Page 3 of My Dangerous Duke
“I need a refill,” Xander called back, “Try not to get arrested while I am gone.”
Xander did not hear the remark Richard shot back at him nor did he care. Instead, he focused on skirting around the room full of eligible ladies and toward the nearest balcony.
“Your Grace, how pleasant it is to meet you.” A blonde middle-aged woman draped in blue and silver stepped in front of Xander so quickly he nearly ran her over; his feet stopping at the very last second.
“Good evening, my lady,” he nodded curtly, already stepping around her.
“Oh, you must not go yet, Your Grace!” Another woman in plum purple stopped him yet again.
“We must introduce our daughters,” the woman in blue insisted.
“Another time,” Xander quipped back, dodging their advances yet again.
Ever since he and Richard had entered the city, mothers and daughters of theTonhad shown up at every possible decent place to introduce themselves to him. A phenomenon, no doubt, that his grandmother was responsible for. He was quite certainthat the moment he had told his grandmother that he would be going to London to solve Richard’s issue, she had picked up her quill and wrote to all of her friends, daughters, and granddaughters, alerting them of their chance.
After a few more close calls and one brief stop to pick up a fresh tumbler of whiskey, Xander finally made his way to the empty balcony, closed the windowed French doors, and took a deep breath of the warm, fresh air. The scent of lilies, lavender, and other blooming buds filled his lungs, reminding him of home, and he felt a little more like himself.
After one more deep breath, Xander ran a hand through his unruly dark hair, straightened his black jacket over his wide, muscular chest, and turned around to lean his backside casually against the rail. As he took a sip of his whiskey, his stormy eyes looked through the plated glass windows of the balcony’s French doors and took in the view of the party. As his eyes traveled over the scene, they stopped when he saw a glint of brown curls through the sea of pastels. Her–
“Beautiful evening, Your Grace,” a deep voice said suddenly, alerting Xander that he was not alone. He quickly took his eyes off of the beautiful woman through the window and turned his head to see a rather short, rotund man with dark, receding hair staring at him smugly.
“Do I know you?” Xander asked curtly, looking him up and down.
“Of course, I do not mean outside, do I?” The man asked with a smirk, ignoring his question and nodding toward the window panes.
Realizing how he must have looked while gawking at the brunette, Xander chuckled dryly and shook his head.
“I suppose it is,” he agreed nonchalantly. “I was just out here to get some air; I am sure you need the same. I will leave you to it.”
Xander moved toward the one open door but the man moved in front of him, blocking his path. He raised a cool brow at him as they came eye level with one another. Something was not right about this man.
“Actually, Your Grace, I have come to have a word with you,” the man stated, reaching behind himself to close the other French door, blocking them off from the party, “I have a business deal too good to refuse.”
“I only do business with men I trust and seeing as I do not know you, I certainly do not trust you,” Xander replied, his voice growing cold. He knew when he was being threatened, and he did not handle such things lightly. “Therefore, you and I have nothing to discuss. Now move. Or I will move you.”
“Come now, Your Grace!” The man boasted joyfully as he threw his arms up, “There is no need for such a quarrel! You and I are to be more than just friends, we are to be family!”
“What?” Xander spat as the man began to laugh rather madly. Something was wrong here. This was no business deal, and he knew it.
“Allow me to introduce myself, Your Grace,” the man continued, reaching into his inner jacket pocket to produce a small, leather portfolio. “My name is Victor Langley, and I am about to be your father-in-law.”
Chapter 2
“Wake up, lazy bones!” Edna’s voice boomed through the silence of Eleanor’s slumber.
Eleanor let out a groan as the vivid pictures of last night’s ball vanished from her mind’s eye, and became joltingly aware of her older sister’s movements. Curtains were being flung open as Edna continued to insist that she wake, and accepting that she would not be allowed back to sleep, Eleanor begrudgingly opened her eyes. As she did so, Edna crawled onto her bed and gave her rump a sharp slap, making Eleanor yelp and suddenly sit up on her knees.
“Edna! What are you doing here?” Eleanor snapped, pushing her sister’s pestering hands away from her tangled strands of hair. “Aren’t you and your new husband supposed to be making the next line of Papa’s legacy?”
“You are so wicked when you are grumpy!” Edna exclaimed, teasing her as only a big sister could. Her hands flew out againquickly, laying pinches on Eleanor’s sides, and Eleanor hissed out a curse as she all but flung herself out of bed to get away from her sister’s antics. At this, Edna only laughed.
“And you are such a child,” Eleanor shot back, rolling her eyes as she walked to the washstand. She was not sure why her older sister was there but she did not like it.
“Seriously, what are you doing here?” She insisted, washing her face.
“Mama and Papa begged me to come,” Edna replied, inspecting her nails casually as she dropped her act of affectionate big sister. “They wrote that they have arranged big plans for you today and that my attendance wasabsolutelycrucial.”
“What are you talking about?” Eleanor asked, taking a step back from Edna. “Mama and Papa have told me nothing.”