Daring to Love the Duke's Heir

by Janice Preston

  She probably came alone. I wouldn’t put it past her.

  ‘No. My brother escorted me, sir. I wonder if a maid might walk with me back to Green Street, Olivia?’

  She caught Dominic’s eye and raised one challenging brow as if to say, See? I can behave like a lady when I choose to.

  He bit back a grin. ‘There’s no need to bother one of the maids—might I offer to drive you home?’ He batted away the inner warning that he was, again, playing with fire. He was merely being practical. Being a gentleman. ‘I ordered my curricle brought round for four but, unless Olivia has changed the habits of a lifetime, I cannot see her being dressed and ready to go by then as it is already three minutes to the hour. Unless, of course, you no longer wish to drive in the Park this afternoon, Liv?’

  ‘Heavens! Is that the time? Oh, I have enjoyed our time together this afternoon, Liberty...do say you will come again.

  ‘And of course I still want to go to the Park, Dom. How else am I to properly meet your young ladies without calling upon them...and that would never do, would it?’

  ‘No. It would not.’

  A shudder racked Dominic at the very idea. As soon as any member of his family showed marked attention to any one of the names that were thought to be on his shortlist, the news would be on every gossipmonger’s lips and he would soon find himself in a corner and honour-bound to make an offer. At least any attention he paid to Liberty was unlikely to be misconstrued, firstly because of her friendship with Olivia but, more importantly, because no one in the ton would imagine for one moment that such an unsuitable female would ever be included on his list.

  ‘Well, Miss Lovejoy? Are you happy to accept my offer of escort?’

  ‘Indeed I am, my lord. Thank you.’

  Olivia said nothing but, at the gleam in her eyes as she looked from Dominic to Liberty and back again, a warning trickled down his spine. His sister was no fool—he must work even harder at masking his growing feelings for Liberty. As Olivia, Ruth and the twins headed upstairs after saying goodbye to Liberty, Dominic walked with her to the front door where Grantham waited.

  ‘Your curricle arrived two minutes ago, my lord.’ The butler opened the door.

  ‘Thank you, Grantham.’

  ‘They are a beautiful pair.’ Liberty surprised Dominic by heading straight to the horses, being held by his groom, Ted. She looked them over with clear appreciation, then removed her glove and held her hand to each horse’s nose in turn to allow them to snuffle at her palm and take in her scent. ‘Very well matched. What are their names?’

  ‘Thank you. Beau and Buck—they are a pleasure to drive. Very responsive.’ He was proud of his bays, which he had purchased last year. ‘Alex bred and trained them. Do you drive, Miss Lovejoy?’

  She smiled up at him, and his heart soared. ‘I have never driven anything other than our old cob at home. But I have a lovely riding mare.’ Then she frowned. ‘At least, she is lovely, but she is also now quite old. We left her behind in Sussex.’

  With one accord they returned to the curricle. Dominic took Liberty’s hand to help her into the vehicle, his fingers closing around hers. She hadn’t replaced her glove and Dominic had not yet drawn his on and, as he registered the warmth of her smooth, soft skin his breath seized and he had to stifle the urge to haul her into his arms. He swallowed and released her hand as soon as she was in the curricle. He pulled on his gloves, willing his heartbeat and his body under control as he climbed up next to her.

  Liberty nudged into him with her shoulder—the slightest of movements, but his heart lurched again at that contact. He looked down into her innocent expression. One golden brow arched.

  ‘Do not forget to order your groom to jump up behind,’ she whispered. Her lips curved into a delicious, teasing smile. ‘You have your reputation to protect.’

  His throat ached with suppressed longing, but he refused to yield to his base desires. Duty was what mattered, not physical needs. He smiled back. ‘With what you already know of me, Berty, you cannot possibly imagine I would overlook such a crucial matter.’

  ‘Berty?’ She sounded outraged, but her eyes twinkled.

  ‘Liberty is such a mouthful.’ His loins instantly reacted to his unintentional double entendre.

  ‘What is wrong with Libby?’ She stared up at him, innocently, clearly having missed the meaning. ‘Or Lib? That is what my family call me sometimes.’

  ‘Oh, I couldn’t possibly,’ Dominic murmured. ‘They are far too easily confused with Livvy and Liv, and I most definitely do not think of you as another sister, despite what Olivia said.’

