How to Fool a Duke (The Husband Dilemma #1) - Lancaster, Mary Page 0,49
asked in a steely voice.
“Of course, the little hoyden who wouldn’t know what to do with a duke if another woman showed her step by step.”
The insult was meant to hurt Sarah, and it did, but she held her composure as she’d been taught to do. “Especially if that woman was you.”
Maria frowned but remained indifferent, her air of superiority unaffected. “Give up the duke, my dear, he is too much for a girl like you to handle. Try for an earl. That I can help you with. Or even a baron. A country baron at that. You seem to flourish in this backwater environment, why not stay where you are comfortable and safe from the ton?”
Sarah rewarded her with a genuine smile. “I think you have already realized I am the daughter of an earl, more than your equal.”
“In title only,” Maria spat. “By getting caught kissing the duke, I have gained leverage over you, Lady Sarah. That gives me the power to make your life miserable if you give me reason to.”
Sarah stood, taller than Maria by at least three inches. “Are you threatening me?”
Maria shrugged. “If you wish to call it that, who am I to disagree?”
“You don’t even know me. Why would you wish to harm me?”
Maria gave her a serious look. “You got in my way.”
“Are you admitting to coming to Whitmore under false pretenses? Not to contribute to Lady Whitmore’s charitable causes but to seduce a duke?”
Maria scowled. “I came here to do both. I admire Lady Whitmore sincerely. She is the kind of woman anyone would strive to be like.”
“Except you.”
Maria pretended to smooth her skirts. “What woman wouldn’t pursue Leonard? He is a duke, after all. Wealthy. Handsome. Powerful.”
“Honest. Intelligent. Honorable…”
“Oh, those qualities pale in comparison to what I adore about him. He can save honor for Parliament or whatever else he does with his time.”
Her lack of caring for Leonard shocked Sarah. “You do not love him.”
A furrow appeared between her brows. “Love? You are desperately naïve, Sarah. Perhaps your companion should stop reading you fairy tales when you retire at night. Love is for saints and children, not dukes and duchesses, not for a man like Leonard and a woman like me. Ours will be a union of mutual benefits. We will be the talk of Society. The handsomest couple in London, don’t you think?”
The thought of such a woman bearing the title of Duchess of Vexen angered Sarah. “You are after his money. You care nothing about him.”
“That is where you are mistaken, child. I care very much about him. So much so that I am willing to marry him, give him an heir, and manage his affairs—that takes plenty of caring.”
What could she say in response to that? Maria did not hide her intentions, and Leonard must know what she wanted from him. He practically ran any time the woman went near him. But she had not expected Maria to be so brazen about it all. “Perhaps we should let Leonard decide who he wants for a wife.”
Maria clasped her hands together with delight. “That is a magnificent idea.”
Disgusted, Sarah took her leave, heading back to her cottage—fear uncoiling inside her. What had Maria said to Leonard after he left her cottage? Unfortunately, she would have to wait, there were other things to worry about, for as she drew near her home, her mother, father, and Lady Whitmore were waiting for her outside.
***
“The woman is calculating and cold, Mr. James, unworthy of anything respectable.”
Mr. James sat quietly as Leonard continued to pace and talk.
“Can you believe she is attempting to blackmail me? Threatening to ruin my sweet Sarah?”
“Desperation is an ugly trait in a woman, sir.”
“Quite right,” the duke agreed.
“You have so much on your plate to contend with already,” his secretary said. “Reunited with your long-lost mother, the dig site, a new property, and now a wife.”
“Wife?”
“I presume you intend to marry Lady Sarah. Is that not the reason for all this upset?”
“You are peculiarly perceptive, Mr. James. Almost to the point of unsettling.”
“I apologize, then. But is that not precisely why you hired me, Your Grace?”
Leonard gazed at him and cracked a smile. “It wasn’t for your good looks.”
Mr. James grinned. “There is only room for one dandy under you roof, sir.”
Bloody hell—such disrespect. He laughed even harder. “Maria will play her game as brutally as a professional gambler with nothing left to lose.”
Mr. James scratched his chin. “Shall I watch her for you, sir?”
“I think