The Duke Conspiracy (26 page)

Lord Austen had visibly paled as he listened
to the knight hissing his words. He had never been on the receiving
end of one of Broderick's retaliatory rebukes, but he had heard
about them, and was willing to do all that was necessary to avoid
it for himself. Nearly cowering before the smaller man, Austen
begged, “My daughter is a good girl, sir, she will do what she has
been told, I will see to it, I can assure you.”

“Never mind your assurances, I can see with
my own eyes just how well she is following your instructions. But I
also now have an idea of the culprit. Keep your daughter away from
the Smythe girl. She is nothing but trouble. I will handle the
rest.”

Lord Austen turned bewildered eyes to the
dance floor, surprised to see how happy his daughter looked in the
arms of Lord Edgecombe. He did not comprehend how this tied in with
Miss Smythe, but if that was all that was required of him he could
surely manage to keep his dear Anne away from her. She was a good
girl and would do just as she was bidden, he assured himself once
more as he wiped the sweat from his brow as surreptitiously as
possible. It was none of his business if the knight was looking
with evil intent at that other girl. Lord Austen was just relieved
it was not his Annie that had triggered that particular look.
Feeling a shiver of dread slither down his spine, the viscount felt
a moment of shame for his involvement with the wicked man, but
there was very little one could do when their pockets were to let
and such a one came around with the promise of funds for what had
seemed like such an easy task. He reminded himself again that this
task would in fact provide a ready solution to all his woes. Trying
to brace his weak-willed spine into order, Lord Austen refused to
look at the other man as he stalked away on a mission of
vengeance.

****

Alex had always been a keen observer.
Stupid skill to have when one is a boy in a family such as the
one he grew up in
, he thought dourly.
But it turns out to be
terribly handy once one is an adult. You still end up seeing things
you wish were not true, but at least a duke has a certain power to
affect a change. Now what am I going to do about the fact that the
awful Sir Jason Broderick is looking with such evil intent at my
Miss Rosie?

Striving for discretion, Alex kept his
attention focused on the wicked knight while making every effort
not to be obvious to anyone, especially not Broderick himself.
It would not do to have the hunter realize he had become
prey
, Alex thought with a sinister twist to his lip.
No
doubt the man has noticed that Rose has been introducing Lady Anne
to eligible gentlemen.
I wonder how observant Rosamund is.
As a child she could be so single-minded that the house could burn
down around her and she would barely notice if she were absorbed in
something she thought was interesting. I shall have to put a bug in
her ear tomorrow to curb her matchmaking efforts with regards to
Lady Anne, if she does not want to draw the ire of Broderick down
around her head
.

Nodding to various friends and connections as
he made his way through the crowds he was able to keep his eyes
upon the goings on of the various parties. Alex was impressed to
see how Rose handled herself with whomever she encountered. Her
poise would make her an excellent duchess. Alex was shocked by that
stray thought, but it was true nonetheless. Just not a Duchess of
Wrentham, he reminded himself as he continued to keep his eye on
her movements and tried not to notice how pretty she looked this
evening in her pale primrose gown, with the light from the myriad
candles shimmering in her golden hair.

Aren't you just so poetical this
evening
, Alex thought to himself in derision. With relief he
saw Rose approach her mother. He was most certain Lady Smythe would
be able to keep Broderick at bay.

“How did you enjoy the ambassador's
ball?”

Rose gasped as she heard the low voice near
her ear. The shiver that slid its way down her spine was not
unpleasant, although she was undecided how exactly she felt about
it.

“Alexander Edward Philip Milton Wrentham! You
fairly scared a year off my life,” she declared heatedly, covering
her confusion with playful anger.

“You really need to learn to pay more
attention to your surroundings, my dear lady. I noticed last night
that you seemed to be playing matchmaker with Lady Anne. Have you
lost all your senses? Sir Broderick took note and did not look at
all pleased. You are supposed to be making every effort not to draw
attention to what we are up to.” Alex hadn't meant to rile her up,
but when he saw her it seemed he couldn't help himself.