  Her cheeks bloomed pink. The curricle dipped as Ted climbed up behind and Dominic flicked the reins. They set off on the short drive to Green Street.

  ‘Maybe I should be relieved that we cannot now talk without being overheard.’

  Another teasing smile filled him with the urge to simply touch her mouth. With one fingertip. To test whether her lips were as soft and luscious as they looked....to trace their fullness...to slip his finger into that hot, moist... Blood flooded his groin and different urges took him in their hold. He wrenched his gaze from her mouth to her eyes, full of teasing laughter, battling to keep his expression blank.

  ‘A good groom knows when to turn a deaf ear,’ he said. ‘Is that not right, Ted?’

  ‘Beg pardon, milord? Were you speakin’ to me? I didn’ quite catch what you said.’

  Liberty laughed, a delightful gurgling sound of pleasure. ‘Oh, that is famous! Lord Avon, you, sir, are such a contradiction—the perfect lord whose servants are as well trained as his horses.’

  ‘I prefer to describe my staff as loyal rather than well trained.’

  ‘Loyal, indeed. What else, I wonder, have your servants failed to notice over the years, for fear of sullying your reputation?’

  Their eyes met. And held. And the naked look of...longing in those velvety-blue eyes matched exactly what was in his heart. His voice when he answered her was husky.

  ‘I wish I could lay claim to a wild, exciting parallel existence to this life but, alas, what you see before you is the whole.’

  ‘What? No hidden depths? You disappoint me, sir.’

  And the thought of disappointing her wrenched at him. He cleared his throat and, this time, his words emerged light and airy. Nonchalant. Exactly as they should sound.

  ‘Nary a one, I’m afraid.’

  Liberty fell silent. A sideways glance revealed a blush on her cheeks and her golden eyebrows drawn into a frown. Had she, like him, recognised the dangerous territory into which they had strayed? He drove around the corner into Green Street and the relief that flooded him took him by surprise. He had intended a light flirtation. He enjoyed Liberty’s company, but this...this flirtatious repartee... It was dangerous. Here were the depths his life had so far lacked and his inner voice of caution was screaming at him to take care and not to venture so far that he could not return to the shallows.

  He offered a change of subject and her relief was palpable. ‘I am pleased you and Olivia seem destined to be friends.’

  ‘I like her very much. I... I have not had many friends my own age. Gideon and the girls were always enough.’

  That comment alone explained much about Liberty—she had devoted her life to her family. Was that why she fretted so about Gideon? The huge change in their lives must be as unsettling for her as it was for her brother. Their lives would never be the same again.

  He reined Beau and Buck to a halt outside the Lovejoys’ house. ‘Here we are.’

  Ted ran to the horses’ heads and Dominic leapt to the pavement to hand Liberty down. She placed her hand—gloved this time—into his. Without volition, his fingers closed around hers, pressing. Another blush coloured her cheeks and Dominic cursed himself for a weak-minded fool. What the hell was he playing at? Whenever he was in Liberty Lovejoy’s presence he se
emed to lose all vestige of self-control.

  The second she reached the ground he released her hand as though it were red-hot. He knocked on the door and, as soon as it opened, he bowed.

  ‘Thank you for driving me home, my lord.’

  ‘It was my pleasure, Miss Lovejoy.’

  And he meant it. He really did. It had been—it had always been—a pleasure to spend time in her company. But he must take care to avoid such tête-à-têtes in future. It was simply too dangerous and it would be Liberty’s reputation that suffered. Not his.

  * * *

  Liberty removed her pelisse and bonnet and handed them to Ethel, her thoughts in turmoil, matching the bubbling confusion in her belly. Did it mean anything that Dominic had come early to Beauchamp House, knowing she would be there? Or was her presence neither here nor there and he had told the absolute truth—that the only reason he called earlier than expected was to spend time with the twins? Was her imagination running away with her—envisaging a happy ever after where there could never be one, simply because she had discovered that he was the man who stirred her blood like no other—even Bernard? Because she had found that, in addition to all his other attributes, Lord Avon was also a kind and charitable gentleman?

