The Devious Seduction 0f A Wayward Duke (Steamy Historical Romance)

by Olivia Bennet

  “Perfect. That’s what I want to hear. Now, Wright, I need you to do a favor for me. First, I need you to schedule an appointment with my solicitor. I need to talk to him about a deal I want to make for the distillery. Then, I need you to get word to both Miss Ainsley and Jamie that I would like to see them this afternoon.”

  “Of course, Your Grace. Do you require anything else?”

  “No, Wright. That’s all I need for now.”

  * * *

  A footman had brought a note to Priscilla that she and Lord Seton were to meet with the Duke in an hour’s time. He asked to meet them at the front door.

  “Do you think we are going to go to town?” Lord Seton asked.

  “I think it is too late in the day for that, My Lord.”

  She was quite puzzled about why the Duke would want to meet them at the main doorway, too. At first, she was filled with a sense of dread about it, as she believed she might be reprimanded again, but if that was the case, she didn’t believe that Lord Seton would be invited to see that.

  “Perhaps he wants to take us to the distillery to show us something?”

  “Perhaps, My Lord. Though, I would imagine we would use the side entrance closest to the distillery, if that’s the case.”

  “Oh!” Lord Seton said excitedly. “Did you ask him about the stables yet? Maybe he wants to show us himself.”

  Priscilla smiled at him. “No, My Lord. I have been with you all day. I haven’t seen your father.”

  Lord Seton frowned.

  “Let’s finish our lesson, and we can head down there. Then, we can both find out what your father wants…together.”

  Chapter 16

  Oliver glanced at the clock. It was getting close to being time to meet Miss Ainsley and Jamie. He had asked them to meet him at the main entry door, as he planned to accompany both of them for a walk.

  After speaking with Miss Ainsley about spending more time with Jamie, and in an attempt to get to know Miss Ainsley a bit better, Oliver believed that this was the perfect opportunity to do both.

  It was a gorgeous day, and he couldn’t think of any better thing to do that would make all of them happy than a nice walk.

  Oliver stood, glanced at the mirror, and straightened his dark hair against his head. He wanted to look his best.

  As he made his way down to the front entryway, Oliver could feel his nerves making waves through his body. He really wanted to impress Miss Ainsley, and he also wanted to spend time with Jamie.

  He turned the corner into the main corridor, and he could see Miss Ainsley and Jamie waiting for him. He smiled and waved, and not realizing it, he picked up his pace.

  “Good afternoon, Miss Ainsley,” he said with a nod as he approached her. “Thank you for joining me this afternoon.”

  Oliver then turned to Jamie.

  “Good afternoon, Son.” He placed his hand on Jamie’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  Oliver turned his attention back to Miss Ainsley. “I’m sure you are both wondering why I have asked you to meet me here. I have decided that we have all been working very hard recently, so in my opinion, it is time for a bit of fun. So I propose that we take a walk together this afternoon.”

  Jamie immediately started beaming, and Oliver noticed that Miss Ainsley began to blush. It was easy to see, thanks to her pale, alabaster skin.

  “That sounds wonderful, Your Grace.”

  “Can I lead, Father?”

  “Of course. We can walk wherever you like.”

  “I think near the stream would be nice.”

  “That sounds perfect, Jamie. And is that adequate for you, Miss Ainsley?”

  Oliver noticed that she blushed again. “Yes, Your Grace. I’m sure Lord Seton would love to show off the stream. He has talked about it before.”

  Oliver smiled at her. “Are we ready? Jamie, lead on.”

  Jamie immediately went through the open door into the beautiful afternoon. Oliver gestured to Miss Ainsley to walk through, and then he followed, taking a quick glance at her round behind as she passed. Though he was developing emotional feelings for her, he couldn’t deny his physical attraction to her body.

  As he stepped in line next to her, Oliver said, “Miss Ainsley, are you still enjoying working here?”

  “Very much, Your Grace.”

  “I’m happy to hear that. I like having you here…and I know Jamie does, too.”

  “I do!” Jamie said as he quickly moved ahead of them.

  Both Oliver and Miss Ainsley laughed, and then she said, “He is such a pleasant young gentleman. It is such a joy to work with him every day.”

  “You seem to be very good at what you do. Like I have said to you before, I haven’t seen Jamie so happy with his lessons.”

  “Well, Lord Seton is easy to teach.”

  “Are we talking about the same person?” Oliver asked, in an attempt to make her laugh.

  “I believe so,” Priscilla replied quickly. “Young gentleman with curly blond hair and a penchant for pranking people?”

  Oliver laughed. “That would be the one.” He noticed that her face lit up as she chuckled, and he found that to be extremely attractive. “You seem to handle his pranking with ease.”

  She nodded, and said “As you know, Your Grace, I grew up in an orphanage. Growing up in that type of environment wasn’t always easy, and most of the children acted out in the form of pranks to come to terms with their situation.”

