Page 94 of His Grace, the Duke
“Wouldn’t what?” George pressed. “Wouldn’t accept the cancelling of all her family’s debts as a buy off for keeping our mother’s dirty secrets?”
James considered this. Seventeen thousand pounds was a hefty sum, even for a duke. As a one-time payment, it was manageable, but the estate would certainly feel it. James was desperate to understand how his mother was manipulating the accounts.
As for Rosalie... Christ, how would she have been expected to repay even a quarter of such a sum on her own? It was unfathomable. She would have drowned in that debt. No wonder she accepted a lifeline when it was offered. Any sane person would have done the same. But James had to understand what strings were attached. Why did she take it? What had she agreed to do to earn it?
“Ask her,” James said, moving over to his desk and snatching up the letters. “Give these back to her and ask her what she knows. Please, George—”
“Absolutely not,” George replied, backing away. “Youmust be the one to get the answers.”
“I’m not the one who stole these from her in the first place!” James barked, shaking the letters in his brother’s face.
“AndIam not the one who’d like to take a stroll down her sweet little cock alley,” George replied, raising the glass of scotch to his lips with a satisfied smirk.
James lunged forward and slapped the glass from his brother’s hand. It glinted in the air before smashing to thefloor, the glass shattering like a bag of spilled diamonds. “Disrespect her again, and I’ll make you eat that glass,” James growled, pointing to the mess on the floor.
George’s grin widened. “Spoken like a true beau.”
James huffed and turned away. He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. The stack of letters was still in his hand. He paced behind his desk like a caged animal.
George stood there watching, an oddly sympathetic look on his face. “For the record... I don’t think she’s a secret love child either.”
James paused in his pacing, turning sharply to face his brother. “Then why the hell did you say it?”
George just smirked. “I wanted to see your reaction... and it was even better than I hoped.”
“Lick my bollocks, George.”
“No thank you,” he replied, still smiling. “You’re in love with her... aren’t you?”
“I will not discuss Miss Harrow with you.”
“She may not be a love child. In fact, the idea is absurd,” George said with a little laugh. “But those bills were paid by our mother all the same,” he added, pointing to the stack in James’ hand. “Theremustbe a reason... and Cabbage knows what it is.”
James groaned, knowing his brother spoke the truth.
“I know you, James. You like to think I don’t, but I do. You cannot abide a secret. You’ll punish Cabbage all her days for keeping this one from you. Will you ruin your chance with that girl over your own damned pride?”
James stilled. “Careful, George. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you cared about a person other than yourself.”
George just smiled. “For once in your life, take your elderbrother’s advice, andtalkto the woman you love. Shed light on this secret, so you can both move on with the business of being happy.” With a nod, he turned for the door.
“George,” James called.
His brother paused, glancing over his shoulder.
James took a deep breath before saying the words he’d been mulling for days. “You deserve to be happy too. Plenty of dukes in the past were lifelong bachelors. You don’t have to marry and sire children for the sake of the family. That is not your sole purpose in life.”
George’s mouth quirked. “Thank you for saying that, James.”
“I will support you either way.”
“Good to know.” His smile widened as he wiggled a finger between them. “Oh, and this little heart to heart never happened. I have a reputation to maintain. Understood?”
James sighed. “Understood.”
With that, George left, and James stood alone with the stack of pilfered letters, an aching head, and no plan for how to get Rosalie alone to ask her the question that was now burning him alive.
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