Free The Haunting of a Duke by Chasity Bowlin Page B

companionship, but while he had indulged physically with the fairer sex, his true passions had never been engaged. Michael had never fancied himself a matchmaker before, but he enjoyed the novelty of the experience greatly.
    Emme chuckled in spite of herself. “That's a bit like setting the fox to guard the hen house, is it not?"
    Michael raised an eyebrow at her and in a supercilious tone, he replied, “I am not a hen, Miss Walters, and if you have designs on my person, I should warn you that I am a virtuous man."
    Her responding giggle was charming. It was also precisely what he had wanted to achieve. He wanted her feel comfortable and relaxed, and he wanted her to trust him with the information he needed. It would have the added benefit of driving Rhys insane with jealousy.
    After a few minutes of idle chatting, he dove in to the deeper matters that disturbed him. “So tell me about your meeting with Melisande."
    Emme cocked her head. “I can't help but wonder why you are so curious, Lord Ellersleigh".
    Michael didn't talk about Melisande, or at least he never had. But if he wanted information, he would have to be more forthcoming. He smiled somewhat sadly, and said, “She was my first love, Miss Walters. I was seven when I met her and she was just eight. Only three short years later, we were married under that tree across the lake. Jeremy performed the service. Rhys was my best man, and I believe the family dog was performing its duties as her maid of honor. It was lovely."
    Emme could picture them so clearly. If his beauty as a man was any indication of what he had looked like as a fresh-faced boy, they would have looked like angels standing together.
    "I didn't realize. I am so very sorry. You've been friends with Briarleigh for some time, then."
    "From the cradle it seems. Our mothers were dear friends. When my own mother passed away, Lady Phyllis would often have me here to visit for long periods of time."
    There was no secret that Lord Ellersleigh and his late father had not gotten along. Their rows had been famous in society. It appeared their relationship had never been a close one.
    "It sounds rather idyllic, actually—the four of you running wild about the place as children. Growing up in town, my sisters and I were always under watchful eyes. We were never able to run wild about the place and engage in such games."
    His smile was sad as he agreed. “It was idyllic, though we did not realize it at the time. It all changed, of course, when Melisande was killed. Lady Phyllis became a different person, instantly it seemed. Where she had been warm and incredibly vibrant before, she became withdrawn, and—well, I hesitate to say cold, but certainly detached. She's better now, more like herself, but she still seems apart from things somehow, as if she isn't quite focused in the present.
    "Rhys’ father became quite bitter. He was always angry and very often he drowned that anger in copious amounts of brandy. Jeremy and Rhys were left to their own. I would come here to escape the coldness of my own home, and then that coldness followed me."
    Emme shook her head. “You should not discuss this so freely with me. It is as if you are breaking a confidence."
    She could not imagine that Rhys would be receptive to her having such intimate knowledge of his family. It seemed wrong to her, invasive.
    Michael smiled sadly, but voiced his disagreement. “Not at all. I am telling you my history, as much as his, because I was here for all of it, Miss Walters. You, by virtue of speaking to the dead involved in this history, are right in the thick of it."
    She couldn't fault his logic. It was also nice to be taken on faith, and not have either her sanity or her character questioned at every turn.
    Curiosity rose in her, and though it was a ghastly thing to ask, she had to know. “How did she die?"
    Michael had been as forthcoming as he intended to. There were some things that he could not bring himself to discuss, regardless