Page 6 of Duke of Bronze
Fisher inclined his head. "Quite the departure from the usual embellished letters, wouldn't you say?"
Colin let out a breath and took the letter, turning it over in his hand. He broke the seal and unfolded the parchment:
Your Grace,
I hope this letter finds you well. There is a matter concerning your late father that I wish to discuss with you at your earliest convenience. Please grant me the honor of a meeting.
Sincerely,
Roderick M.
What could it be? Colin never knew his father to have secrets, and he had been Duke for over a year now.You barely knew him,a voice in his mind reminded him.
The quiet of the man now felt like a harbinger of unanswered questions.
"Good news, Your Grace?" came Fisher's question.
Colin folded the letter and slipped it into his coat pocket. "That remains to be seen."
Fisher grinned. "Ah. A mystery, then. And you do love a mystery."
Colin let out a low chuckle. "Let us hope it loves me back."
CHAPTER 4
Dearest Aunt Petunia,
Come at once. I am in dire need of rescue.
I shall spare you the pleasantries and instead tell you plainly that I have found myself in a most lamentable predicament. Through no fault of my own—though I imagine you may find that difficult to believe—I am now obligated to bestow five entire afternoons upon none other than the Duke of Copperton.
Yes. The same Copperton we have so often spoken of with equal measures of exasperation and disbelief.
Please, do come. I require your sound advice, your wit, and, most importantly, your skill in devising elaborate and perfectly reasonable escape plans.
With all my love and desperation,
Anna
Anna folded the letter and sealed it with more force than was necessary before handing it to the butler. "See that this reaches Comtesse de Beaumont without delay."
The butler, accustomed to Anna's theatrics, merely inclined his head before retreating with the missive. With a sigh, she rose and made her way to the breakfast room, bracing herself for what she knew awaited her.
"I cannot believe you never mentioned the auction prize to me, Papa," she said as she walked into the room.
Across from her, Sebastian regarded her with far too much amusement for her liking. "Oh, darling, I thought your friends would have mentioned it to you."
Anna narrowed her eyes, reaching for a slice of toast. "They said the exact same thing. They believed we had discussed it beforehand."
"Well," her father said, lifting his coffee cup with an infuriating lack of concern, "there appears to have been a minor lapse in communication. Either way, all has turned out rather well, has it not?"
Anna nearly choked on her tea. "For whom?"
"The Duke made a very generous contribution, the charity benefited handsomely, and you—well, you have the pleasure of the finest company in all of England for five afternoons." Sebastian shrugged.
Anna gaped at him.Pleasure? She could hardly bring herself to say the word aloud. "Papa, you do recall that we are speaking of Copperton?"
Her father smiled into his coffee. "A rather eligible bachelor, is he not?"
