Free Duke Ever After (Dukes' Club Book 5) by Eva Devon

like them. My father doesn’t force me to sleep there, if you’re concerned. So no need to worry about me prowling around your door. I don’t spend much time in any other room but this one during the holidays, in any case. One does get tired of Ovid and these shelves are full of all sorts of entertainment. I’m reading a marvelous author at present. A book called The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling . Are you familiar with it?”
    She shook her head. Her brother didn’t purchase popular novels.
    “You must borrow it when I’m finished. Now, up you go and I’ll tell Hancock.”
    Having been summarily dismissed, Rosamund, to her own surprise, did what Tony suggested. She headed, with Maeve in tow, for the narrow stairs. Her shoulders brushed the walls as she ascended and she made the first right as he had indicated.
    The door to the room was open and it was beautiful, light, and airy. Sprigs of holly decorated the room and she couldn’t help wondering if that had been Tony’s idea. He was such a strange young man.
    But then she was a strange young woman. It was a pity that such people weren’t supposed to be friends.
    She plunked her reticule down on the simple desk and peered out the window. In the distance, she could see the sea. No wonder the house was surrounded by a stone wall. They’d all have been blown to Russia without it.
    She touched the cool glass. Why couldn’t she and Tony be friends? At present, she felt entirely alone in the world. . . Well, except for her maid. But she knew no one close to her in age. It seemed shocking to realize that Tony was, indeed, close to her in age, even if he was several years younger. There was a maturity to his boyish charm that told her he’d be loyal and a source of fun.
    Perhaps, she wouldn’t spend Christmas alone. Or in sorrow. Perhaps she’d spend it with a new acquaintance.
    Well, she’d longed for new things and she’d gotten them.
    True, this wasn’t exactly what she’d been thinking of but she hadn’t want of the expected, now had she?
    A smile tilted her lips. Perhaps this was just the thing. Perhaps, she was supposed to spend Christmas with Tony all along.

Chapter 8
    Derek pounded on the Duke of Blackburn’s pianoforte with as much gusto as he could manage. It was an effort, his forced glee. He did usually take great pleasure in ribbing the Scotsman and the other dukes of his acquaintance. All of whom were present at Blackburn’s castle this night.
    Duchess Cordelia and Duchess Kathryn were whirling about the room in their finery, circled by the arms of their husbands. It was an impromptu dance, with both women’s bellies curved with the babes they carried, and more glorious for it.
    The Duke of Blackburn had wandered off. . . With his hostess, Imogen. It was all going just as it should for that particular, burgeoning couple.
    If only his own life hadn’t taken such an unpleasant turn in the recent days, he’d truly enjoy the way Imogen was wrapping Blackburn around her wickedly delightful little finger.
    Instead of enjoyment, he felt a strange resentment. Everyone was happy about him. Or pairing off. His entirely single state had been chosen at present and to his shock, difficult.
    It had been a moment of sheer madness when he’d agreed to Rosamund’s scheme to spend a week together. With her body pressed against his, clearly his reason had completely abandoned him. It had not been helpful when she’d invoked the miller’s son, either. The very thought of her with another male, bungling or experienced, filled him with an unexpected and unfamiliar rage.
    Even so, he’d been unwilling to meet her face to face again to tell her that the plan was off. Miller’s son or no. Threats or no. Desire or no.
    This made him a bit of a coward. He realized this. But something about her presence made it impossible for him to refuse her or turn her away. And he needed to turn her away.
    His son was more than capable of handling the situation. Tony was