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Index
Cover
Contents
The Viscount's Sweet Temptation
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine Harriet heard the shouting long before she neared the library. Good heavens, what could be amiss? Her father and grandfather never raised their voices at each other. Well, Papa never raised his. It most certainly had to do with the man intended to be her betrothed. This did not bode well. Even the footman kept a hurried pace as if he wished to be away from the location. With the servant standing at the door, she couldn’t delay her entry. Her stomach dropped at the thought of finally meeting the man her grandpapa had chosen. Pinching her cheeks and pasting on a smile, she approached the door as the footman opened it. And stopped so quickly she was nearly struck when he yanked it closed. Lord Morley stood beside her father opposite the imposingly immense desk where the duke sat. Why had Archie come to Danby Castle? Her jaw dropped, but she caught herself just before Grandpapa glanced her way with an odd gleam in his eye. She smiled and dipped her head in acknowledgement. Her father and Archie had their backs to her, their faces in profile while they threw their verbal punches. Her father’s rant continued unbroken. “If you had any intention of seeing my daughter safe, you would have returned her to the inn posthaste. You cannot convince me you had any other than dishonorable intentions by doing otherwise.” Archie stood several inches taller than her father and used it most advantageously. He glowered down at Papa. “I had advised my driver to turn around as soon as the conditions allowed. You were on that road. You know how poor the surface was. If Smithers were to try to turn the carriage, we might have landed in a ditch rather than simply losing that wheel. I had nothing but your daughter’s well-being in mind when I instructed my man to wait until it was safe.” Grandpapa appeared to be enjoying the argument, his elbows resting on the arms of his sturdy chair, fingers steepled before his face. He nodded on occasion, pursing his lips at other moments as if considering the merit of the statement. A judge presiding over his court. Or a king. Harriet merely shook her head and waited at her safe distance. She couldn’t recall anyone raising Papa’s ire to such extent. It was really quite amusing to behold, if she weren’t aware that Archie’s reputation, his very name, must be under severe scrutiny. Should she confess his innocence? It was the right thing to do. “Papa, if I might have a word–” He spun on her, one fair brow up, the other sharply slashing downward. “When I need your prattles, I will ask for them.” He opened his mouth to further harangue poor Morley when Grandpapa cleared his throat. “I believe I should enjoy hearing what young Lady Harriet wishes to say on the matter.” He nodded ever so regally at her, which sent shivers coursing over her skin. She’d never had to confess anything to him. Never done anything to displease him. How would he take her news? She stepped closer to the desk, but not too close. “Papa. Grandpapa. It would seem Lord Morley is being blamed for a situation not of his doing.” Papa growled. “Yet in my carriage, you agreed he was escorting you to visit his dying sister.” The duke tilted his head, looking first at her father, then back to her. She drew a deep breath. “He was protecting me. I had seen his carriage from my window and slipped inside while he dined at the inn.” Grandpapa’s voice interrupted whatever her father was about to respond, but the older man’s words seemed to contain more restrained laughter than anger. “And why would you run away with this young man with no word to your parents?” “I didn’t realize Lord Morley was traveling alone. I never considered the possibility. When I saw the Wrenthorpe crest, I assumed my friend Lady Eleanor, his sister, and her family were at the inn.” “I ask again,” the duke said more firmly. “Why did you not tell your parents what you were about?” She bit her lip. If Archie could lie for her, she could bear admitting the truth for him. “I wished to avoid coming here, Grandpapa.” His eyebrows rose and he rocked back in his chair. “You wished to avoid seeing me?” “Yes, Grandpapa. Well, no, sir, not really. I wished to avoid meeting the man you had chosen for me to marry.” At that, he burst out laughing. Harriet hoped the discussion was over, the tension washed away. But it wasn’t to be. Her father wiped a hand over his face. Archie met her gaze with a smile that warmed her clear to her toes. She longed to ask him why he had come, but would wait until Grandpapa dismissed them. When the duke finally caught his breath, he resumed the severe countenance, which he directed her way. “You presume to know my plans for you, do you? And believe me incapable of choosing a suitable husband for you?” “Well, sir, how can you know what I wish for in a husband?” “How ridiculous a question. I was married all those years ago. I know what is required of a husband. You have nothing but silly books and even sillier dreams on which to form an opinion. Nonsense! You are just like your mother was, a foolish