Free Dark Duke by Sabrina York Page B

this?” Violet asked, selecting a lemon
tart. She passed the dish to Kaitlin. As all good companions were, she was a
silent mouse, there in the corner. Although her looks in his direction spoke
volumes. Fortunately, the others were occupied with their food.
    “Do be kind, Violet.”
    “I am being kind, dear aunt. Merely asking—”
    “She does nearly die with annoying frequency,” Ned observed,
brushing the crumbs from his lap, although not very efficiently.
    Hortense pretended to bristle. She was terribly loyal.
Edward liked that about her. “Agnes has a delicate constitution.”
    “She’s healthy as an ox.” This from Ned, beneath his breath.
    And Malcolm’s response, “She looks like an ox.”
    “ Boys .” Yes. Loyal. And shrill. “She is my dearest
sister.”
    Malcolm snorted. “Your only sister.”
    “She took me in when dear Henry died—”
    “As a servant .”
    Ah yes. Aunt Agnes was, altogether, an unpleasant sort. In
truth, Edward could only remember meeting his father’s eldest sister once. He
had the vague recollection of a quivering nose, sharp eyes and sharper words.
Something like a rat terrier. She’d managed to snag a wealthy baron and had
lorded it over everyone, badgering and berating anyone who chanced to wander
into her path. His father was the only one who escaped her disdain, but only
because he’d been better practiced at lording his position. When Hortense’s
husband had died, Agnes had taken her in. As a paid companion.
    She had leapt at the chance to desert her sister and come
here to chaperone the Wyeths of Perth—even knowing the truth about them. That
was telling.
    “Nonetheless. She is on her deathbed. I shall have to go to
her.”
    Edward started. What? Go? Oh no. She wasn’t deserting
him. Leaving him unprotected. With them .
    He opened his mouth to protest, but she forestalled him with
an even more horrific pronouncement.
    “And you are all coming with me.”
    As warbles of dissent rocked the room, panic snarled in his
gut. No. No. She wasn’t taking Kaitlin. She couldn’t. He wasn’t finished with
her yet. Hell, he’d barely begun.
    “ Silence ! She’s my sister.” Hortense skated an
incisive gaze around the table, goring them, each and every one. “And she is
your aunt. She’s on her deathbed. You are all coming too.”
    The boys groaned. Violet made a face.
    “I don’t see why we should have to go,” Ned said.
    “To pay your respects.”
    Malcolm put out a lip and flopped back on the divan in an
unbecoming sprawl. “She didn’t respect us . When our house and everything
we had was sold to pay Papa’s debts, and we needed a place to stay, she turned
us away.”
    Hortense meticulously arranged her pearls. “She feared for
her life.”
    Edward swallowed his snort at the dry observation. He was
really coming to like the old bat.
    “Ballocks. We’re not that bad. She just didn’t want to be
bothered.”
    “Malcolm, watch your language.” Violet nibbled at the smile
skirting her lips. She turned to her aunt. “How soon must we leave?”
    Hortense grunted. “A day or two at the most. She is on her
deathbed, after all. We should not tarry.”
    Violet nodded, and then her gaze fell on Kaitlin. She froze.
A strange expression flickered over her face and she said the oddest thing.
“You cannot come, of course.”
    Kaitlin flushed. Her lips parted. “Oh no. Of course not.”
    Edward’s brow creased. Why could she not go?
    But he didn’t ask. He didn’t want her to go.
    “Too true.” Hortense narrowed her eyes. “That begs the
question, where can you stay while we’re gone?”
    “She can stay here.” The words were out before he even
considered them. And why not? They were damn fine words. She could stay here.
She should.
    “Nonsense. You, my boy, are coming with us.”
    “I most certainly am not.” While he did dislike lording his
rank over others, there were times when it was absolutely necessary. Like now.
He was not going to Scotland,