Page 75 of The Scoundrel of Drury Lane
“Your Grace?” His butler stared at him in open confusion. He was not expected to return until much later this evening.
“I forgot my gloves,” he said in apology. The butler nodded and sent a footman upstairs to fetch them.
When the footman returned, Darius thanked the man and then went back outside so he wouldn’t miss his ride to the theater, only to barrel into a figure that had been coming up the steps behind him.
“Oof!” a feminine voice gasped. Darius took hold of the woman by the arms just in time to prevent her from tumbling down the stairs.
“I beg your pardon,” he said to her automatically, then blinked as he got a good look at the woman.
She was perhaps five and a half feet tall, with soft and classically beautiful features. Her mouth was perfect for kissing and one that gave him the most wicked fantasies. But it was her eyes... the kind of eyes that would haunt him forever. They were the most beautiful hazel eyes he’d ever seen. They held a hint more green than blue and had gold flecks shimmering in the irises.
Dark brown lashes fluttered as she seemed to take him in at the same time. Darius didn’t miss the innocent flash of desire there. He knew when a woman wanted him, and this woman, innocent as she was, wanted him now. It was a response he was used to, but he tried not to get carried away with that when it came to the fairer sex.
With this woman, however, he was tempted to give in to his less-than-gentlemanly instincts. She couldn’t have been more than nineteen, perhaps twenty. Darius had only one thought in his head as he stared at her.
I’m going to take her to bed and see those eyes light up with ecstasy...
“Are—are you Lord Tiverton?” The woman’s voice was soft, yet he heard strength in it too. She was here with a purpose.
“Yes.” He watched her break eye contact with him to dig in her reticule to produce a letter. She held it out to him, and he took it from her in confusion.
His name was written upon it. The handwriting was one he recognized. He broke the seal and unfolded the letter.
Darius,
It has been a long time since we’ve spoken. I regret my last words to you the day we buried your father. Losing my brother broke my heart, and you reminded me so much of him that it hurt me to see you.
If you are reading this, it means I am gone. I have but one favor to ask of you. Take care of the young woman who bears this letter.
Her mother was someone I loved many years ago, but she chose to marry another. When that man died and left her both penniless and with a child, I took pity on her. I settled them in a little cottage by the sea. When she died, I took that child in to raise as my own when she was fourteen. Recently my health has been failing, and I fear my role in raising her has come to an end.
Please help her come out into society and provide for her what she will require as a young lady. The entirety of my estate must go to my son, which means all of Meredith’s needs must be met by someone else, and I am hoping that someone will be you. Please see that she is married well to a good man. I wish I’d been brave enough to say my apologies to you in person, nephew, but at least they are here now in this letter. I am sorry.
Yours faithfully,
Benjamin St. John
Darius lookedup at the young woman who until moments ago had featured in his most wicked fantasies. Now he was supposed to take her as his ward?
Damn his uncle... damn him...
“What is your name, child?” Darius asked curtly. He knew she was called Meredith, but he wanted her full name.
“I’m not a child. I’m nineteen,” she said quite proudly. “And it’s Meredith Montague.”
He held up the letter. “Have you read this?”
Meredith shook her head. “No, but Uncle Ben said I was to deliver it to you. He said that you would help me find... a husband?” She said this with adorable uncertainty.
“You traveled all the way from Yorkshire alone?” Darius asked. He saw no coach or servants with her. She looked so young and innocent, though certainly not a child. Behind her brave front lay a deep concern about her future. It made him want to pull her into his arms and kiss away the worries that hung upon her brow.
“Yes, I took stagecoaches and spent the night at a coaching inn. I had a little pin money saved up, but I’m thankful you were home this evening... I have no money to stay anywhere else.”
Darius couldn’t help but stare. This lovely urchin in an out-of-season frock was seeking refuge in his home, and he was going to have to behave himself. But something of her story confused him.
“My uncle was able to leave you no money at all?” he asked. Surely his uncle could have left her some travel money, if nothing else.
“He tried, but... you see, it was a bit complicated after he died. His will only left a wish for his son to provide me with travel money at his discretion. Harry said that I should remain at your uncle’s estate, and... Well, he demanded I be his companion if I wished to stay. Naturally, I couldn’t agree. No matter how insistent he was.” She touched her arms as thought to hug herself, and Darius spied the hint of bruises upon her wrists. “He then refused to provide me with any money at all, since it was at his discretion.”
