The Abduction of Julia by Karen Hawkins Read Free Book Online Page B

tight control. The opportunity to help so many destitute women was not something she could let slip away because of a silly infatuation. She would drink her tea, soak in a hot tub, and gather her wits by the time the clock struck the noon hour.
    Not that she had much choice, Julia thought wryly. She had, after all, made a deal with the devil.
Chapter 4
    "You don’t look like a man who has just donned wedding shackles,” drawled a deep, familiar voice.
    “Lucien,” Alec exclaimed.
    Lucien Devereaux, the notorious Duke of Wexford, stood with one broad shoulder against the study door, an unlit cheroot dangling from his lips. His green gaze rested on the coat and hat Burroughs had just handed Alec. “On your way out?”
    “Yes, to see you. I’m devilish glad you stopped by.” Alec turned to the butler. “Why didn’t you announce Wexford? It would have been damned inconvenient if I had gone to his lodgings only to discover he was here.”
    A pained expression washed over the butler’s thin countenance. “I would never presume to tell you whom you should visit, my lord.”
    The duke chuckled. “Very proper, Burroughs. Are you sure I can’t hire you away? I’d pay you twice the salary.”
    “Thank you, Your Grace. Though the offer is tempting, I feel his lordship would sorely miss my services.”
    Two pair of eyes pinned Alec—one calmly expectant, the other brimming with laughter. Alec tried not to scowl. “Of course I’d miss you, Burroughs. Though I’d not miss you forgetting to tell me when we have visitors.”
    The butler allowed a small smile to curve his mouth. “I apologize for any inconvenience, sir. His Grace arrived a half hour ago and let himself into the parlor, demanding brandy. As he was still attired in his evening dress and made no request that I notify anyone of his presence, I could only assume he was in no condition to visit and merely sought refuge from unwanted persons.”
    Lucien choked back a laugh. “As I said, very proper.”
    The butler’s impassive stare never flickered. He inclined his head to Alec. “Shall I take your coat and hat, my lord?”
    Conscious of the desire to pull his own hair, Alec merely nodded.
    The butler took the garments and disappeared down the corridor.
    “Don’t be too hard on him,” said Lucien. “It was inexcusable of me to appear thus attired.” He held the door to the study wide. “Shall we test the quality of your brandy?”
    Alec forced a smile and entered the room. “They are the worst trained servants. Yet every time I think to correct them, I remember all the times they helped me out of scrapes as a child.”
    “Noble intentions are a damned inconvenience.” Lucien crossed to the mantel and leaned a broad shoulder against it, flicking Alec an amused glance. “Thank God I don’t suffer from such a malady.”
    Alec lifted a brow. “No, you are completely untroubled by the plight of others, aren’t you?”
    “Hardly; I have three aunts and a sister who make incessant demands on my time.” The duke flashed a lopsided grin. “That is quite enough, let me assure you.”
    Alec regarded Lucien thoughtfully. The duke’s private life was something of a mystery. Within two months of inheriting his title and a heavily encumbered estate, Lucien had married an heiress who was as wild as she was beautiful. It had been painfully obvious from the beginning that the marriage was doomed to failure. Brazenly, and without regard for either her station or her husband’s pride, the new duchess flaunted a succession of disreputable lovers and engaged in reckless escapades that had shocked even the most jaded of the
ton
.
    Her behavior became more and more erratic until Lucien had been forced to take his volatile wife to the country and place her under the care of a physician. Two months later, news of the duchess’s death reached London. Rumors abounded, though the accepted belief was that she had killed herself in a fit of madness.
    Of even more interest