  “Did you?”

  “Will I lose my position if I say yes?” Oliver noticed that she smirked.

  He laughed. “No. In fact, it makes me even more confident that Jamie has the perfect governess.”

  “I don’t know about perfect. I’ll admit that I was a bit of a prankster myself in my youth. But, that…experience…has given me the ability to note when Lord Seton is planning something.”

  “I think that your experience has served you well.”

  “It has, Your Grace. I have foiled his pranks already. He, however, doesn’t realize it, as far as I know. Only once did he know that I was the one who stopped him.”

  Oliver was a bit surprised. “Interesting. How did he react to that?”

  “Eventually, he came around to the idea…especially after I gave him some advice on setting up the perfect prank.”

  Oliver laughed again. He hadn’t laughed at someone like this in a very long time. Beautiful, charming, and funny.

  “Is this advice that he is following?

  “I believe so, Your Grace. I told him that if he constantly acted like the perfect gentleman, that when he wanted to do a prank, it would seem as if he were the most unlikely suspect.”

  “Ah, very clever. That explains why the staff has been commenting on his improved behavior. Well done, Miss Ainsley.”

  “Thank you, Your Grace.” Miss Ainsley laughed and brushed her curls away from her face. “Now, of course, this hasn’t stopped his fondness for pranking people, but it’s a start.”

  “Anything is an improvement.”

  * * *

  Jamie looked back and saw his father and Miss Ainsley talking, laughing, and smiling. They looked like they were enjoying each other’s company, and he couldn’t help but smile.

  He really liked Miss Ainsley, and he thought that his father did, too. Jamie started thinking that perhaps, if his father and Miss Ainsley became very fond of each other, that it was possible that they would be married, and Miss Ainsley could be his stepmother.

  The thought of that prospect excited Jamie, and he jumped and clicked his heels, even though he knew that was a very childish thing to do. In fact, he quickly looked over his shoulder, but his father and Miss Ainsley hadn’t noticed. They seemed engrossed in conversation.

  Looking ahead, Jamie could see the landscape curve, and he knew that the stream was right behind the small hill. For a brief moment, he thought about crossing the hill, hiding behind it, and then jumping out at them as a fun little prank, but the afternoon was going so well, he didn�
��t want to do anything to ruin that.

  Miss Ainsley had advised him to remain the perfect young gentlemen, and he was going to do that. Jamie got to the hill and waited at the top for his father and governess.

  “Jamie, watch your footing,” his father said as they approached. “You don’t want to fall and hurt yourself.”

  “Yes, Father.”

  “Shall we walk along the banks?”

  Jamie turned, thinking that his father was talking to him, but he was addressing Miss Ainsley, instead.

  “I would enjoy that,” she replied, and then turned to Jamie. “Would you like that, Lord Seton?”

  “Yes, very much.”

  “I’m sorry, Jamie,” his father interjected, as he started to cross the hill. “I should have asked you.”

  “It’s fine, Father. I am happy we are all spending time together.”

  “Me too, Son. And for the time spent with Miss Ainsley.”

  * * *

  The Duke was such a pleasure to spend time with. Priscilla couldn’t stop smiling as she walked back to her sleeping quarters. Not only did they have a wonderful afternoon together, but he had asked her to spend time with him tonight, in the library.

  There was no doubt in her mind right now that she was fully attracted to the Duke, and she believed that he, too, was attracted to her. His laugh was infectious, and it warmed her heart. In fact, even when she wasn’t in his presence, she could hear it just as if he were in the room with her.

  She couldn’t get the thought of his bright blue eyes out of her mind, and his dark, handsome features were clearer to her than ever before. Priscilla had never felt like this about anyone before, and though these feelings were new and strange to her, they felt right.

  Priscilla took a look at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed, and her curls looked as if they were unable to ever be fully contained. She did her best to neaten her hair as she wanted to make a great impression on him.

  Suddenly, though, as she stared at the reflection of her face, she remembered the letter in her desk. Her heart sank as she realized what she had to do, and that made it much harder to deal with her newfound feelings for the Duke.

  Priscilla’s face now looked sad and depressed, knowing that she would have to do this task without anyone realizing it was her. She could either refuse to do it, and risk everything, perhaps even her life, or she could do the task at hand and risk getting caught and losing any hope she had of a happy future.

  She took a deep breath, fixed her hair one more time in the mirror, and then turned to make her way to the library.

  * * *

  Oliver sat in the library and sipped his whisky. He was waiting patiently for Miss Ainsley and couldn’t stop thinking about the afternoon with her and Jamie.

  Not only did he enjoy spending time with her, but it was also nice to spend the time with Jamie. In fact, even over dinner, Jamie couldn’t stop talking about the walk and stream, and the conversations that they had. It made Oliver feel good that his son had such a pleasant time, and he promised himself that he would again do something like this with Jamie very soon.

