The Duke's Dilemma by Fenella J Miller Read Free Book Online Page A

cheerfully.
‘Come straight in, I’m feeling much better and believe I could eat a bowl of
soup if any is to be found.’
    The door swung wide, but instead of her
companion she found herself staring at a man whose bulk entirely blocked the
doorway. Hester swallowed nervously – she’d no idea her adversary was a giant.
    ‘I’m afraid I’ve brought no soup, Miss
Frobisher, but I do have some humble pie and news about Aunt Agatha, if you
will allow me to come in.’
    Forgetting the fact that she was sitting in her
nightgown, her hair floating around her shoulders and that she was about to
allow her cousin to breach convention in the most disastrous of ways, she
agreed. There were a few things she wished to say to this man. She addressed
him sweetly.
    ‘Please, do come in, your grace, I have been wishing to speak to you this age.’
    She saw him look around for somewhere to sit
and seeing a plain wooden chair strolled across to collect it. She watched with
interest as he placed it is far away from the bed as he could without actually
being in the next room. Only then did she realize that the she should never
have invited him in. Too late to repine: he was here and he wasn’t leaving
until she’d received some answers.
    ‘Miss Bird will be back at any moment so I’m
sure, if you remain in the open doorway, no one can consider we have breached
convention.’
    She saw his mouth twitch, and he raised an
eyebrow. She felt herself colour under his scrutiny and her pithy words
deserted her. Why did this man seem so familiar? He was a
    stranger,
but could she have met him before?
    Then she understood. Her hand came up to touch
a stand of her own hair; his was the exact same shade as the and waved a little
as it fell across his brow as hers did. His eyes were also hazel and he had the
same thick lashes rimming them. They came from different branches of the family
but by some quirk of fate had inherited a similar colouring .
    ‘I know, Miss Frobisher. We’re only distantly
related, but some oddity of nature has made us seem like siblings.’ He smiled,
and her heart jumped unexpectedly in her chest. Something flickered down her
spine. ‘However, there the similarity ends. I think I could be compared to a
farm horse whilst you, my dear cousin, are a thoroughbred.’
    A thoroughbred? Comparing a lady to a horse,
however well bred, was unacceptable. Her eyes glittered dangerously. ‘I believe
that was meant to be a compliment, sir; however I don’t consider being compared
to an equine is something a young lady aspires to.’ She studied him closely; he
was surely the broadest man she’d ever set eyes on. He must have made a
formidable soldier.
    ‘I beg your pardon, Miss Frobisher, it was not
my intention to offend.’ His words were conciliatory but his eyes remained
watchful.
    She lowered her lids, attempting to marshal her
wandering thoughts. She found it oddly disturbing having such man in the same
room. There was a slight scrape of a chair – he’d moved and was standing
closer.
    ‘Are you well, Miss Frobisher? Shall I fetch
Miss Bird?’
    She opened her eyes. This was the opportunity
she had been waiting for. ‘I’m remarkably well, Waverley, considering you
attempted to murder me a few days ago.’
    He stiffened and his nostrils pinched. ‘I’ve
come to apologize for that grievous error, Miss Frobisher.’
    She cut him short. ‘Do not. What you did was
inexcusable. Even if I had been an intruder such gratuitous violence was quite
unnecessary.’
    He moved back to stand behind the chair, his
expression closed. ‘I’m a professional soldier, I make no apologies for that. I
heard a noise. How was I to know you were skulking around upstairs like a
burglar?’
    A burglar? How dare he refer to her as such?
She had as much right to be at Neddingfield as he. ‘You’re not a soldier, sir,
you’re a duke and should behave as befits your station. Such violent behaviour is quite unacceptable amongst the aristocracy