Page 4 of My Cruel Duke

Despite his lack of a title, the ton had respected her father, for he was an avid businessman who rose to wealth in his craft. His father had a title, Earl of Brimsley, which was unfairly passed to his older brother. It was why her father worked hard, to prove he could surpass his brother even without a title. Now her uncle, the Earl of Brimsley, after claiming he wanted to mend his relationship with his brother, was nowhere to be found, renouncing every relationship with them. Penny gulped hard.

Then her father appeared.

Penny hid her hands behind her immediately and bowed her head.

“Are you well, Father?” He did not look well. He looked as though he had aged a few years in the two weeks he had spent there. A stubborn bush of hair surrounded his chin, and a flare of despair coursed through her. The Duke of Huxton was at fault for this, he had reduced her father to… this. A criminal.

“I should ask you that,” her father responded, a gruff edge to his tone. He did not look her in the eyes as he spoke. He could not bear to.

“I am well, Father. Aunt Augusta, Lydia, and I are just scraping through,” she responded, unsure if she should tell him just how different and difficult life was without him or Patrick around.

“As expected, women have their ways of surviving.”

Penny did not understand her father's words or the implications behind them. Instead, she nodded.

“Patrick, however, fled the country, taking with him whatever was left,” Penny could not leave without telling her father what Patrick had done. The older man sucked in a breath, and with a little pout, he nodded.

“I am sure he thought thoroughly about it. He had to save himself,” he said.

In the list of outrageous things Penny had heard since her father had been imprisoned, this was by far the worst one. It sat undefeated at the top of the list.

“Father, he left us with nothing?” Her statement had come off as a question instead. Perhaps her father thought she and her sister were truly well because she said they were? She merely wanted him to feel at ease instead of worrying for them, but he could not take Patrick’s side in this matter.

“And now you must make something of yourself to help your sister.”

Penny felt as though a bucket of ice water was doused over her head. Surely, there was nothing her father could do for them from prison, but was he going to shamelessly drop all the responsibilities on her shoulders instead of finding a way to have Patrick return?

“Father…” she stressed, but the man was unwavering in his stance.

“The Duke of Huxton and his drunkard of an uncle are to blame for this,” his voice grew dark. “TheCruel Dukeis truly despicable to his business rivals. I still marvel at how low he stooped to ruin me.” Penny could feel her father’s anger as it came down on her like a heavy coat, blanketing her in the fierceness of it. She sighed and a long awkward silence stretched for several minutes. “Patrick had to save himself. And you… you must return now, Penny; these parts are far too dangerous for a woman like you.”

She nodded, and as she left, her heart broke into tiny pieces at seeing her father escorted away. The anger that she had suppressed for days returned, and with it came a stinging pain of hunger. She recalled she had not broken her fast, and the sun sat high up in the sky, shining down ruthlessly on everything in its wake.

The Duke of Huxton could be lounging around in his drawing room, eating a fine piece of ham, while she and her family wallowed in despair while wishing for some savior to whisk them away and provide for them. All because of him.

I will give that beast some piece of my mind!

It was unfair. The duke was unfair. No, he was cruel! A wicked, evil soul that deserved no good thing, and she had to let him know, demand an explanation. With full determination, Penny marched to the hill, where a lonely mansion sat. Large and gloomy it was, but it did not deter her until she called on him.

Inside the mansion, the butler wiped beads of sweat from his face as he pondered on what to do. The duke had been in a foul mood since he arose. He went about breaking things in his room, and no one could tell what angered him so. For this reason, Rufus paced back and forth until Mr. Patterson appeared.

“What is the matter, Rufus? You look like you have seen a ghost.” Harold approached him, and Rufus could not be happier. He quickly explained the situation at hand and how Miss Hislop stood outside, seeking an audience with the duke.

“Let her in; I will inform him myself.” With a bow, Rufus thanked the older man and went out to meet the young lady, letting her in.

The doors opened, and Penny sucked in a harsh breath as she took the seven stairs that led to the heavy black double doors.

This was a mistake.She sighed, but she could not get her legs to turn around.But I cannot back away now, she thought as she made her way to the duke’s study with the old butler leading the way. She was going to face the man who had brought misfortune to her family.

Or that had been the plan.

Something about the mansion reminded her of the prison house. The darkness. Only that the duke’s mansion was far worse than the prison house. Everything in her line of sight was black. The walls were painted the darkest shade of black she had ever seen. She did not know there was such a paint as dark as the night sky without stars or the moon. She had passed by windows with heavy black damask drapes covering them.

How does one even breathe in such a place?

The duke’s study was no different. A black pedestal desk greeted her the moment she stepped her legs behind the door, with a matching chair behind it. To her left sat two settees, the same color with sophisticated designs; she could only wonder where he had gotten so much black furniture from. The room lacked life, like all the other parts of the mansion she had passed. It seemed the Duke of Huxton detested any form of color or light in his life. She shuddered and bit her lower lip as a chill ran up her spine.

“What brings Miss Hislop to my doorstep so early this morning? Are you not aware it is quite improper for a lady to call upon a bachelor, nonetheless, in broad daylight?” The voice startled Penny as she had not heard any footsteps prior to his voice thundering behind her. She turned around and faced him. Had she not been burning with anger, she would have given in to the thrum of her heart at the sight of his wet, dark hair and stormy blue eyes. Or was it the slit of his exposed chest through his shirt with the first two buttons undone?