Rose could feel the heat rising into her
cheeks and her temper rose with it. “I was not drawing undue
attention to myself, Your Grace,” she insisted with emphasis, as
she stuck her chin at a stubborn angle.

“Then why in heaven's name would you be
visibly thwarting Broderick's plans by trying to set her up with
other eligible
parti
?”Rose felt goose bumps break out on her
skin as she sensed the duke's conflicted feelings toward her. She
focused on his anger as he ground his teeth in frustration.

“Think on it, your grace,” Rose demanded with
impatience. “Why would Broderick think anything of my actions? He
has no way of knowing what I overheard. Do not all the young
debutantes share their giggles about the eligible lords and
gentlemen wending their way through the salons of the ton during
the Season? Why would anyone remark upon my introducing Lady Anne
to anyone?”

“Mayhap no one else would, you impertinent
little chit, but Broderick did. I saw him watching you with his
eely eyes. You are the one who told me you have a history with him.
He may not be as ignorant of that history as you had thought. He
seemed quite aware of the fact that you were trying to match Lady
Anne up with that viscount, Lord Edgecombe. And as despicable as I
think he is, I would never accuse him of being daft. He might be
fully aware of your reasons for doing so.”

Now Rose laughed although it was not a sound
filled with mirth. “Sir Jason Broderick would never understand my
reasons for trying to help Lord Anthony and Lady Anne see that they
would make a perfectly lovely couple.”

“What are you talking about? He will no doubt
consider it an attempt to foul up his plans.”

Rose shrugged as nonchalantly as possible,
which clearly irritated the duke. He growled low in his throat at
her display of disregard.

“Your Grace, do you also think that is why I
was doing it?” she asked in a low voice.

Alex's eyes grew wary at her tone. “Is that
not what you were about?”

“Not at all,” she insisted swiftly. “We have
every intention of fouling up his plans as you said, by other
means. But I feel badly about it because Lady Anne is a sweet young
woman who deserves better than her father intends for her. I am
sure he means well, thinking he is killing two birds with one stone
as it were, but since I cannot allow her to marry you, I feel
duty-bound to ensure she finds someone suitable in your place.”

As they were arguing Alex and Rose had come
toe to toe and were glaring at one another fiercely. Rose could
feel her chest rising and falling furiously and cared not a fig
about the flags of color flying high in her cheeks. She could
hardly believe that the duke was being so daft. She would never
have thought it.

Rose's passionate defense of her choices must
have affected Alex. She could see his gaze darkening as his focus
strayed from her eyes to her lips. Rose felt the most profound
desire to lick them as her mouth suddenly dried with nerves. She
felt frozen in place, her heart racing with a maelstrom of emotion
as she watched his unsteady hand reach toward her. Searching his
gaze, she could see that Alex was unconvinced of the wisdom of his
next action, but he was doing it anyway. It was startling how heat
curled in her belly in concert with his warm hand curling around
her nape as the duke pulled her face toward his own.

The few chaste kisses Rose had previously
experienced had done nothing to prepare her for this moment. The
warm brush of his breath just before their lips touched was just a
prelude to the multitude of sensations that inundated her senses as
their lips met and held. A warning sound was clanging at the back
of her mind that this was a terribly bad idea, but for this moment
Rose was determined to indulge in the sensations coursing through
her.

All her senses were heightened and they were
all sending an overload of messages. She could hear his intake of
breath, sharp in the hushed silence of the great room. He smelled
of the shaving soap he had so recently used and tasted delicious as
his lips expertly parted hers and his tongue teased at the entrance
of her mouth. She would never have thought tasting someone else
would be a nice experience but in that moment it crossed her mind
that she would happily do this all day.

