Two Lady Scoundrels and a Duke - Tessa Candle Page 0,38

last of the improvements to the pirate cave would be finished in a matter of days, which would inevitably require some ribbon-cutting and pomp. After that, interest would fade away, and it would be the perfect place to stash his prisoner.

In the meantime, he would have to rely on his secret door and thick stone walls to keep the unwilling inmate concealed. Hiding the loathsome brute in an outbuilding at the neighbouring Brookshire Park had become a little risky, what with his cousin Rosamond occasionally visiting there.

Why on earth the newly married Marchioness of Fenimore should feel so compelled to visit the wife of her enemy was beyond him. It was a marvel that Rosamond had not simply evicted the woman as soon as the estate passed into her hands. Was his cousin that compassionate? Or was she smart enough to know that you keep your friends close and your enemies closer?

Well, Delville preferred only to have his enemies close. He kept himself safely quarantined from his friends, which was all for the best. Perhaps he should make an effort to get to know Rosamond better. But that was music for another opera, for he was rather busy at the moment. And he certainly did not want to encourage her to rely on him. He was a useless fellow who could not even lift a finger to save his own sister. Rosamond was better off keeping her distance.

His stomach growled. There was still time left in the morning to sneak into Fenimore and steal some food.

Delville grinned to himself as he strolled along, mulling over his cousin’s kind attentions to Lady Screwe. Did Rosamond know that Lady Screwe hated her husband even more than Rosamond did? Did Lady Screwe know that Rosamond hoped and believed Lord Screwe was dead?

Probably. Ladies were such canny creatures. It was an enigma how they extracted so much intelligence out of the inane prattle of a few morning calls. This had always inspired in him a great professional admiration.

As he neared the edge of the copse of trees that hid the pirate cave from the view of the main path, he heard voices. One of them was a woman. He slipped into the shadow of a thick trunk. He could not be too careful when evading certain people. Especially the ladies, who were like truffle pigs when there was a mystery to root out.

But Delville, as he overheard a few words, found his own curiosity piqued. He drew closer, careful to stay within the cover of the trees, and cocked his ear. A person could learn useful things from a private tête-à-tête.

Sample Chapter 3

Eleanor grimaced in dismay as she halted suddenly to avoid running into the gentleman in her path. Of course it had to be Lord Auchdun. Creeping spider of a man.

"Lady Eleanor!"

She gritted her teeth and tried to walk past him without comment, but he moved to block her passage.

"I say, what luck it is to find you here!"

She stared frostily past him. "On the property of the marquess who has ejected you from his lands and asked you not to return? Yes, imagine the wonderful good fortune of it."

"Quite the glittering wit you have. One could only miss it because it shares the crown with so many other charms." His eyes widened as he said this, no doubt congratulating himself for a clever bit of flattery, which he had embellished with a particularly horrid attempt at Scottish brogue.

"Lord Auchdun, I will pass and return to the manor. I know not how to communicate to you more clearly than I have already my disinclination for your company. Your committing trespass here is a singular bit of bad ton. I hope it will not be repeated."

"Indeed. It is bad ton—I admit it. But I am driven by the noblest of causes. Please permit me to tell you how utterly bewitched I am, how my heart is smitten, how I long to make you my wife, if only—"

"No. Is that clear enough?"

"No?"

"Under no circumstances will I ever consent to marrying you."

His face reddened. "I understand that I have taken you by surprise, finding you here alone. But surely you are not serious in your refusal."

"Utterly serious."

“Perhaps you just need some time to consider—”

“I do not. I know my mind and my heart, and both find the very notion at turns laughable and repugnant.”

He tilted his head and looked heavenward as if wisely mulling over a deeper truth. "But do you not see how some people