  Why, then, had he insisted on driving her home? Had he been flirting with her, or was she naïve in thinking there was a special warmth in his voice when he spoke to her? He had called her Berty and the memory kindled a glow inside her. He found her attractive, she knew, but was his behaviour with her mere practised flirtation from a gentleman or did his feelings go deeper? He enjoyed her company, and he was relaxed and informal with her in a way she never saw him behave with any of the ladies on his shortlist, but did any of that amount to anything other than wishful thinking on her part?

  She could not decide. But, increasingly, she knew what she would like the answer to be.

  ‘Mrs Mount is in the drawing room, miss,’ said Ethel.

  Liberty headed upstairs to the drawing room where she found Mrs Mount having a quiet doze in a chair by the fire. She awoke with a start as Liberty entered the room.

  ‘Where are Hope and Verity?’

  ‘They are riding in the Park. With Lord Wendover.’

  ‘Gideon?’ Liberty sat in the opposite chair. ‘Do my ears deceive me? Do you mean to tell me he came back home after calling on Lady Twyford?’

  She had been certain that was the last any of them would see of her brother until dinner that evening.

  ‘Yes. He returned in a rush to inform us he had hired two horses from the livery stables and that your sisters were to get changed and be ready to ride out with him. He was most insistent. Verity believes he had arranged to meet up with Lady Emily in the Park and Hope and Verity will provide him with the perfect excuse to ride with her.’

  ‘Oh, that is wonderful news. Lady Emily would be a splendid match—’

  ‘Stop!’ Mrs Mount leaned forward. ‘I beg your pardon, my dear, but please do not get carried away. Gideon only met Lady Emily last night and he is still young.’

  Liberty sighed. ‘You are right. I cannot help but be happy she is distracting him from that horrid actress, though.’

  Mrs Mount relaxed back with a relieved sigh. ‘Now. What about you, my dear? You must count yourself fortunate that Lady Olivia has taken a shine to you.’

  ‘Fortunate? How so?’

  ‘So there will be no repercussions from your...um...unusual encounters with Lord Avon, of course. He could scarcely cut his sister’s friend—he is far too much the gentleman—and, to think, he not only danced with you last night, but with Hope and Verity, too! I always prayed they might catch his eye.’

  She beamed with satisfaction and Liberty bit her tongue against telling her the real reason Dominic had danced with her sisters.

  ‘Well, I do not see what is so very special about His Lordship,’ she muttered, even though she knew exactly what was so very special about Dominic. But she would be mortified if anyone had the slightest suspicion of her growing feelings for him.

  ‘And that attitude, miss, will get you nowhere in society.’

  A blush heated Liberty’s cheeks at Mrs Mount’s reprimand. She had been hired to help Liberty and her sisters learn how to behave as well-brought-up young ladies should and Liberty was aware of the flaw in her own personality that prompted her to rebel against such strict mores.

  ‘Whether you approve or not, Liberty, the heir to a dukedom will always command respect and be fêted and courted by those lower in precedence.’ Mrs Mount’s voice softened. ‘Now, tell me all about your visit—did you meet the twins?’

  ‘Oh, they are delightful! Olivia is besotted with them, but I cannot think I have helped her understand how raising twins is different to raising other children. She is so determined to be the perfect mother to them.’

  ‘Well, I hope for their sake she is a better mother than her own proved to be.’

  ‘Olivia’s mother? Why?’ Olivia’s confidences about her childhood had piqued Liberty’s interest. ‘What was she like? Did you know her well?’

  ‘The first Duchess? Why, yes, my dear. We were close in age and we made our debut together. She was three years older than Cheriton, you know. Oh, she was as selfish as they come and utterly arrogant, especially after becoming a duchess. She had not a thought for anyone or anything beyond her own selfish pleasures. Poor Cheriton. He married young...far too young...and all she wanted was the glamour and acclaim of the title. She had no interest in those poor children—she spent as much time as possible in London after Olivia was born. She could not bear to be “buried in the depths of the countryside” as she used to put it.’ Mrs Mount huffed a laugh. ‘Ironic, really, when you consider that’s where she ended up—buried at Cheriton Abbey.’

  ‘What happened?’ Liberty could not help her curiosity. ‘Did she die in childbirth?’ That tragic fate befell so many women it seemed a reasonable assumption. Then a shiver chased across her skin as she recalled her parents and Bernard. ‘Did she fall ill?’

