Page 77 of The Phantom Duke
This man could not look less like his brother, and Maria found herself staring, tracing every line of him with her eyes in a vain effort to find some resemblance between them.
“Your Grace, the Duchess of Winterleigh, I presume?” Ezekiel said in a cultured, precise voice that was smooth and gentle.
“I am,” Maria said after a moment’s hesitation.
She was still not fully used to being addressed by her title and responding to it. That she was a duchess didn’t seem quite real somehow.
“It is my honor, Your Grace,” Ezekiel said, sweeping a graceful, courtly bow as he stepped into the room, “and your charming companion?”
“The Dowager Countess of Thornwall,” Maria introduced.
He gave another bow, which Evelina acknowledged with a graceful incline of her head.
“May I?” he asked, indicating the empty place at the table.
“Please do,” Maria said. “That is why we are here, after all.”
Ezekiel sat, moving with the care of a dancer. It seemed that he was graceful in everything he did. Maria studied him. She could see some small hints of Damien in his features, but while Damien was dark, his brother—if Ezekiel was, in fact, who he claimed to be—was fair. While Damien’s exotic features were heavy with contained power and latent strength, Ezekiel’s were finely made, even fragile.
They cannot possibly be from the same mother and father! Two brothers could not be so different!
“Allow me to thank you for this opportunity to plead my case. I fear, from what I have gleaned from my brother, that to approach him directly would be a fool’s errand. And your letter to me confirmed that.”
Maria nodded. “He has been on his own for most of his life. It is difficult to trust in such circumstances.”
Evelina shifted in her seat but only smiled beatifically when Maria looked at her. She said nothing, but doubtless had things to say. Maria was more interested in what Ezekiel had to say at the moment.
“I understand. I was fortunate to be raised by the mother I share with Damien and not the father. She was a compassionate andkind woman and ensured that I was raised to see the good in everyone.”
“Forgive me, Master Alaric…” Maria began.
“Ezekiel, please, Your Grace,” Ezekiel said smoothly.
“Ezekiel, you are so very different from your brother. How is it possible?” Maria asked.
Evelina laughed. “I think my friend is trying to say delicately what I would say outright. You cannot be full siblings, surely?”
Ezekiel colored and looked away for a moment. “I can assure you, Lady Thornwall, that we are full brothers. I take after my mother’s side of the family, where fair hair is commonplace.”
Maria thought that Ezekiel seemed embarrassed by the question. But why would he be if his lineage was pure? There was nothing scandalous about two brothers taking after different parents in looks. No rule said that all brothers must look alike.
“He is very saturnine. A veritable oriental pirate.”
Ezekiel frowned prettily for a moment.
“An interesting description. Evocative,” Ezekiel said. “You have quite the way with words, Lady Thornwall. Are you in print?”
Evelina laughed, flattered. Ezekiel grinned, sharing the humor.
“Perhaps one day, Ezekiel,” Evelina said warmly.
Ezekiel inclined his head, acknowledging her words. “I have heard rumors of my brother. That he wears a mask to cover a deformity. It was quite a shock to hear. But I did not realize he was… an oriental savage in appearance. Interesting.”
“An oriental pirate was how Lady Thornwall described him,” Maria corrected, although she found herself a little uncomfortable by the description. It was notunfairper se, but her attachment to Damien made her wish for something a little…different. “Interesting how?”
Ezekiel seemed to have become momentarily lost in thought. He returned his attention to the room with a lazy blink, then wide, sky-blue eyes and an even brighter smile.
“No reason in particular. Only that our mother was very fair and our father not that dark. But, perhaps an ancestor somewhere is possessed of black hair and beard. It doesn’t matter,” he said, waving a dismissive hand. “I would like to ask you how you think it would be best for me to approach my brother. In order to be accepted.”
