Page 52 of The Duke of Seduction
He couldn’t continue to fixate on Lavinia. She was a charming and intelligent young woman who deserved a husband who would give her light and love. And science. Beck definitely couldn’t do that.
What Beck needed to do was find out who had told his sister she was better off dead. That needed to be his priority. He considered speaking with the Duchess of Kendal, but if she’d been embroiled in a scandal, she might not wish to discuss that time period. It was also possible that she didn’t know Helen or who those other women might be. No, he’d be better off finding someone else who could help him.
Beck sipped his whiskey and looked about the room, cataloguing the handful of gentlemen in attendance, none of whom were better than acquaintances. From the corner of his eye, Beck saw someone enter. He turned his head, hoping it was Felix, who would undoubtedly be able to help him think of someone to talk to. Which would mean revealing his sister’s secret. On second thought, maybe he couldn’t do that.
Only it wasn’t Felix.
It was Lavinia’s father, Lord Balcombe. And he was walking straight toward Beck.
Hell.
Beck finished his drink and prayed the footman would come immediately with another.
He didn’t, however. Instead, the earl arrived at Beck’s table and bid him good evening. “Do you mind if I sit?”
Yes.“Please.” Beck gestured to one of the empty chairs at his round table.
“When I saw you sitting here, I thought I should come over so we could have a talk. I regret I didn’t get a chance to speak with you at the Kilves’ last night. Perhaps I should have played hide-and-seek.” The corner of his mouth ticked up, and Beck wasn’t sure if he was trying to hint at something. Did he know what had happened in the library? No, how could he? Unless Lavinia had told him…
She wouldn’t have done that. Beck would stake all the secrets he harbored on that.
“It was an enjoyable evening,” Beck said.
Thankfully, the footman arrived with two more glasses of whiskey, which he deposited in front of them on the table.
The earl scooped his up in his fingertips and held the glass aloft. “To new relationships and looking to the future.”
Beck held up his whiskey, then took a robust drink. He wasn’t sure what Balcombe was about, but he had a sinking feeling the earl had a specific purpose for this meeting.
Balcombe set his glass down. “Fine whiskey here at Brooks’s.” He looked over at Beck, his dark eyes assessing. He squinted slightly, and Beck wondered if the man also suffered from myopia. “My wife and I require your assistance with our daughter. Well, more help than you’ve already provided.”
The sinking feeling intensified, and Beck had the sensation that the floor beneath him was turning to dust. “I beg your pardon?”
“You needn’t prevaricate,” Balcombe said pleasantly, but with a touch of steel. “We know you’re the Duke of Seduction.” He pursed his lips and let out a soft, nasal sound. “Such a ludicrous nickname.”
How the hell did they know that? Gage never would have revealed his secret—not that they would’ve learned such a thing from his butler. That left Lavinia. Why had she told them? Had she been angry with him after he’d told her they couldn’t kiss again?
Beck set his ire and his burning curiosity aside. “How do you want me to help her beyond what I’ve already done?”
“It seems your…efforts aren’t bearing the same fruit as some of your other subjects. Lavinia is unique and perhaps requires an additional nudge.” Balcombe sipped his whiskey, behaving as if this were a friendly conversation he had with regularity. “We’d like you to court her.”
Beck bit back his instant refusal. “I do not wish to marry.”
“We’re not asking you to marry her. We want you to court her so that other gentlemen—those who’ve expressed an interest—will accelerate their courtship.”
As angry as Beck might be with Lavinia for exposing him, he hated that her parents sought to manage her life in this way. “Why not wait for things to take their natural course? Is there some reason you need to rush into a wedding contract?”
The earl’s eyes darkened, and he leaned slightly forward. “I don’t care for your insinuation, Northam. I came here prepared to make a deal, but you may force my hand. I won’t hesitate to reveal your hidden identity to the world.”
It was to be extortion, then. “I wasn’t insinuating anything,” Beck said with heat. “I find your management of your daughter’s marital affairs overbearing.”
“You may keep your opinions to yourself. I’ll ask if I’d like to hear them.”
Beck gripped his whiskey, his hand choking the glass as he brought it to his mouth and took another healthy drink, not quite finishing it. He set it back down on the table, perhaps a trifle too hard as the liquid sloshed up the sides of the tumbler. “Has it not occurred to you that I am providing a service to young women, including Lady Lavinia? Just because she is not yet betrothed doesn’t mean she won’t be. You can see my poems have elevated her visibility.”
“Yes, but we want her wed this Season. You’ll court her, and things will move with alacrity.”
“And if they don’t?” Courtship often led to a betrothal, and Beck wasn’t prepared to agree to that. Hell, he wasn’t prepared to agree to any of it.
