Free The Duke Conspiracy by Astraea Press Page B

to do is ensure you are safe from the parson's mousetrap.”
     
    ****
     
    Alex was silent a moment as he regarded Rose
steadily. He almost grinned as he saw her fidget with her
frustration. He revealed nothing of his thoughts on his face as he
considered her words.
    She was absolutely right when she said that
he hated all forms of untruth, but he was no longer a green youth.
The lies and deceptions perpetrated by his parents had given him a
deep aversion to falsehood. But in the past three years, since his
brother died and he became the heir to his father's title, he had
learned more than he had ever wished about how the world around him
worked. Unfortunately, at times, duplicity was necessary.
    He enjoyed Rose's innocent view of him and he
hated to disabuse her of it. However, he could clearly see she was
anxious to get to the bottom of the entire plot and so was he.
Wishing she would confide in him her reasons for distrusting the
knight, Alex was forced to proceed without all the information at
his disposal. He couldn't blame her for her aversion to the man.
Alex didn't much care for him either.
    Drawing out the silence as long as he could,
Alex was not surprised when Rose broke it first.
    “Well, what do you have to say? I really
cannot remain here much longer, Your Grace. If I do not have much
drawing accomplished, my mother will wonder why I have been gone so
long.”
    Intrigued, Alex had to ask, “Does she check
your sketchbook whenever you return home?”
    Enjoying the blush staining her cheeks he had
to strain to hear her huff, “Well, of course not.”
    Letting her off the hook, Alex returned to
her question. “I will admit to you that while I do not enjoy
anything underhanded overmuch, I really do feel I must get to the
bottom of this matter. We need to find out why they targeted me and
how Sir Broderick is involved.”
    “Do you not think the Austens decided to
target you because you are a wealthy, unmarried duke?”
    Alex felt his cheeks burn over her comment
but shrugged indifferently. “I am far from being the only wealthy,
unmarried nobleman, and if they were smart they would have striven
for someone a little lower on the social structure, like a
viscount. There are several unattached viscounts who have plenty of
blunt. It would be far less remarkable for the daughter of an
impoverished viscount to become engaged to another viscount, or
even an earl, than to a duke.”
    “That is true, Your Grace, but changes little
about the situation,” Rose offered. “It could just mean that their
ambitions know very little bounds.”
    “Or that they are stupid beyond belief,” Alex
could not help adding. “Surely they must realize that a duke has
connections and resources they could never imagine in order to
prevent any sort of misalliance.”
    “They could have been relying on your
inexperience,” Rose countered in a low voice. Alex could see she
did not wish to elaborate, but then she continued, “Everyone knows
you were not your father's heir for very long.”
    Alex knew it was difficult for her to refer
to their shared loss so he allowed it to pass without comment.
Instead, he continued as though she had said nothing. “It would
seem to me that they must be after me for some sort of a political
agenda, perhaps something connected to the House of Lords. If it
was just an ambitious debutante I would brush it off and ensure I
was never alone with her. But the fact that you heard her father
conspiring with someone else on the matter implies there is more to
it than just a good marriage for an impoverished family.”
    “Do you have any ideas who might be after
you? Or what they might be trying to accomplish in such a way? If
we have some ideas we will be in a better position to begin our
investigation.”
    Alex gazed at his old friend in admiration.
If anyone had ever told him he would be standing in Burlington
House surrounded by Elgin's Marbles debating with Miss Rosamund
Smythe about who might be