Free To Catch A Duke by Bethany Sefchick Page B

florist where he placed an enormous order to be delivered
to Candlewood House as soon as possible.   Both Landover and Lady Henrietta were problems that needed to be dealt
with swiftly, and to his mind, the best way to do that was to make society
believe that he was truly courting Julia.   If people believed he was serious about her, they might be left in peace
to enjoy the rest of the season.   The
best way to do that, at least for now, to ensure that the servants talked, as
he knew they would, would be to send flowers.   Lots of them.
    He knew that Julia would, of
course, understand that the gesture was meant to inspire gossip.   She was an intelligent girl, after all.   However in case she didn't, he would explain
it all in private when they attended the theater that night.   He'd meant what he said when he promised to
give Julia the season she had thus far been denied.   To that end, he had scheduled a veritable whirlwind of events for
them over the next few weeks.  
    The traditional end of the season
was always marked by the Cheltenham's grand ball.   It was a difficult invitation to obtain, but he'd managed it year
after year, mostly because of his enormous fortune.   He knew that the Rosemonts had never been invited and would be
unlikely guests this year as well.   That
needed to change, though he wasn't certain how to make it happen.   Julia had admitted that the marquess'
daughter, Amy, had been kind to her on occasion this season, so perhaps he
could convince the young lady to speak to her parents.   It was a plan worth considering, so long as
Miss Cheltenham did not get the wrong idea about him and his intentions.   He admired the Marquess of Evanston greatly,
but he did not wish to marry the man's daughter.
    He was so busy mulling over his
plans that he didn't notice when another horse, a familiar honey-hued stallion,
pulled up beside him.   His nose, however,
took note of the sickening scent of bay leaves, and he looked up just before
Landover appeared, horsewhip in his hands.
    "I'd put that thing down if I
were you," Benjamin said lazily, giving an overall air of malaise, though
he was coiled to strike if necessary.   "Your horse is a fine animal and does not need to be abused in that
way."   Then he gave the other man a
slow perusal.   "Do not make me
remove him from your possession."
    Landover sneered at Benjamin, his
expression twisted and ugly, much as the man himself probably was inside.   "If I had wanted to hurt you, old man,
I would have."
    Raising an eyebrow at the remark
about his age, Benjamin simply sighed, as if he was tired of suffering young
fools like Landover.   Which, to be fair,
he was.   "Do you need something,
Landover, or are you just out to annoy the frail and infirm such as
myself?"
    "I'm here to deliver a
warning," the other man corrected, and Benjamin could see that his eyes
were bleary and unfocused, a sure sign that he'd been drinking already that
day.
    Waving a hand in the air, Benjamin
sighed again, knowing that it annoyed the other man.   "Well get on with it then.   I do have a busy day ahead of me, you know.   Naps to take and what not."
    "I will hit you where it hurts
the most."   Landover's words were
slightly slurred, but there was no way to mistake the anger or pure hatred in
them.   "You stole Catherine from
me, made her love you and then discarded her as if she was of no consequence.   So I shall do the same to you."
    Now Benjamin was on alert, not
liking the direction this conversation was taking.   "I did not steal Catherine from you.   You were only eighteen, Landover, and she
nearly five years your senior.   She did
not love you, and I did not love her.   She knew that."
    "You lie," the marquess
hissed, his fetid breath almost overpowering the duke's sense of smell.   "You toyed with her affections,
convinced her that I was a cad, and then, when you refused her, she ran off
rather than consider another suitor."
    "You are a cad,"
Benjamin