The Heart of a Duke Read Online Free Page A

haphazardly onto shelves lining one wall. Two desks filled the space and Robbie cleared one of a stack of leather-bound ledgers. “Bit of clutter here, wasn’t expecting company. Just dig out a seat.”
    Daniel removed a pair of stirrups from a chair and brushed it clean before lifting his jacket and daring to sit.
    Circling his desk, Robbie leaned over and fiddled with the lock on a drawer. Rummaging inside, he withdrew a bottle of whiskey and two tumblers.
    He quirked a brow as Robbie generously filled the glasses.
    He handed Daniel his, raising his own in a toast. “To the return of a long lost friend. May he be forever found.”
    Daniel paused in lifting his drink, staring at Robbie, who drained his glass in one fluid swallow.
    Wiping his mouth with his hand, Robbie grunted. “Can’t understand why neither of my brothers allowed me to toast them at their wedding.”
    “I haven’t the foggiest idea.” He commented dryly, struggling to keep his expression blank as he savored his whiskey at a slower pace.
    “Now then,” Robbie said, dropping into his desk chair, leaning back, and studying him. “While I am delighted to be toasting your return, I have to ask, were you so busy running your company that you couldn’t let me know you were returning for a visit? You might think mills, timber, and transatlantic shipping routes make for edifying reading, but if you were planning a trip home, you might have saved my eyes from glazing over. You could have caught me up in person.”
    His lips twitched at Robbie’s cavalier dismissal of his now-prosperous company, Curtis Shipping. He had launched the enterprise with an American friend, Brett Curtis, well over eight years ago. However, news of the company filled the London financial pages as the firm recently expanded its ports from London into Bristol and Liverpool. Brett had accompanied Daniel on this voyage to visit their London office and oversee the expansion. “My apologies that the last ten years of my life made for such dull reading. Next time I’ll add salacious details.”
    “Now those letters I would have finished!” Robbie grinned, unrepentant.
    He laughed. “Truth be told, I was a bit buried in work, so your reading material would have been slim to none.”
    “My favorite kind. Listen to you. You sound like a tradesman or an American. Don’t know what your aristocratic peers will make of you now.”
    Daniel stiffened. “I don’t give a damn for their opinions.”
    “Now you’re sounding like yourself.” Robbie beamed, delighted. “So what brings you home? When you left England, you vowed never to return.”
    He slipped his hand into his jacket pocket, withdrew the enigmatic missive from the solicitor, and tossed it onto Robbie’s desk. “This planted the seed.”
    Robbie eyed the note curiously before reading.
    Daniel sprang to his feet, too restless to sit. He sipped his whiskey and paced the confines of the office, careful to avoid the debris littering the floor.
    “Why wasn’t this addressed to Bedford? Shouldn’t your father’s solicitor be contacting him?” Robbie furrowed his brow.
    “He probably wrote to both of us.” He shrugged.
    “What destiny are you to claim?” Robbie held up the letter to the ribbon of light streaming through the window. He scrunched up his features and examined the paper as if the light would magically illuminate the answers he sought.
    “That’s not relevant. It is the first line that brought me back.”
    Robbie looked at the note, then at him, frowning. “It is time?”
    “Exactly.” He stopped before Robbie’s desk and brandished his glass at him, excitement lacing his words. “It
is
time. Ten years ago, I left with nothing but the clothes on my back and a paltry savings. I lost everything when Lakeview Manor burned to the ground. Well, it
is
time. Time to get it all back. Time I rebuild what’s mine. What I lost.” His voice lowered. “What we both know was stolen from me.”
    “You are going