To Catch A Duke (8 page)

It struck her than the for as well
as she knew Benjamin, there was still a great deal she did not know.
 
She had known the boy and later, the young
man.
 
Then she'd gone to Sussex and he'd
grown fully into his manhood, visiting her and her mother only briefly during
the summer months.
 
This man, the Duke
of Radcliffe, was a man she did not know.
 
At least not the in the same way she once had.

But she would.
 
For at his heart, he was still Benjamin, and
if nothing else, she would not return to the country without discovering who he
truly was.
 
For all that he'd given her,
it was the least she could do in return.
 
She could know him, see him for who he truly was.
 
She was certain that no other woman could
offer him that.
 
If she did that then
perhaps, just perhaps, he would not forget her when she was gone.

"I heard that Miss Henrietta
Cartwright made a proper cake of herself last night."
 
Benjamin looked up from his breakfast to
find Nicholas standing over him, newspaper in hand.
 
"It's in all the scandal sheets."

Without a word, Benjamin grabbed
the paper from his friend and quickly flipped to the gossip section.
 
"Damn it!
 
This is all wrong!
 
This
is not how it happened!"
 
He
quickly scanned the rest of the column.
 
"I don't know where this author, this 'Society's Lady,' came by her
information, but I did not have an intimate conversation with Henrietta
Cartwright.
 
I was with your sister the
entire night before I brought her home, all properly chaperoned by Lady
Berkshire's minion.
 
The chit and I
exchanged a few pleasantries at the refreshment table.
 
Nothing more."
 
He tossed the paper aside in disgust.
 
The rumors had started already.
 
He had hoped the gossipmongers might have
waited another day or so before printing their lies.

"There's another
one."
 
Nicholas held up a second
paper, holding back a grin, this one a bit more light-hearted.
 
"This one has the infamous Lady X
column.
 
It's much closer to the
truth." He held out the paper.
 
"See for yourself."

When Benjamin snatched the second
paper to read it, Nicholas helped himself to some of his friend's
breakfast.
 
It had always been this way
since they had been children, one stealing from the other's plate or something
similar.
 
He couldn't imagine a time
when they would not do this.
 
Then
again, things changed.
 
He of all people
knew that.

"This one is the truth,"
Radcliffe admitted, putting the paper down and folding it neatly.
 
"I have no idea who Lady X is, but she
has the right of it.
 
Landover
approached your sister.
 
I chased him
way and we danced.
 
We sought
refreshment afterwards and were assailed by the very chatty Lady
Henrietta.
 
I left with Julia and the
chaperone.
 
End of story."

Shrugging, Nicholas tossed the
paper aside since it had served its intended purpose.
 
"I don't much care.
 
Neither does Julia.
 
Nothing
worse can be written about us than what already has been."
 
Benjamin knew his friend was referring to
the rumors about Julia's scars, and Benjamin's own clandestine meetings with an
unknown woman several years before.
 
"But do you care, Ben?
 
I'm
asking you not as my friend but as the Duke of Radcliffe.
 
You need a wife.
 
Any more
on-dits
like this, and you might have trouble
finding one that is suitable.
 
Then
again, with your fortune, you may not need to worry."

In truth, the only thing that
Nicholas cared about was making both Benjamin and Julia see what was right in
front of their faces.
 
Nick could not
have the woman he loved, but these two could have each other and bask in their
combined love for each other.
 
If only
they would open their eyes and stop being so stubborn.

"I'm only thirty.
 
I have time yet."
 
In general, Benjamin had never much thought
about finding a wife.
 
He knew he needed
to fill a nursery eventually, but families, at least in his experience, came
with nothing but trouble and pain.
 
The
Rosemonts were an exception.
 
Not to
mention that a wife meant no more Nicholas or Julia.
 
They
were his family, and he was not ready to give them up
as of yet.
 
He had all the family he
needed.

"So this doesn't bother
you?"
 
Nicholas looked at where the
first paper had landed on the floor.

"Not particularly."
 
There was no sense lying about it.
 
Like Rosemonts, Benjamin had endured far
worse.
 
He would do so again.
 
This little implication was nothing.

"What if they linked you
romantically to Julia?
 
Implied that you
were seriously courting her."

That made Radcliffe scoff in
disbelief.
 
"They would
not."
 
Then he paused, realizing
what he'd said and whom he'd said it to.
 
"Would they?
 
No offense, of
course, for you know that I love Julia as a sister."

Nicholas nodded, not bothering to
become worked up.
 
"None
taken."
 
Then he reached down and
picked up the offending paper.
 
"It's not in the papers as of yet, but the word
is
going
around the clubs.
 
Speculation is that
you're doing it just to keep her away from Landover.
 
Or to deflower her and win the bet at White's."

Benjamin said nothing, uncertain
how to phrase his reply that would indicate his lack of concern without
angering his friend.
 
"I'm
not.
 
You know that.
 
On either count.
 
Remember that it was my idea to spend time with Julia.
 
Landover didn't enter into things until
later.
 
As long as the three of us know
the truth, about everything, that is all that matters."

"Are you really not
concerned?" Nicholas asked, his brow furrowing a bit in disbelief.
 
He'd never known his friend to be this
unconcerned in the past, especially when it came to the continuation of the
Radcliffe dukedom.
 
"What about
your future duchess?"

Radcliff sipped his tea and
shrugged. "Whoever she is, I have clearly not yet met her, so it is of
little consequence."
 
Then he
softened a bit, seeing Nicholas' obvious distress.
 
"My only concern is Julia.
 
She has always been my primary concern and always will be.
 
If I find that this gossip is hurting her,
then I shall change our arrangement.
 
I
do not want to cause her more pain.
 
I
have done enough of that."

