“You are irresistible, angel,” he’d murmured. “Prepare to be ravished later on tonight.”
She wished she could be alone with him right now. Although he was seated beside Fancy playing a duet, he was keeping a close watch on her and Knighton, his gaze unmistakably proprietary. In the interest of peace, she’d better complete her business with His Grace posthaste.
She’d had her reason for inviting Knighton to stay, and it wasn’t, as Wick had suggested, to make her lover jealous. Or, rather, that hadn’t been the sole reason. She wanted to learn more about the duke’s connection to Benedict. Knowing her brother, she had a bad feeling that trouble was brewing.
“I hope you are finding your stay comfortable, Your Grace,” she said.
“Indeed. You are all that is hospitable, my lady.”
“Any friend of my brother’s is a friend of mine. Tell me, how do you know him?”
“As I mentioned, Hadleigh and I had some business together.”
“Does the business involve you owing my brother money?” she asked bluntly.
Knighton frowned. “No. Why would you think that?”
“Because I wouldn’t put it past Hadleigh to buy me a husband.”
Her brother had always been wild. Her accident and their papa’s early death had given him power and wealth before he was ready for such responsibility. Benedict’s marriage soon thereafter had exacerbated the worst of his qualities, fanning the flames of his arrogance and pride. He’d been hell-bent on avenging Beatrice’s honor…even when she’d begged him not to.
When she’d tried to stop him, they’d fought so badly that now, five years later, she was getting information about her brother from a virtual stranger.
“That is an insult to him and to me.” Knighton’s eyes turned the chilly grey of London fog.
“Then what is the nature of your association with Benedict?” she persisted.
“I did him a favor once. In return, I asked him for an introduction,” he said in even tones. “No other promises were made.”
They rounded a corner, and she asked, “Why would you want to meet me, Your Grace? Surely you could find yourself a suitable duchess in London? One without my unusual history?”
“Yours is not the only unusual history, my lady.”
“Oh?”
“My recent inheritance of this duchy came as a surprise to me and the rest of Society. Although I am the legitimate issue of the prior duke, my mama, for reasons of her own, kept that a secret from me. I never knew that I was the heir of a duke until my father summoned me to his deathbed.” Ghosts flitted through Knighton’s eyes. “The title is now mine, and it comes with certain responsibilities that I am ill-equipped to handle.”
As he didn’t strike her as a man who’d be ill-equipped for anything, she canted her head. “Those being?”
“I have four younger half-siblings, all of them bastards.”
Her eyes widened at his concise reply. “I see.”
“While my father provided for them materially, he did not instruct them in the proper way of living. They are…unruly,” Knighton said tonelessly. “Be that as it may, they are now my responsibility, and I plan to launch them into theton. For that, I need help.”
What he needed was a miracle. “Why do you thinkIcould help you?”
“You are a duke’s daughter with an impeccable pedigree. You are mature, seasoned, and you’ve survived the worst of Society.” He reviewed her qualities the way one might when selecting a broodmare. “Meeting you in person confirms my assessment of you.”
“What is your assessment, precisely?”
“You have the strength and spirit that I am looking for in my duchess, Lady Beatrice. To be frank, I believe you will not wilt in the heat of Society’s disapproval of my half-siblings, nor will you back down from the challenge of keeping them in check. Moreover, you possess the maturity to understand the sort of marriage I’m proposing.”
She raised her brows.
“A partnership,” Knighton clarified. “One unclouded by sentiment, based rather on respect and shared goals.”
It was strange how, not long ago, such an arrangement might have appealed to her. But not now. Not after Wick.
