Page 99 of Enslaved to the Seduction of a Lady
Chapter Thirty-Six
“You’re sure you want to do this?” Jonathan, the Duke of Carrington, asked his son. “It’s not too late to change your mind, but it soon will be.”
“Father, please,” Thomas urged. “They are my siblings. I cannot leave them to suffer when I have the power to help them.”
The Duke’s smile broadened, bunching up his chubby cheeks, his blond hair flopping over his forehead.
“You are kind and charitable soul, Thomas,” he said. “Just as your mother was. She taught you well.”
“Thank you, Father. And thank you for supporting me in this. I understand how difficult it must be for you.”
“The difficulty will be if the scandal somehow is revealed,” the Duke warned. “For now, I will do everything in my power to help you. I may not have sired you, but you are my son, and I would do anything for you.”
Before Thomas could answer, there came a knock at the door.
“My Lord,” the butler said, bowing to Jonathan and Thomas as he entered the drawing room. “Rupert Sherriden, Earl of Belmont is here to see you.”
“Excellent,” Thomas said, taking the lead as his father had requested. “Show him in please.”
They sat in the summer drawing room, the sun pouring in through the large double windows, the blue damask drapes having been pulled back as far as they would go. It was, Thomas thought, one of the most impressive rooms in the house, with its finely woven Turkish carpet and the couches that had been shipped from the Middle East.
As rooms went, this one showed the true prowess of the Carrington name, and the power that went with it. There were ornaments brought from the Americas, and paintings from central Europe. The Duke, with his wealth and his curiosity, had believed in traveling the world and so, Thomas had been fortunate to travel, too.
Thomas felt at home there, and he hoped the lavishness of it would put the Earl ill at ease. He was right.
The Earl was speechless when he stepped into the room. He looked about him open mouthed, and Thomas watched from the comfort of his chair, his legs crossed and a bowl of brandy dangling from his hand.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Thomas said.
“I… yes,” the Earl replied, blinking and turning to face Thomas.
“That’s what a bit of good business sense and few good investments can get you,” Thomas said, chuckling like an old chum.
“Absolutely,” the Duke interjected. “Money makes every better, don’t you agree?”
“Indeed,” the Earl replied, finally gathering his wits, “and it is business you wish to discuss with me today?”
Thomas nodded.
“Please,” he said, gesturing to the chair opposite, “take a seat.”
Between them sat a low table in a rich mahogany and inlaid with marble and gold and then highly lacquered. Upon it was a crystal decanter, the reflection of which created a pattern of light that danced across the floor, and a solitary glass.
“Do help yourself to a brandy,” Thomas said, indicating the bottle. He glanced at his father’s smirk and tried to keep his own under control.
“Oh, I—”
The Earl looked around, obviously in search of a servant to do the pouring, just as Thomas had expected. Thomas twisted his lips to stop his smirk from showing as the Earl shifted to the edge of his seat and leaned forward to pour himself a drink.
“Ah, thank you,” he said awkwardly when he finally sat back. Thomas offered him a single short nod.
“Now, as you may be aware, until I take over as Duke, I am arranging a few of business deals of my own.”
“As is natural,” the Earl said, clearly on more comfortable ground. “And you would like to do business with me?”
“In a sense, yes,” Thomas said. “I appreciate we do not know each other particularly well, but I must admit to how impressed I was by the way in which you dealt with your… little problem at Salsbury Manor.”
“Oh, yes,” the Duke enthused. “I heard all about that. Cut-throat, I’d say. And just what one needs in business.”