dreamer.” “But Grandpapa—” “Don’t interrupt your grandfather, child,” her father snapped. “I taught you better.” She mouthed an apology to Papa and tried to focus on what Grandpapa was saying. But it was quite difficult with Archie standing so near. Like a bee toward the first bloom in spring, she was drawn to him. What were his thoughts in all of this? Dipping her head slightly, she peered from the corner of her eye to find him watching her. His hair was slightly disheveled, his cravat askew as if tied without a mirror. With his heavy coat off, his wool coat and rather plain black waistcoat bore the wrinkles of travel. He had not groomed himself for a meeting with her grandfather. What could have been so urgent? Realizing Grandpapa had asked her a question, she asked him to repeat himself. The duke pierced her with his pointed gaze. “I asked, do you wish to be married here in the castle or at the church in town?” She grew faint at his pronouncement. “I don’t wish to be married, Grandpapa! Not to the man you chose, or to Lord Morley. You mustn’t punish him for my imprudent actions. He doesn’t deserve to have me forced on him. None of this was his doing—” Archie placed a hand on her sleeve. “I will not have you coming to my rescue as if I were a lad in leading strings. I can and will speak for myself.” Chapter Ten For a moment, Archie questioned the wisdom of his coming to Danby Castle, but it passed in the blink of an eye. Lady Harriet was proving quite troublesome, taking a man’s place in this discussion. It would not do. When they were married, he would be sure she understood he fought his own battles. He tugged at his cravat, which was suddenly very constricting, and faced the duke. “I accept my role in this charade, Your Grace. While not the one to conceive of the scheme, I was complicit in carrying it out. However, I had your granddaughter’s reputation in mind, not my own.” “I see. You sought to be her Sir Gawain, protecting her from herself.” “Yes, sir. Your Grace. I mean, no sir. I’m not sure I understand your meaning. I knew her to be a close friend of my sister’s and only thought to do for her as I should hope another might for my own sisters.” The duke nodded, his jaw moving about as he considered the statement. “And you feel duty-bound now to marry my granddaughter, to further protect her reputation?” “Yes, Your Grace.” He grimaced and shook his head. “Forgive me. This is all very sudden. I have not prepared the sort of speech one might give a prospective father-in-law—or grandfather-in-law—when asking for his daughter’s hand in marriage. I will not claim an undying and romantic sort of emotion some might declare in times such as this, as I do not believe such a love is believable on such short acquaintance.” The old man’s face remained unchanged. Morley refused to look at Harriet to see how she reacted to his odd declaration of not loving her. As such, he didn’t see her take a breath to speak. “But, Archie,” she cried in a hushed voice. “You don’t need to do this. They don’t even know about the kiss.” Morley would swear the duke smiled before bellowing in perfect harmony with Lord Alderford. “A kiss?” Rounding on Harriet, Morley grabbed her upper arms. “They do now. But it doesn’t matter. I wish to have you as my wife, Harriet. In spite of the voice of reason that told me to hie straight to Bath, I found I couldn’t do so. No matter how we try to bury the trip in my carriage, someone might learn of it. Your reputation could be in tatters, your husband wanting nothing to do with you. And I couldn’t bear the thought. You don’t deserve to be ruined over so small a slip in behavior.” “Is it truly so? You wish to marry me? In spite of—” “In spite of your foolish schemes. In spite of your penchant to act without thought. In spite of how you emasculate me before your father and grandfather. I will not flatter you with pretty declarations on love, but if Eleanor finds your company so pleasant, I am certain we shall suit each other.” She gnawed her lower lip, drawing his gaze there and making him long for a taste. He forced himself to look into her misty eyes. “You must marry someone Harriet. Say it will be me. Will you marry me?” “I will. Yes. I will!” She threw her arms around his neck, and he finally took the kiss he craved. He held his lips to hers, breathing in her sweet pea essence. In the back of his mind, he registered silence in the room and realized the question hadn’t been settled. He pressed Harriet to step back, and he faced the two men. “Your Grace, I am aware I am making a mull of all this, but perhaps now you might bestow your blessing on us.” The silence echoed off the bookshelves as the old man studied him. The duke’s glance towards Lord Alderford surely didn’t seek advice. Danby drew the moment out until Morley thought he would burst. At last the man rose and extended his arm with a broad smile. “Welcome to the family, young man.” The moment Morley released the duke’s hand, Harriet filled his arms again. He fought to push her a respectable distance away. How had he thought he could control her once they married? Harriet’s laughter filled his heart. “I must write Ellie this very