Free Lord Heartless by Tessa Berkley Page B

want to check on your wife. I hear she has just lost quite a lot of money in the cribbage room,” said the duke.
     
    ***
     
    Landon stood at the door and waited for the duke.
    “Walk with me, Lord Montague,” the duke said and motioned for him to follow. They made their way past the rowdy guests enjoying drink and cards until they came to stout doors off the main room. The duke pulled the door open and ushered him inside.
    “I wish to thank you for your intervention,” Landon began.
    “Scarborough is a pox on London,” the duke grumbled. “His time is coming.” He tugged on his vest. “Please, Landon, sit. I did not call you in to talk to you about that problem.”
    Hesitantly, Landon moved to one of the leather chairs before the fireplace. Lowering his body, he stretched his arms along the length of the sides and gripped the edges, wondering what was to come.
    “A glass of port?”
    Landon glanced to his right. “Yes, thank you.”
    The glass clinked as the duke poured a measure of the fine liquor into two small stemmed glasses.
    “Nothing like a good port in the evening,” the duke remarked as he handed one of the glasses to him.
    Landon gave a quick smile and waited while he took his seat.
    “I must say, I was surprised to hear of your marriage.”
    Landon stared at his glass. “It was….” He searched for the words. “Rather a surprise on my end as well.”
    “You didn’t know Gilbert had a daughter?”
    “No.” Landon took a sip of the drink and found it unsatisfying. Leaning forward, he placed it on the table between them. “Not until my solicitor began his investigation. Barely over twenty, I-I could not turn her out.”
    “So you married her.”
    Landon nodded.
    “Quite noble of you,” the duke said.
    He hung his head and let out a soft breath. “It seemed best.”
    The duke’s lips twitched. “I knew your father, you know.”
    “Yes.”
    “Had I been quicker, your mother’s hand in marriage would have gone to me. I never understood how Augustus could leave her so often. But we can’t change time can we?” the duke said.
    He shook his head.
    “That name of yours is quite regretful, Lord Heartless. The scandal sheets have no mercy when it comes to the Ton, I fear. Yet, I find you are putting forth an effort to change that. This marriage has gone a long way. Allow me to play the part of a father. How do you feel about this girl?”
    “Feel? She vexes me.”
    The duke smiled. “Women do. I think it is part of their charm.”
    Landon needed to move. He rose from the chair and stepped to the mantel. Even though there were no flames in the hearth he stared at the dark ash as he spoke. “She locked me out of our bedchambers.”
    “Did she now? And did she give reason?”
    “I—I neglected to tell her of my son,” Landon admitted.
    “Ah, well then there is the problem.” The duke sighed.
    “The problem.” Landon gave a gruff laugh. “The problem is I find myself fascinated by her. The way she turns her head. How the light catches her hair turning into a halo. The laughter that seems to brighten the room, and the shade of pink that darkens her cheek when I catch her staring in my direction. The way she responds to my teasing with her own keen wit.” He turned and faced the duke. “Tell me, sir, is there truly such a thing as love at first sight?”
     
    ***
     
    Last night she’d successfully avoided her husband despite his skill and determination. Victory remained hers for although he knocked and called to her with the voice of an angel, she slept alone and her dignity remained intact. Lifting the brush, she brought it through the curls flattened by her nightcap. Tangles tamed, they bounced back to life unrestricted just as Lord Montague’s ardor had yet to be quenched. Her shoulders drew up as she took a deep breath. Casting a glance at the rumpled bedsheets, the thought struck her, she needed to do something to quell the rumors.
    Opening the drawer on her right, she