Daisy and the Duke Read Online Free Page A

she didn’t recognize him? The cognac-colored eyes were the same. The thick, wavy chestnut hair. Was she losing her mind? Perhaps this sophisticated nobleman was
related
to the fellow she’d met outside.
    But no…it wasn’t possible. She had kissed him passionately only moments ago.
    Hadn’t she?
    “You were feeding pigs,” she blurted out. “But you’re a duke.”
    At last the hint of a smile lifted the corners of his beautiful mouth. “In case you haven’t noticed, Ms. Wexler, we are having an extraordinarily lovely dose of early spring. Even dukes have been known to play hooky on such occasions.” With complete calm, he sat down at the desk and rested his hands on the arms of the chair.
    Forcing herself not to gape, Daisy backed up mentally. If this was how he chose to play their official encounter, she would go along with it. “Call me Daisy,” she said firmly. As if he hadn’t already. “I’m here on behalf of Victor and Vincent Wolff.”
    Ian’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not sure I follow.”
    “Surely you’ve heard of Wolff Enterprises.”
    “Indeed. They’re a multinational corporation, well-respected even outside the States. But again, what does that have to do with me?”
    “My employers are in their early seventies and semiretired. One of the younger Wolffs is at the helm of the organization now, and with more spare time on their hands, the two older men have taken up studying the family tree. Recently, they came across a document that suggests a connection with your ancestors. Obviously Victor and Vincent aren’t interested in money. They have plenty of their own. But they are extremely invested in finding out whether or not their family has roots here, in the seat of the Wolffhamptons.”
    She took a deep breath and sat back, realizing that her palms were sweaty and her stomach churned from being so close to him. Ian appeared unruffled. Perhaps he dallied with wandering tourists frequently.
    He picked up an expensive pen and rapped it lightly against the leather blotter. It was the first time she had seen him exhibit even a hint of agitation. “Why you, Daisy? Why did they send you?”
    “Because I’m very good at what I do. I’m a research librarian at the University of Virginia. The Wolffs hired me to come here and examine some of your family records. If you give your permission, that is?”

Chapter Twelve
    Ian frowned inwardly. All he had to do was say a definitive “no” and send her on her way. But he couldn’t. Not yet. He didn’t want to. He could only think about lying beside her on a grassy hill and acting like a man and not a duke. For a few short moments with Daisy, his life had seemed full of possibilities.
    He sighed. “I assure you, Daisy, we take genealogy very seriously here in England. And I can also tell you with absolute certainty that my dear grandmother and I are the only remaining members of the Wolffhampton family. Period.” He hated disappointing her, but her employers had sent her on a fool’s errand.
    She leaned toward him, her heart-shaped face earnest. The passion and conviction in her voice seduced him as surely as her beautiful spirit. “But your family may have been misled,” she said. “A bastard son, Octavius, who shamed your ancestors with his antics,
didn’t
die at sea, as it was claimed. He survived being thrown overboard, showed up in America, took Wolff as his surname, started a family without bothering to get married, and made a fortune in railroads.”
    Holy hell
. “How do you know this?”
    “Victor and Vincent found a journal.”
    “And you have this for me to examine?”
    “Well, no. It’s far too valuable to travel with…but I photocopied some pertinent passages. All I need to do is see your family Bible and any other records you may have from that time so I can cross-reference the information in the journal. You can call the Wolffs if you want to verify my identity.”
    He shook his head in bemusement. “I doubt you’re