day! She will not believe the news I send her. And to think I dreaded this visit.” Whatever else she said was lost to Morley when her father chuckled. Lord Alderford spoke softly, as if wishing only his father-in-law could hear him, but Morley was able to make it out. “Do you know, Danby, I believe this is the first time we’re in agreement on anything.” The duke echoed the laughter. “Quite so. I must say my plan worked quite well in this case.” “You cannot claim credit for this match. I defy you to show me how you could have orchestrated my daughter’s near elopement.” “Near elopement? She claimed it was just a kiss. You don’t mean you believe there was more to this affair than Morley let on? Do you think their meeting at the inn was arranged?” “I’m not quite sure what I believe. If this were Miriam or Lee, I would expect such shenanigans. But Harriet…She has always been such a biddable child. I see now it has all been a ruse. She is just as scheming as my other children.” Being no fool, Morley knew it was time to make their escape. Placing Lady Harriet’s hand on his arm, he steered her towards the door in hopes of quitting the room before the men discovered their absence. Once they were safely in the hallway, he took her hands and drew her close again. His hands shook with relief or excitement, he wasn’t certain which. He had his own letters to write, first to his father, to advise him of the arrangements that needed to be made. But his head only had room for Harriet at the moment. “This is a most unusual Christmas Eve.” She gasped. “I’d forgotten. And I don’t have a gift for you. I wonder if I might join some of my cousins in a brief trip to the village.” “There is one gift you can never give me too often.” With his palms on her cheeks, he lifted her face and gazed into her eyes. “Sweet Harriet, I find myself believing I am the luckiest of men. I should be angry, I should be terrified of the thought of settling down, but instead I am excited to get to know you.” Morley bent and captured her mouth. Her lips parted beneath his and she pressed herself against him, her hands tangling in his hair. She felt so right in his arms. His heart pounded as his body urged him on. He kept his own hands firmly behind her shoulders to keep from mauling her in the hallway where anyone could see. Morley knew he would be sorely tested to not make love to her before they spoke their vows. How long did it take to acquire a special license? Better still, they were much closer to Gretna Green than London. They could slip away just as soon as his horses were rested. A hand suddenly clamped down on his shoulder and tore him from Harriet’s arms. Chapter Eleven “Morley, how dare you!” Nick swung his fist at Archie, landing a hard blow to his face. Harriet shrieked, practically feeling the pain herself. She reached out for Archie. He staggered and cupped his jaw. “Blast it, Nick, that hurt!” “It was intended to hurt. What the blazes were you thinking, man? She’s my cousin, not one of your merry widows.” Nick blew on the knuckles of his right hand while continuing to glare at her betrothed. Rushing to Archie’s side, Harriet clutched his sleeve. Her chest hurt with the pain of holding her breath. “Are you all right?” He nodded, never taking his eyes off her cousin. “Why did you hit me? Because I was kissing Lady Harriet? It’s all right–” “No. It’s not all right. What were you thinking, traveling alone with her? And where were you taking her? You’ve never mentioned an affection for her in the past.” Archie smiled wryly, glancing at her before looking back at Nick. “It’s actually a complicated story. I’m rather surprised you’ve heard any of it. I believed Lady Harriet was going to keep still about it.” “I didn’t say anything,” she interjected. “She didn’t need to,” Nick explained. “I heard the shouting from upstairs and came down to find out who had crossed the old man. I imagined it to be one of my cousins, so I was quite surprised to hear your voice in the mix. I caught enough of the tale to know you attempted to run away with her.” “Yes, well, I’m rather surprised at the turn of events, myself. I had intended to spend the holiday with my aunt in Bath.” Some of her cousins peered at them from the dining room doorway down the hall, so Harriet made a suggestion. “Shall we step into the parlor to finish this discussion? There is no need to continue to entertain the rest of the family with the sordid details.” “Sordid are they?” Nick’s fist clenched and unclenched and his lips thinned. Archie slapped his friend genially on the back and guided him toward the parlor. “I fear they’ll be exceedingly dull in comparison to our past adventures.” Harriet followed them into the lavishly decorated room and sat in a chair between them near the roaring fire. She hadn’t realized how close an acquaintance Archie had with Nick. They were of an age and similar circumstance, so it was likely they had become good friends in school. Once they were settled, Archie began to explain the events of the previous day and a half. His skimmed over the wavering he’d done as to how he should rectify the situation, and summed up the most recent hours. “After some consideration