"Ben, it's not your
fault."
 
There was a sincerity in
Nicholas's tone that Radcliff couldn't miss.
 
"None of us blame you.
 
We
never did."

"I will not hurt
her."
 
The fierceness Radcliffe was
known for crept into his voice.
 
"Never.
 
I shall remove from
London before I cause her distress.
 
But
I also will not allow a man like Landover to hurt her just to exact some
ill-thought revenge on me."
 
He
stood abruptly.
 
"She is my
concern, even more so than any duchess that may or may not exist in the future."

As Benjamin stalked away, Nicholas
watched him go, wondering not for the first time why his best friend could not
see what was plainly in front of his face.
 
There was no question that Julia and Benjamin were in love and had been
for a very long time.
 
Then again, there
was precious little he could do about it.
 
He was only her brother, not her matchmaker.

After leaving the club, Benjamin's
first stop was to a florist where he placed an enormous order to be delivered
to Candlewood House as soon as possible.
 
Both Landover and Lady Henrietta were problems that needed to be dealt
with swiftly, and to his mind, the best way to do that was to make society
believe that he was truly courting Julia.
 
If people believed he was serious about her, they might be left in peace
to enjoy the rest of the season.
 
The
best way to do that, at least for now, to ensure that the servants talked, as
he knew they would, would be to send flowers.
 
Lots of them.

He knew that Julia would, of
course, understand that the gesture was meant to inspire gossip.
 
She was an intelligent girl, after all.
 
However in case she didn't, he would explain
it all in private when they attended the theater that night.
 
He'd meant what he said when he promised to
give Julia the season she had thus far been denied.
 
To that end, he had scheduled a veritable whirlwind of events for
them over the next few weeks.
 

The traditional end of the season
was always marked by the Cheltenham's grand ball.
 
It was a difficult invitation to obtain, but he'd managed it year
after year, mostly because of his enormous fortune.
 
He knew that the Rosemonts had never been invited and would be
unlikely guests this year as well.
 
That
needed to change, though he wasn't certain how to make it happen.
 
Julia had admitted that the marquess'
daughter, Amy, had been kind to her on occasion this season, so perhaps he
could convince the young lady to speak to her parents.
 
It was a plan worth considering, so long as
Miss Cheltenham did not get the wrong idea about him and his intentions.
 
He admired the Marquess of Evanston greatly,
but he did not wish to marry the man's daughter.

He was so busy mulling over his
plans that he didn't notice when another horse, a familiar honey-hued stallion,
pulled up beside him.
 
His nose, however,
took note of the sickening scent of bay leaves, and he looked up just before
Landover appeared, horsewhip in his hands.

"I'd put that thing down if I
were you," Benjamin said lazily, giving an overall air of malaise, though
he was coiled to strike if necessary.
 
"Your horse is a fine animal and does not need to be abused in that
way."
 
Then he gave the other man a
slow perusal.
 
"Do not make me
remove him from your possession."

Landover sneered at Benjamin, his
expression twisted and ugly, much as the man himself probably was inside.
 
"If I had wanted to hurt you, old man,
I would have."

Raising an eyebrow at the remark
about his age, Benjamin simply sighed, as if he was tired of suffering young
fools like Landover.
 
Which, to be fair,
he was.
 
"Do you need something,
Landover, or are you just out to annoy the frail and infirm such as
myself?"

"I'm here to deliver a
warning," the other man corrected, and Benjamin could see that his eyes
were bleary and unfocused, a sure sign that he'd been drinking already that
day.

Waving a hand in the air, Benjamin
sighed again, knowing that it annoyed the other man.
 
"Well get on with it then.
 
I do have a busy day ahead of me, you know.
 
Naps to take and what not."

"I will hit you where it hurts
the most."
 
Landover's words were
slightly slurred, but there was no way to mistake the anger or pure hatred in
them.
 
"You stole Catherine from
me, made her love you and then discarded her as if she was of no consequence.
 
So I shall do the same to you."

Now Benjamin was on alert, not
liking the direction this conversation was taking.
 
"I did not steal Catherine from you.
 
You were only eighteen, Landover, and she
nearly five years your senior.
 
She did
not love you, and I did not love her.
 
She knew that."

"You lie," the marquess
hissed, his fetid breath almost overpowering the duke's sense of smell.
 
"You toyed with her affections,
convinced her that I was a cad, and then, when you refused her, she ran off
rather than consider another suitor."

"You
are
a cad,"
Benjamin countered dryly, wishing he could hold his breath so he would not have
to smell the stench coming from the other man.
 
"Lady Catherine had her own issues, which I will not discuss with
you.
 
She chose to leave of her own
volition.
 
I had naught to do with
it."

Landover snorted, and his horse
began to fidget.
 
Apparently the horse
didn't care for his owner any more than Radcliffe did.
 
"You lie.
 
But no matter.
 
For now I
know what you
do
care about.
 
And
I will have her, and then I will destroy her, both in truth and
reputation.
 
Then you will know what it
feels like to lose that which you love most, just as I did."

"You will not touch Miss
Rosemont."
 
Benjamin's own temper
flared to life, and he had to stop himself from leaning over and throttling
Landover.
 
"She is an innocent and
has no part in out quarrel."

That only caused Landover to laugh,
giving Radcliffe pause to wonder if the man wasn't a touch mad.
 
It did happen, after all.
 
He'd seen it himself many years ago.
 
"You cannot stop me.
 
The chit is meek and mild, despite the
rumors.
 
It will not take much for me to
seduce her.
 
To ruin her.
 
And you know I will do it."
 
An evil glint came into his eyes.
 
"And when she sees how you have failed
her, how you no longer care for her when she is no longer innocent, then I
shall have my revenge."