A Little Bit Scandalous Page 0,21

get you a wheeled chair.”

Roe rolled toward Christopher. “I’ll convince him. We’ll come back for you.”

For a moment, Christopher’s eyes seem to clear and something like a smile twisted his cracked lips. “Only you, Roe, are misguided enough to believe a duke could ever give one whit for the son of a baron.”

Roe couldn’t even argue with his friend. The Duke was an ass. He cared more for propriety than for human life, more for preserving the classes than for the worth of a man. But Roe was not his father’s son and he would rise above his class. “Then I will come back for you. As soon as I’m able, I’ll come get you myself.”

“Promise me,” Christopher said again, his voice hoarse and breaking. “You’ll take care of Caroline.”

Roe stared at his friend, willing the situation to be different. “They’ll take good care of you here,” he told him though he knew that wouldn’t be the case. It wasn’t that they had been treated poorly, but they needed far more intensive care to survive this.

“Promise me, Roe,” Christopher said again. He winced as pain shuddered through him.

“I promise. Whatever it takes, I’ll make certain Caroline is cared for.”

Christopher made some movement with his head that Roe assumed as a nod. And then the nurse arrived with his wheeled chair and Roe was hefted into it. He didn’t take his eyes off his friend until they’d wheeled Roe out of the room.

He could still hear Christopher’s pleas begging Roe to make certain Caroline was well cared for. Not a month later, Roe had received papers in the post. Christopher had legally named Roe the girl’s guardian before succumbing to his illness.

Roe shook himself and took a few deep breaths. That had been the last time he’d seen his friend. Feeling somewhat nauseated from his memory, he decided to skip the evening meal. He entered his townhome, realizing it was probably far later than he’d thought as the lights had already been doused. So, he was surprised to find Caroline waiting for him in his study. Well, wasn’t this just perfect? Leave it to Caroline to be where he’d least expect her.

“You’re up late,” he said.

“You’re home late.”

He fought off a smile. “Yes, well, I take it you both took the day to make yourselves comfortable in my absence,” he said. He came into the room but didn’t bother to sit behind his desk. Instead, he sat in the chair across from hers. He leaned back, straightening his legs out in front of him and crossing them at the ankle.

“We were quite comfortable at Aggie’s house before you came in bellowing like a cretin,” she said.

His brows rose. He’d forgotten how sassy she could be. “Cretin? I haven’t been called that in a while.”

“It has been a while since you’ve been to Chanceworth Hall.”

Guilt stabbed at him, but he swiped it away. He didn’t have time for guilt. “Parliament,” he said. It would be a legitimate excuse if he did a damned thing in Parliament, which he didn’t. He voted when necessary, voiced a rare opinion when he bothered to listen to the discussion, but in truth, no one would miss him were he to leave. But he was a duke, and that was supposed to mean something.

“Yes, you are so very important,” she said, rolling her eyes heavenward.

“Indeed.” He eyed her for a moment, taking in the sight of her. Tonight, she was dressed as a woman should be, in a soft green dress that highlighted her eyes and made her hair appear even darker. Caroline Jellico had always been beautiful. Even as a girl, she’d been a pretty little thing. And then she became a woman and such a temptation that Roe had been relieved when she’d left to live in the country.

A good and decent guardian would have; he would have demanded she stay in London until she found a suitable husband. But he’d simply sent her on her way, quite relieved she wouldn’t be living under the same roof as him—as she was now.

Five years ago, he’d wanted nothing more than to peel off her clothes and make her his own. He hoped he’d come to his senses since then. He hoped she had come to hers as well. It was past time she found a husband.

“Tell me, Caroline, how much money have you won since playing at Rodale’s?”

She grinned in spite of herself. “Fifteen hundred pounds.”

He released a whistle. “Impressive. And what do you plan to