The Duke's Men [1] What the Duke Desires Read Online Free

at the stars with Dom and Tristan.
    Tears burned her eyes again. How would she bear it? And what was to become of them
     without Papa?
    It didn’t take long for George’s men to figure out that Tristan wasn’t inside. As
     soon as they’d left to check the surrounding property, Maman approached Dom with a
     look of worry. “My boy, you mustn’t do this. George will leave you penniless for certain.
     Your father wouldn’t want that.”
    “You’d rather I give Tristan over to him?”
    “Of course not, but perhaps if you reason with George—”
    “You saw how well that worked.”
    Maman frowned. “What if Tristan gave him the money he got for the horse? Surely George
     couldn’t . . . wouldn’t have his own brother hanged. Would he?”
    “He could and would, I’m afraid. If he’s willing to trample over the wishes of our
     dead father, he’ll do anything.” Dom gazed out the window to where George was spurring
     his men on in the search. “Besides, I suspect that even if I were cruel enough to
     hand Tristan over, it would gain me little except a lifetime of slavery to George.
     He’d use the bludgeon of his fortune time and again to require my compliance with
     whatever scheme he concocts, and I refuse to live like that.”
    “But how will you live?” Lisette asked. Dom was her brother, too. She didn’t want him to suffer.
    Dom chucked her under the chin. “I’m a grown man, dear girl. I can take care of myself.
     My legal education may not have progressed far enough to gain me a position as a clerk
     or solicitor, but I have a friend in the Bow Street Runners who might hire me on the
     strength of it.” He broadened his gaze to include Maman. “I’m more concerned with
     how you three will live.”
    Maman squared her shoulders. “We shall slip away with Tristan to my family in Toulon.”
    Dom frowned. “That means leaving everything behind.”
    “Not everything,” Maman corrected him. “I have mychildren. Besides, my possessions were bought for me by your papa, so George will
     claim that they belong to the estate anyway.” She tipped up her chin. “I won’t have
     any accusation of thievery laid upon my head. Or Lisette’s. We will take our clothes, that is all.”
    “But how will you live in France?” Dom asked.
    “I can find a position as an actress again.” She tilted her head coyly. “I am still
     young and pretty enough for that, no?”
    Dom smiled at her show of vanity. “Yes. And you have whatever money Tristan got for
     the horse.”
    “He shouldn’t keep it,” Maman whispered.
    “Ah, but he should. Father wanted him to have it.” Dom turned pensive. “At least we
     know that Father meant to do right by us all, even if George thwarted him in the end.”
    The shadow of grief that darkened his face made Lisette feel sorry for him. “Papa
     should have put you in his will. It was very wrong of him not to.”
    “You know how he was, always off somewhere exploring a new city or island or lake.”
     An edge entered Dom’s voice. “He had no time for things like family responsibilities.”
    “Do not blame him too much,” Maman said. “He might not have been good at such things,
     but he did love you.” Her gaze stretched to include Lisette. “He loved you both very
     much.”
    That started Maman crying again, and she left to find a handkerchief. After she was
     gone, Lisette whispered, “Yes, he loved us. Just not enough.”
    That was the trouble with relying on a man to save you. Men were unreliable. Papa . . .
     George . . . Even Tristan had made matters worse with his anger. Of the important
     men in her life, only one had always done the right thing—and much as Dom wanted to
     help, even he could do little more than pack them off to France.
    Maman had been wrong to place her faith in Papa. All it had gained her was grief for
     her and her children.
    Lisette dashed away fresh tears. Well, she would never be so foolish. First chance
     she got, she would