Free No Other Man by Shannon Drake Page B

ink. The moment Hawk burst into
the law office, Jim was on his feet. "Hawk. Er, Lord Douglas. Henry's been
expecting you, Lord Douglas."
    Hawk nodded, heading toward the inner office. He paused.
"Jim."
    "Yes, sir, Lord Douglas."
    "My father was born in England. Lord Douglas suited him,
don't you think'' Hawk suits me."
    Jim flashed him a weak smile. "Yeah, thanks. It's much
more comfortable."
    Hawk nodded again, then went on into Henry's office.
Painfully thin with wire-rimmed spectacles and a prematurely balding head,
Henry Pierpont leaped to his feet. He knocked over the coffee cup in front of
him and started mopping up the coffee with his handkerchief. "Hawk. Your
father's body is due at Riley's by tonight. It's come as far as it could by
train, but the railroad had a little bit of a problem getting a proper
conveyance to bring it on up. We're still really in the wilds out here, you
know. But there's a matter that's come to my attention by the most recent
post—" He broke off, shaking his head, miserable and very nervous.
    Hawk
threw the wedding license on Henry's desk and sat in the chair in front of it.
    "Could
this matter have something to do with a woman claiming to be Lady
Douglas?" he demanded.
    Henry
went dead still, then nodded. He sank back into his own chair. "You must
understand, your father was my client."
    Hawk arched a brow.
    Henry
held a pencil. It cracked between his fingers. "I warned him that he
shouldn't be carrying around proxy papers, that it just wasn't right."
    "You drew up proxy papers?"
    "Yes, I drew them up."
    "Henry, damn you—"
    "Hawk,
I drew them up, but, well, you did sign them."
    "Because
I've never been interested in taking control of my father's estates! He managed
his own properties! He was sound of mind, he was in good health—"
    "He
was aging," Henry interrupted quietly. "I wanted to contact you and
let you know that he was quite determined that you should marry, but again,
your father was my client, until his death. Of course, now you're Lord Douglas,
my client."
    Hawk
felt completely at a loss. He lifted his hands. ' 'Did my father know this
woman before he left here?"
    Henry
shook his head. "No. I don't know where he found the young woman—" He
broke off, puzzled. "How do you know about this? I just received your
father's last letters to me with copies of the documents. The young lady hasn't
arrived yet—"
    "Oh,
but she has!" Hawk murmured. He leaned forward, staring at Henry.
"Just tell me—is this marriage legal?"
    "Well,
of course, you could apply for an annulment, if both parties were
willing—"
    "Is the marriage legal?" he demanded
    "It—er—yes," Henry said.
    Hawk
expelled a long breath. "I can't believe my father did this!"
    Henry cleared his throat. "It—gets a little worse."
    Hawk arched a brow at him.
    "A
little worse?"
    Henry's
Adam's apple moved up and down beneath the collar of his formal white shirt. He
cleared his throat again. "If she chooses to force the issue of attempting
to negate the marriage, she will be disinherited except for a small stipend she
is to receive, even if she returns home. If she remains here as your wife,
naturally, the house becomes half hers." Henry loosened his collar.
    "Go
on."
    "If you choose to attempt to negate it—"
    Hawk
stood, incredulous. "My father disinherited me?"
    "No,
not completely. Only the Mayfair estate lands."
    Thousands
of Black Hills acres. Land David owned through land grants and claims, but
Sioux land. Land he never developed because it had belonged to his wife's people,
his son's people. Land he had to keep.
    He'd
been raised Sioux. Raised to believe that a man of honor shared everything, did
not need riches. But he needed those lands. Especially with the confrontations
that promised to come.
    He sank
back into the chair, shaking his head. His father had known him, known how to
manipulate him. Known he didn't give a damn about Scottish estates or eastern
property. He would have gladly rid himself of an unwanted