She wasn't quite sure what to do with her
hands, but she was terribly glad she had not worn gloves as she
reached up and ran her fingers through his silky hair, glorying in
the springy thickness. Her other hand found its way to his cheek
and she caressed him mindlessly. The eyes she had closed briefly in
the moment opened slowly to better take in the sight of him and
they connected yearningly with his intense stare. Seeing the
familiar sea-green shade brought a shaft of clarity to her
befuddled mind.

I am standing in Burlington House for all
the world to see, kissing the Duke of Wrentham, of all people
.
Horror dawning, Rose pulled herself wrenchingly away from Alex.
Without conscious thought her hand pulled back and cracked loudly
against his clean-shaven cheek, while her other hand slapped over
her own open mouth.

The momentary inertia that had seized her
finally released its grasp on Rose, much to her relief. She could
feel the heat ebbing and flowing from her cheeks as they flooded
with color and then paled as she thought of all the ramifications
of their interlude. Once again, her eyes darted around to make sure
no one was watching them or had seen what had transpired. Relief
flooded her as she realized they were alone.

“Whatever were you thinking, Your Grace?” she
demanded.

“I was thinking that you looked delectably
adorable in your righteous indignation,” Alex explained with a
drawl, biting back his grin as her ire rose as if on cue.

“You are truly as despicable as my parents
have been saying the Wrenthams are. I did not want to believe it,
but you have just proven that it is true.” She barely recognized
the soft breathy voice that was issuing from her lips and cringed
at the lack of certainty and the utter disappointment she could
hear.

****

Alex could hear the crack of her hand still
ringing in his ears, and he was fleetingly surprised at the sting
her little hand had managed to produce. The sensual haze he had
momentarily been in quickly dissipated as he took in the horror and
terror etched on Rose's beautiful face. It was highly
inappropriate, but he felt like smiling seeing her rosebud mouth
scrunched up into such a look of bitter distaste. It did not sit
right on her usually open, smiling face.

Alex refused to be cowed by this slip of a
girl, he was a duke for heaven's sake, but it required a great deal
of effort. Straightening himself to his fullest height and
gathering all his dignity around him, he looked down his nose at
her. Keeping a tight rein on his own temper and trying to keep in
mind that she was no doubt laboring under a plethora of emotions,
he hoped he would not say something he could not take back because
clearly thinking before she spoke was not of much concern to his
Rosie.

“Pull yourself together, Rosamund,” he bade
her in as authoritative a tone as he could muster. “I have not
accosted you in any truly dastardly way, as you are clearly
thinking at this moment. Naught is amiss here. I thought a girl
with your experience would comprehend and be able to handle the
heightened senses that a situation such as this can cause.”

Feeling like a toad as he saw the myriad of
emotions that crossed her expressive face, Alex hated himself for
playing upon the worries he was well aware concerned her. He could
not help the awe he felt as he saw her pull her dignity and
composure around herself like a cloak.

****

Her pride stiffened her spine and she was
able to look him in the eye as she coolly began speaking, obviously
deciding to just ignore the entire personal situation and merely
address the whole reason they had met up in the first place.

“Thank you for meeting up with me, Your
Grace. I had a very enlightening conversation with Lady Yorkleigh
about Sir Broderick yesterday and it became more obvious why he
would be so intent upon controlling you. He is out to control the
government. You are high enough in the House of Lords for his
needs. According to Lady Yorkleigh, Sir Broderick has had his
sights set upon The Prince for quite some time.”

“Prinny?” Alex asked, incredulous. “Whatever
for?”

“While, if I understand correctly, although
his authority has been drastically curtailed, he is still the
regent of our country and will one day be King. He may not have as
much power as his father or grandfather once did, but he is still
the monarch. As such, he has the most authority in all the
land.”

“If you believe that you are far more naïve
than I ever thought,” Alex scoffed.

Rose could feel her eyebrows spring into her
hairline and her jaw unhinged inelegantly. “Now you are just being
ridiculous, Your Grace,” she huffed.