Free Redemption of the Duke by Gayle Callen

exclusive ball. So if things turned out badly,
     Faith had only herself to blame.
    But the carriage was soon driving through Belgravia, then stopped on the square itself.
     Faith eagerly opened the door before the coachman could—and saw Rothford Court looming
     up before her. Her mouth sagged open, and she prayed the traffic was so bad that the
     coachman couldn’t pull up before the house next door.
    And then she realized that the coachman was waiting for the gate to be opened, and
     she had to close the door as she was driven within the grounds of the duke’s home.
    She felt sick inside at the manipulation. Obviously, Lady Duncan was acting on the
     duke’s behalf. Were they related? Faith should have studied her Debrett’s Peerage better, but she was always so busy. If he had coerced an old woman to do his bidding,
     why, that was simply terrible.
    And this was what Faith’s carelessness had wrought: she was out of a perfectly acceptable—if
     overworked—position. She felt trapped by the duke, ready for pride’s sake to simply
     quit. But of course she had her mother to support, and although she had her initial
     letter of reference, she was certain the Warburtons would not give her one for abandoning
     them. If she begged for her position back, things would be even worse for her.
    Faith reluctantly decided to play the hand she’d been dealt, to see what Lady Duncan
     had to say for herself.
    Though she did not enter through the servants’ door, the coachman did drive up to
     the side entrance rather than the main portico of the mansion—no town house, this,
     though it be in the middle of London. Once she was inside, a smiling middle-aged woman
     greeted her, wearing a plain black gown with a lace collar, a large ring of keys dangling
     from her belt.
    “Miss Cooper, I am Mrs. Morton, the housekeeper. Lady Duncan told us to expect you.
     Welcome to Rothford Court.”
    “Thank you, Mrs. Morton. Would Lady Duncan be available?”
    “No, she is out paying calls, but she assures me you will be having dinner together.
     I’ll give you a brief tour of the house while the footmen see to your trunk, and then
     you can relax in your room until dinner is announced.”
    “Would you mind if I ask you one awkward question?”
    “Of course. I will do my best to answer.”
    “How is Lady Duncan related to the duke? She never quite said. She might simply be
     a distant relation, for all I know.”
    Mrs. Morton nodded. “A wise question. Lady Duncan is the older sister of the late
     duke, and therefore the aunt to the current duke.”
    “I see. I never thought to inquire myself,” she added, trying not to blush.
    Faith did her best not to gape as she followed the housekeeper through the public
     rooms, the drawing rooms, gallery, public and private dining rooms and breakfast room,
     and so many others that her head spun from trying to keep the layout straight in her
     mind. Everywhere were marble columns and frescos, gilt trim, fan-vaulted ceilings,
     and medieval tapestries.
    And the library—it rose two stories high, with little secluded window seats and cozy,
     deep chairs. The smell of leather was intoxicating, and she inhaled deeply. Mrs. Morton
     smiled.
    Faith was looking forward to the solitude of her own room until the housekeeper led
     her into a room nowhere near the servants’ quarters, with a massive four-poster bed
     hung with curtains, gilt furniture, and embroidered curtains on the windows, all styled
     in soothing blues and creams.
    She didn’t want to appear provincial by asking if this bedroom was really for her,
     for obviously Mrs. Morton knew where she wished to put Faith. But she must have looked
     a little dazed, for the housekeeper smiled at her.
    “You must be a special young woman, because Lady Duncan has never tolerated even the
     suggestion of needing a companion.”
    Or the duke was a persuasive man, Faith thought with frustration.
    “You will find yourself well treated, Miss