Page 76 of Wedded to the Beastly Duke
“What does it matter to you?”
“Nothing, of course.” Nicholas glanced away. “What about your purported brother, Rickard?”
“I believe he’s also in London, although he has secured his own accommodation at an inn.”
While he was investigating, Adam wanted no one too close to him. Proximity affected judgment, and there was a real chance that Rickard was at fault.
Then again, anyone could be responsible.
He missed his brother. Missed the ease that came from knowing he had an older figure who could take charge. Adam was never supposed to inherit the dukedom.
William was supposed to still be here. They were supposed to go through life together, as brothers should. All the difficulties of their childhood, all the scars he carried, were supposed to be left in the past.
Instead, Adam was forced to relive the moment his mother had died every time he thought about his brother. Most of his family had perished, one way or the other.
But if he could do this one last thing for William, he would discover what happened. Even if it killed him.
ChapterTwenty-Two
As it was the summer and the Season was over, Emmeline went to her parents’ country estate, a large, modern house in Cheshire. The Suntons had been living there for over three generations, and the moment she stepped inside her ancestral home, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders and, at the same time, an inexplicable urge to cry.
“Emmeline? Is that you?” Aurelia ran down the stairs at breakneck speed, her white skirts billowing behind her. She looked as though she could have been some kind of fairy.
Emmeline held out her arms, and Aurelia threw herself into them.
“I never thought you would come,” Aurelia said, drawing back to look Emmeline in the face. A frown marred her perfect features. “Are youbruised?”
“Only a little,” Emmeline reassured her, but before she could explain what happened, there was a shriek from further down the hallway.
“Emmeline!” her mother said, producing a handkerchief and pressing it to her eyes as she hurried forward. “You’re here. Oh my dear, I’m so relieved you’re back. Just imagine the things your father has done in your absence.”
“Mama,” Aurelia began, but once her mother had started, she did not stop.
“Just imagine—he has canceled our opera box for the next Season without so much as consulting me, and when I ventured to say something about the fact that we use the box, he said he has not seen us use it. Which… Well, if he had come to the opera sometimes with us, perhaps he would have seen us use it. Or if he paid any attention to our comings and goings.”
Emmeline gave a faint smile. “Have you asked if we can afford it?”
“Oh, there is no doubt aboutthat.”
“Then there can be no objection. Don’t tell me he has neglected to buy Almack’s vouchers for the next Season. Aurelia must have them.”
“He says that it is none of his concern,” her mother said, dabbing at her eyes again. “And that I must come to it by myself—but the pin money he gives me is simply not enough.”
While Emmeline doubted that, her mother was not an illiberal spender, and it was unfair of her father to expect her to purchase the vouchers for the next Season—a not inconsiderable expense—with her pin money.
“Speak with him, dearest,” the Countess said, running a hand down her arm. “You know that he listens to you. And, now that you’re here, perhaps you might speak with Mrs. Walter about the state of the curtains in the second parlor. They are a positive disgrace.”
“Mama,” Aurelia said, a little louder this time. “Do you not think Emmeline’s face is bruised?”
“Bruised? Good heavens.” Her mother took a step back. “What happened, child? Did the Duke raise his hand to you?”
“Nothing like that,” Emmeline said hurriedly. “I fell down the stairs. Well, in truth, I was pushed, but not by Ad—not by the Duke.”
“You were pushed down the stairs?” A line appeared between Aurelia’s perfect eyebrows. “By whom?”
“The Viscount Sarron. You may know him?—”
“Well, of course, I know him,” her mother interrupted. “And you cannot in good faith be suggesting that he has acted against you. Why, you could not meet a more handsome and good-natured man.”
