Free The Reluctant Duke (Love's Pride Book 1) by G.L. Snodgrass Page A

tight at her waist and ran a hand over the back of her head to make sure the tie for her hair was still in place.
    The Duke had put on a white shirt before coming downstairs. Mr. Strait was trapped in the center of the room, The Sergeant Major behind him, ready to render him immobile if necessary.
    His Grace stood before the man; His hands folded behind his back. As if he was having to restrain himself from throttling him. He glanced back to acknowledge her entry then looked at the prisoner as if he was a slug in the garden.
    “Thank you for coming Miss Harding. I wanted you here as a witness to the proceedings. I would have asked Isabel and or Lizzy, but I think they have had enough excitement for the night. Don’t You?” The Duke said with a soft, soothing voice. As if he was gentling a new colt.
    “Yes Your Grace, I understand,” Gwen answered.
    “Now then Mr. Strait. Do you have anything to say for yourself?” The Duke asked.
    The thin man’s piercing eyes stared into The Duke as if he wanted to drill holes into the other man. Gwen thought he looked a little insane.
    “I’ve lost everything; they took the school away from me. The parents threatened to remove their daughters,” he said, spitting out the words.
    “I told you that was going to happen. A man like you should not be in charge of such a school. That does not entitle you to break into my home and assault someone under my protection,” The Duke said, his hands clenching into fists.
    Gwen’s eyebrows rose in surprise. She hadn’t know that the Duke had ruined the headmaster, and so quickly. She watched as his fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly. She was sure that he was going to hit the man again.
    Instead, he stepped back and addressed the Sergeant Major. “Jack, I believe that His Majesty’s Navy is in need of volunteers. Could you please escort Mr. Strait to the London docks and ensure he is safely placed aboard a vessel scheduled to depart on a long voyage.”
    The tall, thin man blanched and started to sway back and forth as the reality of his situation sank in.
    “Yes Sir, right away.” The Sergeant Major said.
    “Your Grace,” Strait begged, dropping to his knees. “Please you can’t do this, you have no right.”
    “Actually I do have the right, unfortunately, besides being a Duke of the realm, I am also the local Magistrate. Push me much more and I will change the sentence to a long imprisonment. Sergeant Major, carry out your orders.”
    The soldier grasped the back of Strait’s coat and lifted him to his feet.
    “I think I should inform you, if you try to escape I will shoot you where you stand. Please, please try, I haven’t shot anyone for months.” Jack said as he pushed him out of the room.
    Gwen watched them, her mind racing. Pressed into the Navy, for a man like Strait it might very well mean a death sentence.
    Was it really all over? Had she really hit that man with a fire iron?
    She remembered the fear that had raced through her body when she saw him holding Isabel. Her past had flashed before her eyes and that sickening feeling of helplessness had covered her in a morass. Then she’d broken through and grabbed the first thing she could think of and hit the man.
    She’d wanted to kill him. All of her anger had been focused in hurting him. If The Duke hadn’t thrown him across the room, there was no telling what she might have done.
    Smiling to herself, she remembered His Grace picking the man up and tossing him across the room like a rag doll. She looked up and saw that the Duke was looking at her with piercing eyes. He’d caught her smiling.
    “Thinking about hitting Strait with that fire Iron? Felt good didn’t it.” The Duke said.
    “Actually, I was thinking about you throwing him across the room,” Gwen said.
    The Duke laughed. He watched her for a moment then reached out to pat her on the shoulder at least that is what she thought. Instead, somehow both his arms reached out and pulled her into a