  “Your Grace? Miss Ainsley has arrived.”

  “Please send her in,” Oliver said as he stood. “Thank you.”

  Miss Ainsley walked into the library looking refreshed and beautiful. He smiled at her automatically.

  “I’m so glad you could join me, Miss Ainsley. Please, sit. Would you care for some wine?”

  “Yes, please.” He could detect a bit of a nervous tone to her voice as she spoke.

  “I hope you enjoyed our walk this afternoon.”

  “Oh, yes, Your Grace. It was so wonderful. The day was gorgeous, and it was so nice to see Lord Seton have a bit of freedom from his typical day. I think children need that sometimes.”

  Oliver nodded. “I agree, and I intend to give him more of that freedom. I was thinking about that right before you came in, actually.”

  “I think Lord Seton would appreciate that. He greatly enjoys spending time with you.”

  “I enjoy spending time with him, too. You, of course, would be welcome to join us.”

  Miss Ainsley nodded and took a sip of her wine. “I would like that, Your Grace.”

  “Do you know what I would like, Miss Ainsley? I would like to know more about your childhood. I find it fascinating that you grew up in an orphanage. I, as you probably have realized, grew up right here in this house, and I have, unfortunately, never met anyone who grew up in an orphanage before you.”

  “What would you like to know, Your Grace? Anything in particular?”

  “What was it like? Was it pleasant or was it horrific?”

  “It was not pleasant. However, it wasn’t necessarily horrific, either. I was educated, I had friends, and I was better off than other children who were in orphanages.”

  “What happened to your parents?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “So you lived there for your entire childhood.”

  “I did.”

  “It’s amazing that you found your way into being a governess. Most people in your situation would never take this path. Not, of course, because they wouldn’t want to, but because they couldn’t.”

  “I was well-educated, Your Grace, and as is the case for many orphanages, there were…benefactors…who made up for what the orphanage couldn’t give us. So, though I was never a lady nor a member of any high society group, I was able to learn enough about those different ways of life.”

  Oliver nodded as he listened to her. She was becoming more fascinating to him by the moment. He smiled at her. “And you were able to do all of these things, and at the same time, were able to prank your fellow orphans?”

  Miss Ainsley laughed joyfully, which was his intention. Her laugh was infectious, and he found her to be incredibly attractive when her face lit up.

  “Yes, Your Grace,” she said as she tried to catch her breath. “I was able to take on many tasks during that time, including pranking. I assure you, though, I have grown out of that.”

  Now it was his turn to laugh. “You have quite a good sense of humor, Miss Ainsley. I find it to be…charming.”

  He could see her expression change. First, it looked as if she was surprised, and then she smiled. Have I gone too far?

  “I appreciate that, Your Grace.”

  “I apologize if that was forward, Miss Ainsley. I just got caught up in the moment.”

  “No apology necessary.” Miss Ainsley took a sip of wine.

  “I was hoping that we could get to know each other a bit better.”

  “What of your childhood, Your Grace?”

  “Oh, it was a typical childhood for the son of a Duke, I would say. Certainly not unlike Jamie’s upbringing, though I had a mother and a younger sister in the family. Jamie, of course, doesn’t have either of those in his life. Sometimes I have regrets about that…” He took a sip of his whisky, briefly lost in a thought of Leah. Oliver shook his head, and then smiled at Miss Ainsley. “What do you want for your future, Miss Ainsley?”

  Oliver could tell that Miss Ainsley didn’t know what to say. She touched her chest with her hand and took a deep breath. As she did, her breasts heaved and seemed to almost push the fabric of her gown to the limit. Yes, she was thin, but her curves…it was enough to drive him crazy with desire. He knew if he didn’t do his best to control it, that he would have an erection in a matter of moments.

  “I just want to be happy, Your Grace,” she said. He nodded at her and tried to push back the thoughts of the fabric ripping, and then seeing her breasts spilling out of her dress. He felt movement between his legs, and he immediately took a sip of whisky.

  “I think that’s what we all want, Miss Ainsley. I know I want the same. I want that for Jamie, too.”

  “Are you happy now?”

  He shifted in his chair. He would be a lot happier if he could have some relief from his member, which was now straining against his trousers.

  “Yes, I
am feeling good. However, I am sure there is always room for more happiness. Life didn’t quite happen like I expected, of course, but considering all that I have gone through, I am quite well. And you?”

  As she started talking, he couldn’t help but keep glancing down at her breasts and then her hips. He wasn’t even paying attention to what she was saying. His mind was purely on imagining what it would feel like to move inside of her. He took a sip of whisky, and again, tried to focus on what she was saying instead of his desire for her, but he seemed to be losing the battle.