Page 2 of Good Duke Gone Far

“I know. I’ll be fine.”

“You won’t tell anyone I’ve left you on your own though, will you?”

“Faugh! No. I most certainly will not. They shall have someone on my tail dragging me home before…well, before something important happens. And surely everyone would agree that this is a dire matter to expose, if they knew what it was.” Kat pulled out the creased missive from where she had tucked it into her bosom and waved it around.

“Yes, dear. I know you must be stressed. It will all work out. I’ve never met a woman with a stronger spine than yours. Stay safe. Stick to our travel plans, and you shall get to the bottom of this. Then, report back to us, and we can settle everything properly.”

With that, Lady Anna stepped out of the carriage and mounted the horse with the messenger, leaving Kat all alone. To her own devices.

Which was either the most dangerous or most freeing situation Kat had ever experienced in her entire life. Most likely both.

She rapped on the ceiling of the carriage and jostled with the first lurch. The movement caused her to fix her travel dress. She gathered the curtains again and stared at the landscape. Luckily for Lady Anna, they had hardly left Goodgreen Hall, so she would soon be with her daughter. If only Kat could snap her fingers and be in Scotland. No harm in trying. Kat closed her eyes.

SNAP!

Alas, when she opened her eyes, she still sat alone in the carriage. She might as well contemplate her mission: seek out the Scottish duke who had proposed to her sister Charlotte.

It still baffled Kat to reflect on it. Why had a Scottish duke proposed to Charlotte? It made no sense. Charlotte was beautiful, Kat supposed, but certainly not more beautiful than Kat. She had a dowry, about the same size as her as well. And really, there was nothing particularly outstanding about Charlotte. That Kat could think of. Charlotte was so shy that Kat could only hope her sister would find someone to abide her quiet ways.

But if there was a duke out there trying to exploit her sister somehow, there was no way in hell that Kat was going to allow that to happen.

A bump in the road caused Kat to squeeze the letter in her hand. She unfolded it and reread the note from her parents.

Dear Kat,

The Duke of Dunbarshire has proposed to Charlotte. We are delighted! We are still waiting for word from the Bow Street runner we hired to find out more about this mysterious duke. For now, we will withhold his identity from Charlotte as we know she wants to find a true love match, and we don’t want this to dissuade her; however, if she doesn’t find a match soon, we will accept his offer.

We couldn’t keep this news to ourselves, so we had to share it with you, since your dear brother Reggie is behind on his correspondence. Again.

P.S. We hope you are enjoying your summer in the country.

Love,

Mother and Father

Although Kat’s parents were optimistic, Kat was not. This “duke” could be anyone. Or anything. He could be a dried up, crusty old man with a mouse for a mustache and a nest for hair. He could be a lascivious creep with a barrel for a belly and…well, Kat wasn’t sure what weird things he could possibly have for the bedroom, but they would certainly be that: weird.

With a sigh, Kat closed her eyes again. Regardless of how much she thought she could, she couldn’t speed up the horses. The only thing she could do was speed up her perception of time by distracting herself. Unclasping one of her bags, Kat pulled out a few pages. Among them were several scandal sheets, along with other newspapers. Most of it she had read before, but there wasn’t much time to pack, so she had grabbed what was available. Absentmindedly, she stole a piece of sweetmeat from her pocket, unwrapped it, and plucked it into her mouth.

Hopefully a new piece of gossip could entice her mind from her troubles. Skimming the first page, Kat saw Bella and Elliot’s impending wedding mentioned. In print it had read Lady Bella and the Duke of Ennitt. Another friend becoming a duchess. Bella was so lucky. It was everything in Kat’s heart to snag a duke for herself. Her friends were making it look easy. Surely it couldn’t be that difficult to follow suit. To follow their lead, she need only…well, there wasn’t really a pattern. Except that each one so far had been in the middle of pursuing their dreams when they had caught the attention of a duke.

What were Kat’s dreams? Currently, she had one dream, which was to marry a duke and then be able to do whatever she wanted with her life. As long as she didn’t get tied down to a stodgy, stuffy, stickler of a man with no title, she would be fine. In fact, she could only envision herself enjoying her life and the freedom she would have being a duchess. Temporarily, she would have to put that dream on hold. Fate, of all sources, had other demands on her. How she despised fate’s hand. Although she certainly had a choice when she opened her parents’ missive, she felt as though she didn’t. Everyone was busy with the wedding and the golf course. So it fell to her to handle this situation about the baffling proposal.

Hopefully Kat would make it back in time for Bella and Elliot’s wedding. In some ways, it had been the easiest thing in the world to leave Charlotte, Bella, and Davin back at Goodgreen Hall where they were planning Bella’s wedding and Davin’s golf course. Kat wasn’t really helping anyway. She was just there for moral support. Or, some kind of support. Or maybe she had just chosen to go because it would have felt lonely in London without Charlotte. And in that way, it had been hard to leave. The sisters had never been apart for more than an evening.

Kat shook her head. She did not want to think about emotions right now. It was enough that she knew she needed to do whatever it took to protect her sister. With that, the gossip sheets were tucked away and the newspaper came out. Kat quickly reread the travel excerpt she remembered and loved. That particular article never failed to humor her because the writer certainly knew how to spin a phrase. With a new grin on her face, she flipped to the business section and settled in for a good read.

Chapter 2

THEWOMANHADGONEmad. She’d finally lost her mind and devised the most bacon-brained, bird-witted, rattleplated plan he had yet to hear about her.

That was all Colonel Quinn Bradshaw could think as he tossed another shirt onto the already piled-high lump on his bed.

“By my soul, I swear I have never before heard of such a jingle-brained scheme as this. Far and wide, it is the most slow topped plan she’s ever concocted, is it not?”

“It is, sir,” the valet folded one of the strewn shirts into Quinn’s luggage.

“Good God, what else could you call it, I ask you?”

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