Ethan barely suppressed a smile. The few times Kendall and Malcolm had met, they had gotten along about as well as water and oil. Or perhaps more accurately, coal gas and a lucifer match—bilious and explosive.
“My sister-in-law is nearing her confinement—”
“Again?” the duke sounded scandalized. As if Viola’s descent into motherhood were a personal affront. Viola had grown up on Kendall’s estate in Wiltshire, so His Grace was well-acquainted with her.
“Yes. So I expect I would bede tropat Thistle Muir, regardless. As for my second question—”
“Do you truly have four?”
“Aye. Why are ye trusting me with this task? Despite what ye want the press tae believe, ye did witness me kissing your sister. Is it wise tae throw us into one another’s company for an extended length of time?”
“Firstly, Lady Allegra obviously initiated that kiss to provoke me. She kissed you, not the other way around,” Kendall snorted. “Do not take my sister’s actions to mean anything. To Lady Allegra, kisses are currency. They are simply one more tool in her arsenal to mold and manipulate. And though she may seem friendly enough, you are hardly the sort of man to tempt her into true ruin.”
Oof.
Ethan disliked how his stomach plunged and swooped at the duke’s words. However, he was honest enough to acknowledge the truth behind Kendall’s assessment of his sister.
Lady Allegrahaddeliberately kissed Ethan to elicit a specific reaction. Twice.
And yet . . .
He couldn’t help but relive the very real passion in her touch. The sparks that had arced between them.
Had all that been manufactured as well?
“Your reputation when it comes to the fairer sex precedes you, Penn-Leith,” Kendall continued. “You flirt and charm, but I know you are not the sort to risk harming the reputation of an unmarried woman. That said, I expect your own behavior to be above reproach with regard to my sister. You will speak to her only when necessary and avoid her whenever possible. You will be merely another traveler with my valet, man of business, and secretaries.”
Man of business? Secretaries? How many people traveled with Kendall?
And though Ethan disliked the idea of avoiding Lady Allegra, he begrudgingly acknowledged the wisdom in Kendall’s request.
“As ye wish.” Ethan nodded. “My third question—are ye holding Lady Allegra prisoner?”
Kendall stilled, fixing Ethan with a long, dark look.
Ethan maintained his gaze.
Finally, the duke looked away, regarding the distressed stag above the fireplace. “I fail to see how my personal interactions with my own sister are any of your concern, Penn-Leith.”
Ethan’s eyebrows lifted.
Kendallwasholding her prisoner then. If not, he would simply refute the possibility.
Ethan kept his expression carefully blank.
“I shall only say that my sister has a rather Italian tendency to over-dramatize events,” Kendall continued. “I view myself as a caring, protective brother. Lady Allegra, however, chooses to see me as a selfish man of heavy-handed control. That is all.”
Ethan barely suppressed a snort of his own.A selfish man of heavy-handed controlmight as well have been printed on the duke’s calling card.
“Your last question, Penn-Leith?” Kendall asked.
Now it was Ethan’s turn to brush a speck of lint off his trousers. “My uncle wishes a contract tae ship your saltpeter from Austria to market here in Britain.”
“I rather suspected he might.”
Ethan allowed the silence to build for a few moments. “And?” he finally asked.
“Several gentlemen have already approached me about it, Hadley included. His lordship’s merchant fleet out-sails your uncle’s three to one.”