  ‘No, my dear.’ Mrs Mount lowered her voice. ‘She was murdered.’

  ‘Murdered?’ That was the last thing she expected to hear. A duchess, murdered? ‘But...how?’

  ‘No one knows, my dear. They say it was probably a passing vagrant. And, much as it pains me to speak ill of the dead, it was probably a blessing for those poor children and their father. Their aunt, Lady Cecily, raised them after that and it’s a wonder they have all turned out as well as they have. Well, apart from Lord Alexander...he was ever a wild youth, but it does seem he has settled at long last.

  ‘Now, tell me all about today, my dear. Has the Duke arrived yet?’

  ‘Not yet—only Lady Olivia and her family are in residence at the moment but the staff are all bustling about preparing the house, so the Duke and Duchess and their children must be expected soon. And Lord Avon called while I was there.’ She hadn’t meant to mention him, but his name slipped past her lips quite without intention. ‘He had arranged to drive Olivia in the Park, but came early to spend some time with the twins.’

  ‘The Park?’ Mrs Mount clapped her hands together. ‘How wonderful... I do hope he will acknowledge your sisters! He is sure to do so after dancing with them last night. Oh, I do hope Gideon has chosen their mounts wisely, to show them off to best advantage!’

  ‘Mrs Mount!’

  ‘Yes, my dear?’

  ‘I do not believe you. You criticise me for getting carried away with the possibilities for Gideon and yet you insist on imagining castles in the clouds when it comes to Hope and Verity’s prospects.’

  ‘It does not hurt to have ambition, my dear Liberty. Who knows what might happen should a man like Avon lose his heart? And your sisters are exceptionally pretty.’

  Liberty ground her teeth in frustration. ‘He drove me home this afternoon. Lord Avon, that is. In his curricle.’
/>   And, again, she hadn’t meant to say such a thing, but the words, and his name, were battering the inside of her head, desperate to be spoken. She held her breath, awaiting Mrs Mount’s response.

  ‘Avon drove you home? Good gracious...such condescension! Although you are, of course, his sister’s friend so no doubt he felt under some obligation. But, still, what a feather in your cap, my dear—to be singled out and driven by such a notable whip.’ Then her eyes narrowed and a slow smile stretched her lips. ‘Especially after such a sought-after gentleman singled you out last night, to dance. Twice! And you had supper together!’ Mrs Mount’s voice shrilled with excitement. ‘Oh!’ She lowered her voice into a conspiratorial whisper. ‘Has he said anything to you, my dear? Has he passed any hints?’

  Exasperated, because she really wished she could say yes, Liberty said, ‘No. He has said nothing. And I had supper with his brother, not him. As you quite rightly said, ma’am, I am his sister’s friend and both Avon and Lord Alex were merely acting the gentleman. You told me yourself about Avon’s list and Lord Alexander mentioned it last night...it appears to be common knowledge and Avon did not deny its existence.

  ‘In fact, that is precisely the reason he is driving Olivia in the Park as we speak, because she insisted she wants to meet the ladies concerned before he makes his decision.’

  A surge of energy sent Liberty to her feet. She crossed to the window, which overlooked the street, and peered out.

  Who in their right mind would have a list of candidates for a wife? What about the heart? What of love? That emotion clearly had no place in Dominic’s plans. She thought of the time he had compared her to Olivia...that protective care each of them held for their family. That was love...a different sort of love, maybe, but Dominic clearly did not completely dismiss the emotion. Could such a clinical choice of partner ever lead to happiness? It hadn’t for his father, so it seemed.

  She returned to her chair. ‘You said Olivia’s father married too young, Mrs Mount. Why did he do so? Did he fall in love?’

  ‘Oh, no, my dear. Many more marriages back then were arranged affairs, you know. He was only eighteen and he married to please his ailing father. Margaret was three years his senior, but she was the daughter of a marquess—very suitable in that respect. She was one of the most selfish creatures I have ever met, although she put on a good show for Cheriton and, at eighteen, I dare say he did not know enough about human nature to see the danger signs.’ She shook her head. ‘She had affairs. Many affairs. And not always discreetly. She even played him false with his own cousin, although I’m not sure he ever knew about that.’