To the Duke, With Love--The Rakes of St. James

by Amelia Grey

  Yet the waiting had been beneficial, too, he decided, eyeing the delicate piece of artwork. It had given him time to rethink his approach to the earl. Instead of lambasting the man, as Hawk wanted to do for his disgraceful treatment of Miss Quick, he’d decided to mask his growing outrage, as best he could anyway, and take a different approach.

  As objectionable as it was to even think it, he was going to mollycoddle the man. If that didn’t work, he’d do whatever he had to in order to get permission for Miss Quick to come to Hawksthorn.

  Memories of their kisses came easily to his thoughts, reminding Hawk why he must see her again, and he silently thanked Adele again for the idea. He wanted to explore further the desire Miss Quick had aroused so quickly in him. He recalled the taste of her lips, her mouth, and her skin. He remembered the feel of her soft yet firm body, pliant, trembling, and willing in his arms. He’d wanted to seduce her, but she’d seduced him and left him wanting more. Anticipation flooded his loins as he thought of sliding his hands beneath her clothing, to feel her warm, bare skin and to pull her breast in his mouth, to—

  “Your Grace.”

  Hawk turned to greet the tall, heavyset man with shoulders as straight as a rod, a head full of thick gray hair, and enough arrogance to fill every ship in the Spanish Armada. The earl stopped just inside the entrance to the room and bowed stiffly, reminding Hawk that while they were acquaintances, they had never been friends.

  Hawk returned the respect in the same manner and said, “Forgive me, my lord, for arriving unannounced.”

  “Nothing to forgive, Hawksthorn,” Lord Switchingham said, lumbering into the room with a sway and hobble to his steps that indicated he had a hip or possibly a knee he was favoring. “It’s an honor to have a duke visit me, whether he has an appointment or not and whether business or pleasure. I hope you’ll forgive me for making you wait.”

  “As you said, there’s nothing to forgive.”

  “Glad to hear it. Please, have a seat and tell me what’s on your mind this early in the day.”

  The earl motioned to the servant who’d walked in behind him, and the man walked over to a side table and poured two glasses of what looked to be port while Hawk made himself comfortable on the settee. Hawk couldn’t help but notice the abundance of lace on the earl’s cuffs and the ends of his neckcloth, too.

  “Thank you for understanding,” Hawk said. “I do have a matter of business to discuss with you that recently came up concerning your niece, Miss Quick.”

  “Loretta?” the earl asked as the lines around his mouth deepened. His thinning gray eyebrows puckered as he seated himself in a low-back armchair near the settee. He grunted as he stretched a leg out in front of him. The sound reminded Hawk of a pig who was enjoying a fresh patch of mud. “Has she done something wrong that I haven’t heard about?”

  It perturbed Hawk that her uncle had immediately assumed she’d done something wrong. Hiding his irritation, he answered, “No. Actually, I’m hoping she will be able to do something for me.”

  “You?” Lord Switchingham squirmed in the chair, as if he hadn’t yet made himself content with how he was sitting. “Whatever would you need with her? She’s been out of Society for quite some time now.”

  “I know,” Hawk said with as little derision as he was capable of, considering he felt as if the man talked about Miss Quick as if she were the lowest scullery maid in his employ rather than his niece and a lady of the highest quality.

  “I’m surprised you even remember her at all.”

  Hawk felt a prick of guilt. He’d hadn’t actually remembered her until he saw her. Even so, the earl was not endearing himself to Hawk. Still, he held his tongue and proceeded calmly. “Let me get right to my reasoning for being here. I’m going to share something with you that only a couple of people know at this time, my lord. But first, I must have your word that you won’t discuss it with anyone.”

  That got the earl’s attention, and he leaned forward. “Of course. You have my word.”

  “Good.” Hawk took a glass from the tray the servant held before him, but he wasn’t in a mood to share a drink with his host. “I’m in discussions with your nephew, Mr. Paxton Quick, about a possible matrimonial arrangement between him and my sister, Lady Adele.”

