Redemption of the Duke by Gayle Callen Read Free Book Online

had possessed her to
     go out of her way to walk past Rothford Court?
    But there was also a dangerous excitement making her breath come quickly, her heart
     pound, as she glanced over her shoulder and saw him threading his way through the
     light crowd, making people stop and gape at him. He wasn’t chasing her , she told herself. He was chasing the terrible mistakes of his past. She was a means
     to an end.
    If she rationally understood this, why did she feel this way?
    Because he was a man, and he was showing interest. She was disappointed in herself.
     The duke’s focus on her was bringing back excitement, the dark world of desire.
    She was carrying a set of handkerchiefs wrapped in paper and string, finished with
     her errand for Adelia. Where else could she go? The duke was gaining on her slowly,
     as if he was enjoying himself, drat him.
    The only safe place was the Warburton town house. When she reached the front door,
     she turned to give him a triumphant smile. It faded away when she saw him opening
     the gate. With a gasp, she fled inside, then managed to walk sedately past the butler
     and up the stairs toward Adelia’s room, even as she heard a knock at the front door.
    She swallowed hard, but could not believe he’d ask for her. That would cause too much
     talk, even for a duke.
    She knocked on Adelia’s door, and when the girl called for her entrance, she found
     her holding two different necklaces up in the mirror.
    “Oh, Miss Cooper, do give me your opinion. I’m to have luncheon with Mama and her
     friends, and one of them is the mother of an earl and—”
    Her flow of words was interrupted by another knock, and Faith hesitated before opening
     it.
    The maid bobbed a curtsy and looked past Faith to say excitedly, “Miss Adelia, you
     have a very important visitor—a duke!”
    Faith gritted her teeth even as Adelia’s mouth dropped open and the necklaces fell
     unheeded to the floor.
    “Shall I tell him to return when your mother is at home?” the maid continued.
    “No! Oh, dear, Miss Cooper, whatever shall I do? Mama would hate for me to miss such
     an opportunity—what if he never came again because I would not see him? Oh, oh, yes,
     I have you to sit with us, do I not?” she said with an eager smile. “I cannot believe
     it—a duke, come to call upon me!”
    And what could Faith say to that? It seemed a cruel trick upon the girl, and Faith
     felt a party to it, which irritated her no end. She’d led the duke on a merry chase,
     and now she would be punished for it.
    For punishment it was. Soon, she was curtsying before Rothford, allowing Adelia to
     introduce them as if they’d never met. Her cheeks were hot with a blush, and she imagined
     Adelia must think her flustered to be meeting such a lofty personage.
    And what was the duke thinking? Surely he was pleased with his teasing—perhaps he
     thought all of this would make her simply give in to him. And that would not happen.
    Like a good companion, Faith tried to pick up her needlework and retreat to a chair
     near the window, away from the two of them.
    “Come, come, Miss Cooper,” Rothford said, “I shall feel cruel to ignore you, is that
     not right, Miss Warburton?”
    “Of course,” Adelia gushed. “Miss Cooper is my dearest companion.”
    Faith reluctantly sat on the sofa next to Adelia, whose smile was so bright as to
     be brittle, while the duke took his seat in a chair opposite them. He and Adelia exchanged
     remarks on the weather until the maid brought a tea service, which Adelia poured prettily.
     She was trying so hard and Faith felt worse and worse that the duke might simply be
     using her.
    Or maybe he was using Faith to see Adelia—why did that give her thoughts of ill humor?
     But he’d been known to be in a fast crowd, to do reckless things, had he not? Perhaps
     he did not care if he hurt a girl’s feelings. Everyone had flaws, including her—and
     her flaw seemed to be liking men such as he. She’d never