Free The Duke's Indiscretion by Adele Ashworth Page A

lifted one shoulder in shrug. “Perhaps. But there are many beneficial things that come with marriage as well. You simply have to plunge in, head first.”
    Colin almost smiled. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you planned this whole mess.”
    The man’s brows rose in innocence. “Me? It’s not my place to plan your future, your grace.”
    He snorted, reaching for his coat. “Well said, my friend.”
    â€œBut Lottie English is every man’s fantasy,” Sir Thomas added through an exaggerated sigh, relaxing again in his chair. “I envy you.”
    Colin drew a long, deep breath, realizing at last that his future had altered the moment he set eyes on those luscious curves all those years ago.
    He wanted her. He’d wanted her then and he could have her now—legally, willingly, and forevermore. Everything Sir Thomas said, every persuasion he offered, concluded that for him.
    Jerking his coat on, he turned for the door. “So help me, you’ll pay for this, Thomas,” he warned, hiding a smile.
    â€œYou’ll invite me to the wedding, won’t you?”
    Colin suppressed a sarcastic retort as he closed the door to the inner office behind him, letting that question linger as he nodded once to Blaine and headed straight for the hallway.
    God, but his friends would have a good laugh over this one. The magnificent gala that had been his life was all but over, soon to be replaced by drudgery in the hands of a cunning female who wanted him for her own selfish pursuits. For everything but him .
    Not that it mattered, he decided as he stepped out through the Yard’s main doors and into the gray and gloomy afternoon, shaking off a curious wave of sadness that passed through him as a chill in the air.
    Nobody really knew him anyway.

Chapter 6
    C olin stood in Earl Brixham’s sparsely decorated parlor, brushing his fingers through his damp hair while he awaited the arrival of the cunning Lady Charlotte. He’d come directly here after leaving Sir Thomas, to get the offer done, he supposed, before he thought better of the lifelong consequences and changed his mind. After giving his topcoat to the butler and requesting an audience with the earl, he paced the chilly room, finally stopping to stare at the ugly bright peaches-and cherries-dotted wallpaper, hoping the lady’s taste in home decor contained a bit more of a sophisticated edge. This room, though free of superfluous furnishings and useless trinkets, still fairly shrieked of bad taste within a cacophony of loud color—bright red apple, lemon yellow, and tangerine. It wasn’t a parlor, it was a fruit stand display. Perhaps his soon-to-be wife had chosen this look herself, though he could hardly imagine Lottie English being gauche in anything she did.
    God, what a mess. He’d already accepted her as his and he had yet to ask for her hand. Not that the question itself would matter at this point. He couldn’t decide if he were elated or annoyed that she’d taken all the bluster out of the only proposal of marriage he’d likely ever offer. But then nothing in his life had run very smoothly, nor along standard expectations.
    â€œYour grace, what a pleasant surprise.”
    Colin straightened his shoulders to present a regal bearing, his hands clasped behind him as the Earl of Brixham strode into the parlor in haste, his tone a combination of impatience and false humor, his gaze fixed into a hard stare. From the look of it, a call on the man today wasn’t a pleasant surprise at all.
    â€œThis isn’t a bad time, is it Brixham?” he asked, fighting the urge to rub his scratchy eyes and drop his weary body into the threadbare settee behind him in defeat.
    â€œNo, no, of course not,” the earl blustered, waving a palm through the air before closing the parlor doors for privacy. A sudden thought gave him pause. “I hope you’re not here to discuss