  “I didn’t know this,” the earl said, sounding somewhat affronted as he reached for his drink. “When did this discussion happen? He never said a word to me.”

  “He has only been aware of the offer a few days. I have sworn him to secrecy on this matter, as I have you. Don’t blame him.”

  “No, no blame. The fact is, it would please me greatly for our families to be joined by a mutually agreeable marriage.”

  Hawk wouldn’t go so far as to say that. “It’s very important to me that this not be made known to anyone in case we can’t work out an amicable agreement. I don’t want anything to blemish Lady Adele’s reputation before the Season starts. If there was talk of an arrangement that didn’t work out, it might reflect badly on her.”

  “Certainly, I understand.” He preened and leaned back in the chair. His long, wide face seemed to flatten slightly, thickening his jowls. “Paxton is an affable fellow, but he doesn’t seem to always have both feet on the ground. I’m sure you know what I mean. Especially when it comes to business matters. You were quite right to come to me concerning this offer. I’ll need to handle it for him. Did you bring contracts for me to look over?”

  Hawk shifted in the settee and gritted his teeth. He really didn’t want the earl to help finalize the contracts with Quick, if an arrangement was, indeed, made with the man. But since Quick was under the earl’s financial protection, Hawk would have to at least hear what the man had to say.

  “No, we’re not that far along in our talks. But back to your niece and the main reason I’m here. Lady Adele would very much like to be introduced to Mr. Quick before further discussions take place. Though a bit unusual for sure, I’ve agreed that an informal meeting between them could take place at Hawksthorn, where Lady Adele will be well chaperoned by our widowed cousin. And your niece as well. Lady Adele believes she will feel more comfortable if Mr. Quick’s sister accompanies him on the visit. However, Mr. Quick told me she doesn’t travel, and if she did, she’d need your permission.”

  “That’s true,” he said with no emotion in his words.

  Hawk wanted to be careful how he worded his next statement. “I was hoping you could speak to her for me about this and ask if she’d be willing to make an exception, this once, for my sister, and make the journey to Hawksthorn with her brother for a short visit.” Hawk hated putting the blame for Loretta not traveling on her, but felt it was best not to antagonize the earl.

  “Hmm,” Lord Switchingham murmured and drank from his port again. “I’m not sure I can accomplish that. You see, she’s very headstrong, that one, and she and I have come to an understanding about her not traveling. It suits both of us well, and I must tell you it’s not something I’m inclined to disturb.”

  Loretta had told him this wouldn’t be easy, but Hawk didn’t intend to walk away the loser. “It would only be a short visit. Two nights would accomplish allowing Mr. Quick and Lady Adele to meet.”

  “I will have to put some thought into this.”

  Time wasn’t something Hawk had a lot of. He wanted Adele’s future settled before the Season started, and that was only a few weeks away.

  “You do know,” Hawk said, “that if an arrangement between Lady Adele and Mr. Quick occurs, I will assume all responsibility for him.”

  The earl’s brows rose again. “Oh, well, of course, Your Grace, it’s not expected, but it would be most kind of you and greatly appreciated, let me assure you.”

  Hawk smiled. “But if you don’t feel you can persuade your niece to make the visit with her brother, I’ll have to disappoint Lady Adele and not allow Mr. Quick to come, either. And without that meeting, I’m not sure how discussions for an arrangement could proceed.”

  Lord Switchin
gham sighed and placed his drink on the table by his chair. He then pulled on the lace of first one cuff and then the other, making sure the many layers of it showed like a billow of froth from beneath the sleeve of his coat.

  “It’s always something to handle with those two. If only my brother were still alive, but no, he had to foolishly challenge a man to a duel shortly after his daughter was born.” The earl sniffed and then sighed. “And then got himself killed. So their support is left up to me. Loretta seems to have taken quite well to Mammoth House. I thought for sure she’d come begging for me to let her live at Switchingham again but she hasn’t. Not yet, anyway.”

  Hawk couldn’t see Loretta ever begging this man or anyone for anything.

