face, it was even more clear that the St Clair estate might be in total ruin. Not just in financial disarray but possibly at the point of no return.
William would have to contact his mother soon if only to find the second set of ledgers his father kept in his study at their country home. If his father’s copies matched the ones he received from the solicitor, he’d have to think of some quick solutions to keep his family from losing everything.
Having to take some drastic measures to save his family would keep him in England indefinitely. That thought didn’t sit well for a man who missed his life in obscurity at sea.
As he walked up and down the street, gazing at the homes near his, William thought he must look suspicious to anyone catching sight of him. He pulled his hat down lower on his forehead and tried to look like a non-threatening gentleman taking in some air.
He’d almost given up and returned home to ask his butler, Byrd, to investigate for him when Lady Eleanor appeared in one of the upstairs windows of the brick home he’d been walking past.
William hurried around the corner and felt his stomach churn with nausea again.
The sight of a beautiful woman should not make me physically ill! What is wrong with me?
The duke peeked back around the corner at the house again just as Eleanor walked out the front door alone. She wore a long navy dress with a pattern of tiny white flowers stitched into the dark fabric.
