Free To Catch A Duke by Bethany Sefchick

perfect accent without making him appear a fop or a dandy.
    His hands were strong, with just a
hint of roughness, indicating that he was not a complete man of leisure,
something that spoke to his character.   There was a small scar under his jaw, indicting that he had stories to
tell, things that made him interesting.   He was not perfect, though in Julia's eyes, he was nothing less than a
god.
    It was his eyes, though, that truly
gave the impression that he was not to be trifled with.   They were hard, at least at first glance,
the violet hue so deep sometimes that it was almost amethyst or even plum.   Unforgiving, she'd heard them described by a
woman he'd rejected.   But if one looked
beneath, the way she was now, there was also pain and a thousand secrets mixed
with intelligence and a sharp with that was almost caustic at times.
    It struck her than the for as well
as she knew Benjamin, there was still a great deal she did not know.   She had known the boy and later, the young
man.   Then she'd gone to Sussex and he'd
grown fully into his manhood, visiting her and her mother only briefly during
the summer months.   This man, the Duke
of Radcliffe, was a man she did not know.   At least not the in the same way she once had.
    But she would.   For at his heart, he was still Benjamin, and
if nothing else, she would not return to the country without discovering who he
truly was.   For all that he'd given her,
it was the least she could do in return.   She could know him, see him for who he truly was.   She was certain that no other woman could
offer him that.   If she did that then
perhaps, just perhaps, he would not forget her when she was gone.

Chapter Five
     
    "I heard that Miss Henrietta
Cartwright made a proper cake of herself last night."   Benjamin looked up from his breakfast to
find Nicholas standing over him, newspaper in hand.   "It's in all the scandal sheets."
    Without a word, Benjamin grabbed
the paper from his friend and quickly flipped to the gossip section.   "Damn it!   This is all wrong!   This
is not how it happened!"   He
quickly scanned the rest of the column.   "I don't know where this author, this 'Society's Lady,' came by her
information, but I did not have an intimate conversation with Henrietta
Cartwright.   I was with your sister the
entire night before I brought her home, all properly chaperoned by Lady
Berkshire's minion.   The chit and I
exchanged a few pleasantries at the refreshment table.   Nothing more."   He tossed the paper aside in disgust.   The rumors had started already.   He had hoped the gossipmongers might have
waited another day or so before printing their lies.
    "There's another
one."   Nicholas held up a second
paper, holding back a grin, this one a bit more light-hearted.   "This one has the infamous Lady X
column.   It's much closer to the
truth." He held out the paper.   "See for yourself."
    When Benjamin snatched the second
paper to read it, Nicholas helped himself to some of his friend's
breakfast.   It had always been this way
since they had been children, one stealing from the other's plate or something
similar.   He couldn't imagine a time
when they would not do this.   Then
again, things changed.   He of all people
knew that.
    "This one is the truth,"
Radcliffe admitted, putting the paper down and folding it neatly.   "I have no idea who Lady X is, but she
has the right of it.   Landover
approached your sister.   I chased him
way and we danced.   We sought
refreshment afterwards and were assailed by the very chatty Lady
Henrietta.   I left with Julia and the
chaperone.   End of story."
    Shrugging, Nicholas tossed the
paper aside since it had served its intended purpose.   "I don't much care.   Neither does Julia.   Nothing
worse can be written about us than what already has been."   Benjamin knew his friend was referring to
the rumors about Julia's scars, and Benjamin's own clandestine meetings with an
unknown woman several