  “A more contrary gel I’ve never had the displeasure of being acquainted with,” the earl continued. “But then I suppose she’s just like her mother, my dearly departed sister-in-law. She was strongheaded, too. However, I’ll see what I can do about allowing Loretta to accompany her brother.”

  A pang of frustration settled between Hawk’s shoulder blades. He wanted this matter settled now. “Would you mind doing that for me at once? I’m hoping to have them visit in the next couple of weeks while I’m there.”

  The earl grunted as he reached for his port. “That soon?”

  “It’s important to me.”

  “And you want them to go all the way to Hawksthorn, you say?” The earl sniffed. “I don’t know, Hawksthorn, that’s quite a distance from Mammoth House and will require much preparation. And within a couple of weeks? That will be almost impossible for me to arrange. I’ll need to see to getting a carriage and driver and—”

  “No, my lord,” Hawk said, interrupting him. “There will be no details for you to worry about concerning this visit. Since Mr. and Miss Quick would be coming at my invitation, I’ll send a carriage for them and one for their staff, too. It will take some planning but all will be taken care of by me. I’ve already looked into the arrangements. If they leave Mammoth House at sunrise, they can be at Hawksthorn before dark—assuming the weather is not drenching. That way there won’t be any overnight stay at an inn to worry about. I’ll see to it the horses are changed often and the carriage wheels are checked along the way as well. So you see you won’t need to do anything but assure me Miss Quick will be allowed to come.”

  “I must say that’s most generous of you, Your Grace. I suppose I can talk to her right away, though I don’t look forward to the long drive out to Mammoth House. I do try to go out every spring, just to make sure everything is proper there, but it’s not as easy for me to travel as it used to be. Why my great-grandfather built a house that far out in the wilderness, I’ll never understand.”

  Hawk couldn’t find it inside himself to feel sorry for the man about having to make the journey out to the isolated hunting lodge. The earl should have never banished Loretta to the Mammoth House in the middle of nowhere in the first place. And Hawk wanted to get her away from it. If only for a short time.

  It was a strange feeling for him, this need to rescue her—or perhaps it was more of a protective feeling. He just kept thinking that she should be with him. And it wasn’t simply because he desired her. He had wanted many different women over the years. He’d pursued more than he could count. But he was certain he’d never longed for any of them the way he hungered for Loretta.

  Loretta?

  Yes, he thought. He liked the idea of thinking of her as Loretta. It was a beautiful and poetic name. Much more intimate sounding than Miss Quick. He would call her by her name. And it was time he told her to address him as Hawk, too.

  “I would appreciate you making the effort for me, my lord, and I’ll personally consider it a favor that I’ll be happy to repay one day, should you ever find yourself in the position of seeking me out in some way that I might be of service to you.”

  Lord Switchingham’s eyebrows rose, signaling his appreciation of Hawk’s declaration. “I’ll remember that when we are in contract negotiations for the marriage.”

  Hawk swallowed a silent sigh. Now he was talking the earl’s language. As he’d told Loretta, he knew men, peers, and the common man alike. If you wanted something from someone, you had to give something in return, and he would honor his pledge to do a favor for the man when he asked.

  Though it would irritate Hawk to do it.

  “Of course. I want to have a settlement agreed upon and contracts signed before the Season starts.”

  The earl sniffed again and picked up his port, drained the glass, and held it up for his servant to take. “I understand, Your Grace, and I’ll do it posthaste for you. Perhaps I’ll just send a letter to her with instructions about what she is to do,” the earl continued. “I don’t think she’ll dare disobey me again. She did that once, you know. Of course you do, everyone does. And though I’m sure she’d rather drink burning oil than ever admit it, I do believe she regrets her unthinkable disregard for my feelings and wishes she’d married Viscount Denningcourt when she had the chance. But there’s nothing to be done about that now. The man seems happy enough with the wife he has.”

  Hawk looked at the earl and, once again, had to bite his tongue to keep from telling him what he thought about his poor treatment of Loretta. Hawk would have liked to boast to Lord Switchingham that he was certain she didn’t regret not marrying the viscount. But that was for Loretta to say to him one day, not Hawk. It’s just that he hoped to be around to hear it when she did.

