The Reluctant Duke (A Seabrook Family Saga) by Christine Donovan Read Free Book Online Page A

America––not
that he had much. What he was learning about the whale oil industry fascinated
him. He spent any free time he had studying books and charts and grilling the
ship captains when they came into port.
    On any given
day, there were upwards of three of his twenty-six vessels in port. Some ships
were away from port, whaling, for only one or two years, if they successfully
harpooned the whales and processed the oil. Many set sail and didn’t return for
a much longer time, up to three or four years. These vessels harpooned the whales,
harvested the oil, and delivered it to far-off regions before returning to
their home port.
    Thomas had
learned a great deal about the different whales and the quality of oils that
could be rendered from them. Never before had he been interested in where the
oil for some of his lamps came from. His only concern had been that his supply
never ran out. Now, however, the thought of oil and whaling excited him. Yes, a
part of him thoroughly enjoyed his new occupation as business owner.
    Being a duke,
he was a man of leisure in England, as was expected of a peer of the
realm––except when Parliament was in session. He had many holdings in England,
and his tenant farmers worked his lands, overseen by managers. This experience
in America was totally different.
    Each day Thomas
woke up anxious to reach the docks and his offices. Never in his life had his
body hummed with such excitement or contentment as it did in New Bedford.
    Some days
Thomas wished he were not a duke of the realm and that he didn’t have to return
to England at all. The excitement of this new land pumped up his blood. He
wanted to keep Mr. Hamilton’s businesses alive…and was unsure the Prince Regent
would allow him to do that himself. British dukes did not own businesses and
certainly not American businesses. And if they did, they’d be expected to hire
people to run them.
    Myles had left
the New Bedford area after a month. Bored, or so he announced. Thomas knew
otherwise. Myles, The Adventurer, headed south by stagecoach, planning to
travel down the Mississippi by steamboat until he reached New Orleans.
Eventually he’d head west. Myles had politely told Thomas he would not travel
back to England until he encountered some Native Americans and possibly found
himself a bride. So much for his offer to marry Miss Hamilton.
    Ah, Miss
Hamilton, Thomas mused.
    In one-month’s
time his ward would turn ten-and-eight. He needed to return home before the
London Season was well underway because Amelia, Isabella, and Miss Hamilton
needed to be presented to society.
    Preparations
were underway for the upcoming season already. Thomas had acquired Miss
Hamilton’s measurements from Miss Beauregard. Measurements that had his mind
traveling back to the first time he helped her into his hired carriage. The
memory of her small waist, which he knew his hands could encircle easily, and
her bosom, not too large, not too small, just perfect for his hands. And
beneath her gown he envisioned long, lean legs that could wrap around his
waist. . . Thomas shook his head to get such visions out of his head. She was
his ward, nothing more, nothing less.
    After sending
Miss Hamilton’s measurements to England, he engaged the help of his mama and
sisters to pick out a suitable wardrobe for her in England. He also sent
several items he found in Mr. Hamilton’s sea captain’s house. Things he
believed Emma would be thrilled to have.
    He couldn’t
help but smile and look forward to Miss Hamilton’s reaction upon seeing such
finery and mementos waiting for her. She had fine clothing here in America, but
what she had would not be suitable for her introduction into the ton .
And as far as Thomas could tell from records he’d requested, the coin he set up
in her name with Miss Beauregard for clothing and such things had remained
untouched except for purchases at a bookstore and a stationery supply shop. A
recent large withdrawal from her account,