Page 22 of One Dangerous Desire
One bolstering breath and she slipped into the midst of her father’s tirade. “Father, Mrs. Campbell said you wished to see me.” Her voice only shuddered a bit, far less than her insides, and she moved to take the seat her father indicated with the point of his finger.
“You’ve been spending a good deal of time with the Ashworths.” He didn’t phrase the words as a question, more a fact he already knew to be true.
May acknowledged it as such, taking care not to correct him on the use of the duke’s title to refer to the family as whole. Her father hated being corrected about titles and honorifics, which he’d never bothered to understand.
“The duke seems to have taken a young upstart under his wing.”
If he meant to entrap her or catch her out, she had no desire to play the game. “Are you referring to Mr. Cross who now calls himself Rex Leighton?”
“There, you see, Graves. I told you my daughter was sharp as a knife.”
Nothing irked May more than her father’s tendency to refer to her rather than speak to her directly. It was a tactic he wielded like a master.
“I met him at Ashworth House several days ago, Papa.”
“And you failed to mention this to me for what reason? Could it be because I forbade you from ever seeing the scoundrel again?”
May rose to her feet, and Mr. Graves did likewise. The man was clearly determined to adhere to gentlemanly manners even now, with her father scolding her as if she was a child.
“I’m no longer a foolish girl. As you see, I stand before you unfettered by fantasies of Mr. Leighton’s romantic intentions. I learned my lesson well. I don’t require you or anyone else to remind me.”
Both men stared at the rug, but she didn’t need them to avoid meeting her gaze. She wasn’t going to cry or crumble into hysterics. She’d bid Rex Leighton adieu and she’d meant it.
“Is there anything else, Father?”
“Resume your seat there, if you would.”
May bit down on the refusal yearning to burst free and sat stiffly on the edge of the settee.
“You’re friends with the duke’s daughter?”
“You know that I am.”
“And the man himself? The duke? What is your access to him?”
“My access?” Her father made the man sound like a safe to be cracked.
Mr. Graves cleared his throat. “I believe your father is referring to how you might influence the Duke of Ashworth. Would he wish to do a favor that might benefit you, Miss Sedgwick?”
His deep, sonorous voice was so much more pleasant than her father’s bark, and yet his words were more insidious.
“What favor would you have me ask of him?” May looked at Mr. Graves as she posed the question, since he seemed more inclined to speak plainly than her father.
“He invests in commercial ventures, I’m given to understand.” Her father and his business partner exchanged an inscrutable look before Mr. Graves continued. “Today our plans for a London Sedgwick’s suffered a setback. Mr. Leighton has secured the property we hoped to acquire. Our alternative site will require significant capital to obtain.”
“You wish me to ask the Duke of Ashworth about a loan?”
As soon as the words were out, her father spun and stomped toward his desk, reaching for the unlit meerschaum pipe resting in a bowl near the center. He placed it in his mouth and sucked as if it was lit and might give him whatever pleasure men gained from smoking. May never understood the appeal.
He wrenched the pipe from his mouth so quickly his teeth clicked on the edges. “I have never wished to involve you in my business affairs, my girl.”
“But now you must, so please do me the courtesy of telling me why.”
He regarded her for so long May thought he might be gearing up for more shouting. Instead, he sank down in his chair.
“Business success is fickle, my girl. Goodness knows we’ve had our fair share of it.”
“Tell me about the rest, Papa. Please.” To hear him say it, to admit to gambling and squandering his wealth, even if it was beyond her worst fears, would be a relief. In some odd way, a bridge of trust would be built between them. No matter his faults, she loved him. But at least there’d no longer be lies woven through every interaction.