  “I am most appreciative that I can rely on you to accomplish getting Miss Quick to Hawksthorn for me.”

  The earl took the refilled glass from his servant and lifted it in a toast toward Hawk. “Consider it done.”

  Chapter 13

  A gentleman should never try to get the best of a young lady. You may win the argument, but you might lose the lady in the process.

  A PROPER GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO WOOING THE PERFECT LADY

  SIR VINCENT TYBALT VALENTINE

  Loretta smiled.

  It was amazing the kind of things one could find in the attic of an old house. There were the usual things: old furniture, dusty trunks, and paintings of family members long departed. Disintegrating mounds of newsprint, chipped china, and cracked chamber pots were just some of the items Loretta came across, and couldn’t understand why someone deemed them worthy of keeping. But then the attic at Mammoth House also had a collection of unusual things: a generous number of trophies from deer to boar, and stuffed fowl of varying sizes. Some were in flight, displaying their wing size, while others had been perched on a short limb. Piled high in one corner of the huge dark room were more antlers than anyone could imagine, several dozen pairs of worn riding boots, and, sitting away from the massive collection of discarded family treasures near the stairway door, a chair with wheels instead of legs.

  Just what she needed.

  It helped that Mrs. Huddleston already knew the chair was there, with a broken wheel that her husband had repaired in less than half a day. And now Farley was sitting in it wearing a white shirt buttoned high on his neck, dark-brown trousers that went past his ankles, and thick woolen stockings that he would grow out of before he wore a hole into the sole of them. His damp hair had been trimmed by Bitsy and was neatly parted on the right side. But the thing that had brought a smile to Loretta’s face was that, for the first time since coming to Mammoth House, Farley had a little color to his lips.

  She walked into the room but before she could utter the first word, Farley started coughing. Long, deep, and hard. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and bent double. She hated seeing him in such agony and wanted to go over to him but didn’t. Now that he’d gotten better, he’d made it clear he didn’t want her help. And really there was nothing she could do but whisper calming words and wait until the spasms ceased.

  After the coughing spell was over, he slumped to one side of the big chair. She saw his chest moving slow and heavy with each breath. After the fever left him and he’d started eating better, she though
t the bouts of coughing would subside, but she wasn’t even sure their frequency had decreased. More and more she was beginning to worry that instead of simply having a lingering cough, Farley might have consumption.

  Keeping those disturbing thoughts at bay, and with her voice cheerful, she said, “Bitsy did a wonderful job on your hair, Farley.”

  He didn’t respond, so she added, “It makes you look older.”

  Still no acknowledgment from him, but she refused to let his attitude discourage her so she went on. “And Mrs. Huddleston did fine work of remaking the clothing for you.”

  Loretta recognized that Farley was still quite ill, and she knew he didn’t feel well, but it didn’t take much breath to say thank you. “I hope you managed to let Bitsy and Mrs. Huddleston know how much you appreciate what they’ve done for you.”

  His dark-brown eyes glared at her. “I didn’t ask ’em to do it for me,” he answered in a hoarse whisper and straightened himself in the large chair.

  With all the coughing night and day, she had no doubt his throat stayed sore and talking wasn’t easy, but it wouldn’t help him if she treated him like an infant. He needed to manage a few words every now and again.

  “Oh, I see,” she said, keeping her tone light while folding her arms across her chest and looking down at him. “You think you have to ask someone to do something before you can say a word of thanks to them. Let me assure you that isn’t true. A thank-you is never out of place, and every time someone does something nice for you appreciation is in order. Why don’t you try saying it?”

  He lowered his head, stared down at his folded hands in his lap, and mumbled, “Thank you.”

  Loretta smiled. They’d just made progress.

  “That’s better, and thank you for saying it for me.” Loretta turned and tugged a wool blanket from the foot of the bed and laid it on his lap. “I thought you might enjoy getting out of this room for a while since you are sitting up.”