The Heart of a Duke Read Online Free Page B

to rebuild Lakeview Manor?”
    “I am.” He nodded. “A decade ago, I did not have the resolve or the capital to succeed. To rebuild as I wanted or needed to. But today I can, thanks to Curtis Shipping.”
    Robbie set the letter down and quietly assessed him. “You do remember why you left?”
    He paused, the silence echoing between them as the years fell away. Orange flames and a thick, suffocating wall of gray smoke flashed before him. Escaping the fire, Daniel had sought refuge at the Tanners’, where he had been given the care he never would have received at Bedford Hall. After the reading of his father’s will a fortnight before, Edmund had kicked Daniel out of the house and was busy drowning himself in drink. Sober, Edmund would have lamented Daniel’s survival rather than his burned flesh.
    As Daniel healed, stories had circulated that the curtains had caught fire, and thanks had been given that the house had stood empty. Daniel hadn’t bothered to correct the misinformation. Having lost all he had ever cared about, he hadn’t given a damn, and had eventually sailed to America with Brett, never looking back. Until now.
    He shook off the old nightmare and lifted his chin. “I do.”
    “For God’s sake, Daniel.” Robbie leaned forward, his tone heated, his eyes hard. “Someone tried to kill you. They burned your house to the ground with you in it. You barely made it out alive.”
    “I am well aware of that.” He kept his voice level, despite his strained patience. “I am the one carrying the scars, so you can be sure I will not ever forget.”
    “What makes you think that whoever wanted you dead isn’t around to finish the job today?”
    “It’s another reason I have returned. It is time to catch the bastard. To get justice.”
    “And how do you propose to do that ten years later?” Robbie scoffed. “You didn’t know who set the fire back then, have you learned something new?”
    “No, but I intend to.” He frowned, irked at his mulish tone.
    Grabbing the bottle of whiskey, Robbie refilled his glass and topped off Daniel’s. “To a man with a death wish. Can your partner manage the firm without you?”
    “He can, but I am not planning on his needing to. My thanks for your support.” He lifted his drink and took a sip, seeking to wash away his friend’s cynicism.
    The distant whine of a horse and clatter of dishes drifted to them. Robbie blew out a breath. “All right. I will bite. How the hell are we going to catch the bastard?”
    “I heard them that night,” he confided. He perched on Robbie’s desk, his words passionate. “It’s what saved my life, because it woke me up. Their voices carried across the lake. If I heard them, someone else may have as well. Someone might have seen something.”
    “Are you planning to ask around? Post a notice asking anyone with information to come forward?”
    He bristled at the skepticism lacing Robbie’s words. “There will be no posting of any notices. This has to be done quietly. I intend to speak to a select few who might know something. I will inform them that information is sought about the fire and ask them to spread the word that there is money to be had for any intelligence provided. Nothing might come of it, but I need to do this, Robbie. I don’t want vengeance, but I deserve justice. Help me to get it.” His finger tapped the discarded letter as he pressed his point home. “It
is
time. Past time.”
    Robbie scowled, and then swiped his hands down his face and muttered a few ripe curses beneath his breath. “Fine, fine. But God knows if you want it done quietly, we can’t have the long lost lord waltzing home and asking suspicious questions. No lid will keep that cover on for long. It will simmer and boil over right quick.
I
will
do the asking. Hell, after ten years away, you wouldn’t know whom to ask anyway.”
    The lost lord?
And he never waltzed. “Thank you, Robbie. I knew I could count on you.”
    Robbie’s sharp brown