Tall, Duke, and Dangerous (Hazards of Dukes #2) - Megan Frampton Page 0,99

life. He put the pen to paper and began writing quickly.

A Suitable Woman will:

1. Be unassuming in looks and manner. Be pleasant to look at.

2. Come from a respectable family. Her relatives must be as well-bred in blood and behavior as she.

3. Have a general knowledge of all topics but not be too obsessed by any one of them. Her first priority should always be her husband and, eventually, their children.

4. Be able to immediately handle her duties as his duchess. Running the household(s), appearing with him at Society events, and comporting herself with the utmost honor and respectability.

He took a deep breath before quickly scribbling the last item on the list.

5. Engage satisfactorily in sexual congress.

That was a daring line item, and one he cared deeply about, although of course there was no way to verify the candidate’s ability until after marriage.

The only surprising thing about him lately, he thought exasperatedly, was his becoming a duke in the first place, when it was discovered that his cousin Sebastian’s mother had secured the dukedom for her son through illegal means. His cousin, the former duke, was now plain Mr. de Silva, while Thaddeus had left his command in Her Majesty’s Army to take up command in Her Majesty’s Aristocracy.

Being a duke was not dissimilar to being a military officer.

There was the general ordering about of things and people; the awareness that you were the most important person in the area, unless you happened to be keeping company with royals or generals; and there was the knowledge that if you made a misstep, you could cause the loss of lives or livelihoods for thousands of people.

It was the last bit that made him snap awake at night, nearly as much as he had when navigating a tricky battle strategy.

But with a wife he would have a second-in-command, someone who would assist him with the general ordering about of things and people.

Who would be his equal in the bedroom, giving as much pleasure as she got.

He felt himself stiffen, though not just in that way, and hastily balled the paper in his fist, stuffing it into his top desk drawer, which he locked immediately. He was sitting in the library, which he used as his office. Although there were comfortable chairs and plush carpet in the room, Thaddeus only ever sat in one of the two straight-backed wooden chairs behind a solid wooden desk.

Like him.

“Melmsford!”

Why he raised his voice to yell when he knew his secretary was likely hovering just outside the door was beyond him.

“Your Grace?”

Melmsford was, if possible, even more efficient than Thaddeus. A tall, slender man with prematurely thinning hair, Melmsford’s chief attribute was his encyclopedic knowledge of anything to do with the Hasford holdings. He’d been Sebastian’s secretary, whom Thaddeus had inherited along with the rest of Sebastian’s staff.

It had been Melmsford who had helped Thaddeus navigate the first few perilous months of his taking the title, and Melmsford who even now guided him through the more delicate minutiae of his new role.

If he and Melmsford ever spoke even once about anything not pertaining to business, he might even say he was a friend. But they had not, so he could not.

He should add Converse with Melmsford about something besides business to his list.

“Yes, come here.” Thaddeus gestured toward the front of his desk. “Sit down.”

Melmsford folded his long frame into the chair as he regarded Thaddeus with the proper mixture of deference and awareness.

“It is time to approach item number five,” Thaddeus announced. Melmsford looked confused; of course, he hadn’t seen Thaddeus’s latest list. “A wife.” Melmsford’s eyes widened, but he didn’t speak. “I wish to attend events where there is the greatest opportunity to meet suitable candidates.”

“Of course, Your Grace.” Melmsford rose to gather a sheaf of papers from the small desk he used. “I have several invitations in hand.” He sorted through them, a frown creasing his brows together. “Might I suggest the Baron Raddleston’s party? It is being thrown in honor of Mr. Percy Wittlesford, a novelist. He will be doing a reading, I believe.”

“Novelist, hmm?” Thaddeus said with a snort. He gestured to the bookshelves behind him and on each of the walls in the library. Books that had yet to be touched by him. “There’s no time for reading for pleasure, there’s too much to be done.”

“If I might, Your Grace,” Melmsford interrupted gently, “Mr. Wittlesford’s latest book is the current favorite of a certain group of young ladies, young ladies who