Dusk With a Dangerous Duke Read Online Free Page A

side. When he placed his hands on her, the touch was tender. “Forgive me, my child. It is a harsh truth to burden an innocent heart.”
    Still in denial, Grace shook her head. “I will write Mr. Porter. No … I will write the duke directly. I will demand an audience immediately.”
    “How many times have you written Huntsley over the years?” he gently countered. “How many times were you denied the courtesy of a reply?”
    Too many.
    Grace felt the brush of her uncle’s fingers as he pressed a handkerchief into her hand. She silently cursed, realizing she had tears on her cheeks. “I am not crying,” she muttered as she wiped away the wetness.
    “Of course not, child.”
    She discreetly studied her uncle as she tended to her face. Although his voice and touch had been gentle, it was the fierce triumph in his eyes that troubled her. Her grandfather’s warning that her uncle could not be trusted soothed her bruised heart.
    “You are too kind, Uncle,” she said, returning his handkerchief to him. “It dismays me to disagree with you, but I believe you are wrong about the Duke of Huntsley. He will come for me.”
    “And if you are wrong?”
    “Then I will not marry him,” she said simply. “I will be of age, and have control over my inheritance. London’s polite society will eagerly embrace a titled heiress.”
    “Not precisely, dear niece.” The Duke of Strangham’s gaunt visage hardened, emphasizing the lines time had furrowed into his flesh. “If Huntsley fails to marry you by your twenty-first birthday, then your lands and investments are placed in my hands as your only living male relative.”
    She could not believe it. Why had no one told her?
    Grace offered him a practiced smile. “I am no longer a child, Uncle. I can manage my own lands.”
    Her steward and Mr. Porter had been offering their guidance for years. There was no reason why they could not continue to do so.
    “That is not how the courts will see it,” he said pointedly. “If Huntsley cries off, you will no longer have the protection of the Towers name and influence. I am confident that the courts will see things my way. Besides, my brother would wish me to look after his daughter.”
    Grace felt cornered, but she managed not to react to her uncle’s baiting. “I appreciate your generous offer. However, in the coming weeks you will see that your concern is unwarranted. The Duke of Huntsley will marry me.”
    Her uncle chuckled softly and shook his head. “Foolish child. Very well, we will see this through to its humiliating end. I will visit you again.”
    Grace turned away, avoiding the chaste kiss her uncle attempted to place on her cheek. “Good afternoon, Uncle. Shall I send you an invitation to the wedding?”
    He gave her a pitying glance. “Huntsley is likely rutting between the fleshy thighs of his latest conquest, and you stand before me feathering your dreams with the misguided hope that the man possesses honor where you are concerned. I pray that you will be more sensible the next time we speak.”
    Grace sank into the nearest chair the moment the door closed. Before she could bring her hands to her face, the door opened again.
    Rosemary rushed into the room. “Well, blessed be that His Grace has finally departed. This visit was longer than the other ones. I cannot fathom how you—” Finally noting Grace’s blank expression, she put aside her diatribe on the Duke of Strangham. “You poor girl … what did your uncle say to you?”
    One fact had become abundantly clear. The Duke of Huntsley could no longer protect her as her grandfather had intended. “Rosemary, tell the staff that preparations need to be made for a journey.”
    The older woman stared down at her. “Where?”
    “London.”
    This time of year, it was perhaps unwise to visit the town while His Grace was in residence. Then again, it was the last place he would expect to find her.
    The housekeeper’s jaw slackened and then snapped shut. “I