I came here to speak to Alderford. It took some convincing, but I was finally able to make Lord Alderford see that marriage is the best solution to protecting Lady Harriet’s reputation.” His eyes narrowed on Archie, Nick asked, “And what of Lady Susan?” “Lady Susan?” Gasping, Harriet brought a hand to her lips. Archie shook his head, giving Nick a furious glance before turning to Harriet. “Lady Susan is of no concern to you. To any of us. She is a scheming, conniving wench who tried to entrap me when I visited her father’s estate.” His cheeks darkened. “Forgive me, Harriet, I shouldn’t speak of this in front of you, but you deserve to know the truth. Lady Susan slept in my bed on my last night there.” The drawing room took a spin and Harriet flung her arms out to support herself, knocking a porcelain figurine off the side table. By some miracle it bounced on the thick carpet and landed without breaking. She drew in a deep, slow breath and forced herself to remain calm. Gentlemen were allowed to have their tête-à-têtes, especially before they married or became betrothed. They shouldn’t dally with a single young lady of Quality, however. Harriet suddenly grew warm as a wave of nausea hit her. This could ruin her chance of marrying Archie. “Her father is a marquess. Won’t he insist you marry her?” “He’s trying to, and might have a leg to stand on if I had shared my bed with her. I was up all night playing cards with her brothers. I am honestly rather surprised this hasn’t already been resolved. Her brothers can vouch for my whereabouts. Dawn had already broken when I went to my bedchamber and discovered her there. I was still fully dressed when her maid walked in pretending to be shocked to find us together. With her reputation, I am astounded Boxworth hasn’t married her off to some ancient baron who’d put up with her assignations.” He closed the distance between himself and Harriet and lifted her hand. “I assure you, Lady Susan will not stop us from marrying.” Harriet noticed Nick continued to flex his hand, so she offered some assistance to change the subject to something she could bear more easily. “Shall I ring for some ice, Nicky? You appear to have hurt your hand.” Archie chuckled. “Don’t tell me my jaw has broken your knuckles.” Ducking his head and looking towards the fire, Nick admitted, “This wasn’t the first punch I threw this morning.” “What?” Archie’s surprise echoed Harriet’s. “I don’t understand what is taking place among my cousins,” Nick said, glaring at Archie. “And my friends. Sharing bedrooms and carriages with ladies of Quality with no concern for the repercussions. The damage they caused to the young ladies’ reputations. I found Trent in Lady Elizabeth’s chamber this morning.” Harriet gasped, then fought to hide her giggle. All worries over Lady Susan fled. Elizabeth’s behavior was much more shocking than Harriet’s. Perhaps she and Archie would not be the main on dit at the ball that evening, after all. She must try to speak to Elizabeth as soon as possible. She had so many questions about relations between a man and a woman. “Trent Bennett?” Archie shook his head. “So he will be leg-shackled also.” “To hear some of my other cousins tell it, the duke has arranged for special licenses for at least half the family,” Nick added. “And I believe the vicar will be attending the ball tonight.” Archie winked at Harriet. “I doubt there is one with my name on it, although there might be one with Lady Harriet’s.” She laughed, her eyes widening. She turned to her cousin. “Do you know if grandfather had chosen a husband for me and the others? It must have come as quite a shock when Archie marched into the library. The poor man Grandpapa chose will be sent away without his bride.” “Archie is it, now?” Nick glanced from Harriet to his friend. “Lord Morley, I mean. Forgive me, but he has been Archie to me for so many years, even though we just met. Lady Eleanor and her sisters call him thus. I must remember to address him properly, mustn’t I?” “Is there a license with your name on it, Nick?” Archie’s grin hinted that he hoped his friend shared his fate. “Some fine young lady waiting in the wings?” “I should say not.” Nick laughed, then glanced towards the closed doors and tugged at his cravat. “There had better not be. You don’t suppose Grandfather bribed some poor girl to come all this way with promises of a title? A baron has little consequence, but to some mothers in the marriage mart, any title is a good one.” Archie nodded. “Perhaps you should ask the servants. They know everything.” Nick rose and bowed briefly before Harriet. “You both will excuse me? I do believe I feel a chill coming on. A fever. Some sort of complaint. I’m sure you both will make excuses for me if I am too ill to attend the function tonight?” Harriet smiled, knowing if her grandfather had decided it was time for Nick to wed, the young man would be helpless to prevent it.
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
Chasing Lord Mystery
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Epilogue
About Aileen Fish
More Danby Pact Books
Other Books by Aileen Fish
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