Free June Calvin by The Dukes Desire Page B

Fortesque, to commence tomorrow, would unearth nothing to the detriment of either. Whichever of the young men had caught Sarah’s eye, likely Meade, the duke would be grateful to him, provided he did not turn out to be an unprincipled bounder.
    John smiled to himself as he listened to Sarah and her father make their plans. Harwood had always been an indulgent husband and father. He hoped his investigations would allow the duke to indulge Sarah in her choices of husband. Thank goodness it wasn’t Henry Fortesque who had caught Sarah’s eye. John had not told all that he knew about Baron Egerton’s son. Fort had always taken full advantage of the devastating effect his looks had on the female sex. In short, the man was a womanizer as well as a gamester.
    It looked as if Fort had his eyes on Jennifer. John’s mouth turned down. From the second he had seen Miss Silverton, he had been a lost man. From the second he had learned who she was, he had realized his suit would probably be hopeless. His own prospects had taken a major leap forward with Harwood’s gift of a seat in the House of Commons, but still, he had little enough to offer a beautiful, titled young heiress. And then to have Henry Fortesque come into the picture!
    Fort would make a very serious rival, with looks that no woman could resist, and a title and prosperous estates to look forward to someday when Egerton died. John heaved a sigh and turned his attention to the syllabub.
    ***
    While Harwood and Sarah were contemplating a new wardrobe, and John his dim prospects for marrying the lovely Miss Silverton, that young woman was listening to her mother’s earnestly voiced concerns.
    “I could tell that you were impressed by Lord Morton’s two handsome sons, Jennifer,” she began.
    Jenny laughed. “They look like an artist had designed them, so beautiful they almost don’t seem real. But I could tell you did not like them.”
    “I know their father. He was a crony of your father, a gamester and neglectful husband. I seriously doubt that his sons have had a chance to develop a more elevated character.”
    “Probably not, though you hustled me away before they could reveal anything of themselves.”
    “Forgive me, dear. I despise Morton, so any connection with him seems undesirable. Perhaps I’m being unfair . . .”
    “Perhaps, Mother, but be assured I will not give either of them any encouragement.”
    “Can you make me the same assurance about Mr. Warner and Mr. Fortesque?”
    Jennifer flinched a little. “Must I, Mother?”
    Deborah sighed. “I am afraid so. Mr. Fortesque has an explosive temper, as well as being at the least a gamester. Mr. Warner did not, I think, tell all he knew.”
    “He is so terribly handsome, it would be wonderful, I suppose, if he did not capture female attention at every turn.”
    Nodding at her perceptive daughter’s insight, Deborah smiled. “Just so. You are very quick. Just do not let such a man capture
your
attention, for heartbreak is sure to follow.”
    “Yes, Mother.” Jennifer folded her hands in her lap. “But surely you don’t think Mr. Warner is cut of the same cloth as Mr. Fortesque?”
    Deborah sighed. “No, dear, of course I . . .”
    “I mean, he is well-enough looking, but not dangerously handsome . . .”
    Deborah suppressed a laugh. John Warner was tall and solidly built, but he had a plain face and nondescript hair and eyes. If her daughter was drawn to the man, it certainly wasn’t for his looks.
    “. . . and he is so comfortable to be around, one cannot help but feel he would be kind, like the duke.”
    A pregnant silence followed as mother and daughter contemplated the blissful thought of a kind husband. At last Deborah had to intrude some reality into their wishful thinking. “If Mr. Warner were heir to Harwood’s title and riches, I would positively throw you at his head, but—”
    “Perhaps he
is
the duke’s heir. Perhaps that is why the duke is grooming him for a career