Four Nights With the Duke Read Online Free

shake his head to make sure he had heard correctly. The woman must be touched, though madness ran in his family, not in hers.
    But mad she must be, because she was looking at him expectantly, for all the world as if she thought there was a possibility he took her seriously.
    He cleared his throat. “Well, how kind of you to offer.” Surely this was some sort of ruse? “However, I regret to inform you that I have no intention to marry at this time.”
    Something crossed her face—disappointment? Was that possible?
    “I suppose you think I’m mad. I’m afraid that I am, a bit.”
    “I see.” Vander was, against all expectations, starting to enjoy himself. After all, her family had ruined his. Her father’s seduction of his mother had made the Duchess of Pindar the laughingstock of the ton.
    And now Carrington’s daughter had the temerity to think that he would consider marrying her ? Truly, the family had balls.
    Even the women.
    “So you are looking for a husband,” he said agreeably. “And you thought, hey ho, I’ll have a go at a duke?”
    “That is not kind of you,” she said, her eyes narrowing.
    Her eyes were a remarkable green, with thick eyelashes. Not that their color made her in the least attractive; rather the opposite. He preferred women with melting blue eyes. Eyes like the sky in summer.
    “I must insist that you be seated,” he said. “Wooing is such an arduous business, don’t you think?”
    After a long second she moved to a chair opposite his, and damned if she didn’t try again. “Will you marry me, Your Grace?”
    “Absolutely not.” The words shot out like a bullet. “Given our family history, you are the last woman in the world I’d marry. In fact, I believe that you expressed the same sentiment to me some years ago, and I cannot imagine what has changed your mind.”
    She was unbalanced. There was no other explanation for a woman’s proposing to a duke, let alone imagining that he would accept. She suffered from delusions.
    “I can hardly imagine the scandal that a marriage between us would cause,” he added.
    “I am aware that our union would be a subject of speculation,” she said, for all the world as if they were discussing the weather. “I try not to let gossip bother me. Besides, I have come to view our parents’ relationship as something of a star-crossed tragedy.”
    “It’s a tragedy, all right,” he drawled. “Your bastard of a father seduced my mother, made her into a whore, and ruined my family name.”
    Her grip tightened on the arms of her chair, but she showed no other sign of being intimidated. “Our parents loved each other, Your Grace. Their union was not sanctioned by society, but to the best of my observation, it was positively tedious in its domesticity. If not for the accident that took their lives, I amcertain that they would have spent the next forty years together.”
    Vander suppressed a shudder. He had loathed Carrington as no other man. He’d worn his hatred for so long it had become comfortable, and he had no interest in reappraising the way it fit.
    For years, he had made damned sure that he and Carrington were never found in the same residence, even if he had to bed down in the stables.
    Which meant that he hadn’t seen his mother for months before her death.
    A stab of guilt made his tone harsher than he intended. “Miss Carrington, I cannot imagine why you believe I would consider your request, let alone agree to it. When— if —I decide to marry, I will both choose the woman, and propose to her myself.”
    Damn it—this was absurd. He had no mistress at the moment, but if he had, anyone in England would guess that she wouldn’t be a short, round woman dressed like a missionary.
    “Why in the hell do you come to me, of all people, with this request?” he asked, with genuine curiosity. “There are a million men in England whom you could marry, if you have determined to go against custom and do your own wooing. Though, to be