“There you are, my dear,”
said the Earl of Forsyth with a beaming smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Maitland saw at once that
Daphne favored him. Her green eyes were the same shade as his, though there
were lines of dissipation bracketing the earl’s. And though his expertly
cropped blond hair was shot through with silver, what remained of its original
color was the same shade as hers. But whereas Daphne’s gaze was focused off to
the left of whomever she conversed with, like a bird hovering just over a
branch, Forsyth’s speared one with cold calculation. As he did to Daphne now.
“You are looking well,
Daphne,” the earl continued, stepping forward to embrace his daughter, who
looked as uncomfortable with the contact as Maitland had ever seen her. “The
sea air agrees with you. As I knew it would.”
“The sea is very beautiful,”
Daphne replied woodenly. “Why are you here, Father?”
“Is that any way to greet
your Papa?” the earl chided, stepping back from her and wandering farther into
the room, standing to stare out at the gardens below through the window. “I’ve
traveled all the way from London to see you. And this lovely estate. I must
admit that when I first learned of your inheritance, I thought it was all some
sort of trick. But you would have your own way and leave the loving bosom of
your family no matter what I said. Now that I’m here, though, and see it in
person, I must admit that it’s a lovely spot. And your chaperone, Lady Serena,
is quite beautiful, isn’t she? A widow, I take it?”
His jaw clenched at the man’s
mention of Serena, and Maitland thought perhaps it was time to announce himself.
Daphne seemed not to realize he’d followed her in, and the earl was too busy
waxing rhapsodic over the beauties of Beauchamp House.
“I don’t believe we’ve met,
Forsyth,” he said forcefully, stepping up to stand side by side with Daphne. He
gave a slight bow, perhaps not quite as deep as was warranted, but not caring. “The
Duke of Maitland. I am a friend of your daughter’s, you might say.”
What he meant by that last,
he could not say, but the man made every bit of protective instinct within him
go on the alert. He was her father, but all the same Maitland knew that Daphne
was no safer with him than she would have been with Sommersby if he still
lived.
At the sound of the duke’s
voice, Lord Forsyth turned with almost comical haste from the window and
stared. For the barest flicker, he looked angry. Well, if he were upset at the
knowledge that his daughter was not without friends, then he would simply have
to swallow it. Because Maitland was damned if he’d leave her alone with the
fellow.
“Duke,” Lord Forsyth said
with a tilt of his head, “I am pleased to make your acquaintance. I was a friend
of your father’s, and had little notion I’d be meeting you here. He was a good
man, your father.”
His father had been nothing
of the sort, but Maitland was hardly going to discuss it with Forsyth.
“I am here visiting my
sister, Lady Serena,” Maitland said coolly, letting the other man know in tone
rather than words that he had not appreciated the older man’s speculative words
about her earlier. “And of course my cousin, Kerr. He only recently married
another of the heiresses here, and resides here with her.”
Forsyth’s eyes narrowed at
the implication that Daphne was well protected should her father wish to cause
trouble. At least that was the message Maitland was endeavoring to send. And by
the looks of it, Forsyth read him loud and clear.
“Capital, capital,” the earl
said with false cheer. “A merry party you must all make here. I had no idea you
were in such fine company here, Daphne. No notion at all.”
“Because we have not spoken
since I left,” Daphne said, looking from her father to Maitland then back
again, as if wondering what went on between them. “And now, father, I really
must ask you to leave. I have a great deal of work to do and . . .”
“Don’t be absurd, Daphne,”
her father said with a shake of his head. “I only just arrived. And there is
something very important I must speak to you about.” He turned to Maitland with
a raised brow. “I’m sure you’ll excuse us, Duke. I’m afraid what I need to tell
my daughter is private family business.”
Maitland was opening his
mouth to tell the man he would leave Daphne alone with him when hell froze
over, when Daphne did it for him.
“Maitland stays,” she said,
reaching out to grasp him by the arm. It was as much of a cry for help as he’d
ever thought he’d see from her. Wordlessly, he slipped her arm into his, as if
they were about to promenade round the room. He covered her hand with his,
keenly aware of the thread of tension in her.
Once more, the earl’s eyes
narrowed, and he turned an assessing gaze on Maitland, perhaps realizing for
the first time the threat coming at him from that direction.
His jaw clenched, Forsyth
said grimly, “Very well. If you wish your friend to witness our dirty linen, so
be it.” As if needing to be in motion in order to speak, the earl began to pace
the area between the window and the fireplace. “You know, Daphne, you left me
without any obvious means of recouping what I lost from years of paying that
tutor of yours, old man Sommersby.”
“You agreed to pay him,”
Daphne said tightly. “After I threatened to expose . . .”
Hastily, Forsyth continued, “And
I am currently in need of funds. As such, I must insist you return to London
with me for the time being and meet a particular gentleman who has expressed
interest in marrying you. Though his birth is not as high as yours, he’s quite
wealthy and will make you a good husband, I trust. He’s assured me he has no
concern about your odd ways, if you’re as beautiful as your portrait.”
Before Maitland could burst
out with the string of invectives the other man’s pronouncement inspired in
him, Daphne said, “I cannot marry this person. I’ve never even met him. You
promised me that I would not have to marry someone for money as long as I won
enough at the tables. I did so. You promised me, father.”
“I never actually promised,
Daphne.” Forsyth said with a shake of his head. “If you chose to interpret it
as such, that is not my fault. Now, go pack your things.”
Daphne’s hand on Maitland’s
arm gripped him tightly. And before he even knew what he was doing, he said, “I’m
afraid that’s impossible, Forsyth. Daphne is staying here.”
“I don’t know who you think
you are, Maitland,” said the earl through clenched teeth, “but I am her father,
and I am well within my rights to take her back to London. Now, kindly take
your hands off of her and let her go pack.”
“It might once have been
your right, Forsyth,” Maitland said coldly, “but Lady Daphne is my betrothed
now and as such, she will remain here. With me.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blurb:
LADY + DUKE = TRUE LOVE?
Lady
Daphne Forsyth is a brilliant mathematician with a burning passion for puzzles.
When she learns that the library belonging to her benefactress houses the
legendary Cameron Cipher—an encrypted message that, once solved, holds the key
to great riches—Daphne is on the case. Unfortunately, her race to unlock the
cipher’s code is continually thwarted by a deliciously handsome distraction she
hadn’t counted on . . . and cannot resist.
Dalton
Beauchamp, the Duke of Maitland, is curious as to why Daphne is spending so
much time snooping around his aunt’s bookshelves. He’s even more intrigued by
her bold yet calculating manner: She is unapologetic about her secret quest . .
. and the fiery attraction that develops between them both. But how can they
concentrate on solving a perplexing enigma once the prospect of true love
enters the equation?
Buy Links:
Indiebound:
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250109880
Duke with
Benefits is the second in Manda
Collins' Studies in Scandal series set in Regency England.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author Bio:
Manda
Collins is the author of several books, including Ready Set Rogue and
The Lords of Anarchy series. She spent her teen years wishing she’d been born a
couple of centuries earlier, preferably in the English countryside. Time travel
being what it is, she resigned herself to life with electricity and indoor
plumbing, and read lots of books. When she’s not writing, she’s helping other
people use books, as an academic librarian.
Manda’s Social Links:
Twitter: @MandaCollins
Facebook: @MandaCollinsAuthor
http://www.mandacollins.com/
Facebook: @MandaCollinsAuthor
http://www.mandacollins.com/
SMP Romance Social Links:
Twitter: @SMPRomance
Facebook: @SMPRomance
http://smpromance.com/
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