The Scandalous Love of a Duke Read Online Free

business—”
    “I am sure I shall manage, Grandfather.”
    “I… know… you… shall.”
    John smiled again. That was possibly the only compliment he’d ever heard from this man.
    “I’ll leave you to it,” Richard said. The Duke’s gaze reached across John’s shoulder, then John heard the door open and shut.
    As soon as it did, the Duke’s hand moved and touched John’s forearm which rested on the bed. “But… you… must… promise-me…
one
…
thing
. You… will… not… wed… beneath… you. You… must… choose… a… wife… to… preserve… the… bloodline.”
    John felt his face twist in disgust. Even now, even on his deathbed, the old man sought to cast orders and manipulate John’s life. Still, when the time came to set up a nursery, John would have plenty of choice from those in his own class. With a self-deprecating smile, he nodded. What did he care, it would not matter who he picked.
    “
You swear
,” his grandfather pressed on a single breath.
    “I swear,” John answered, his smile falling. He knew the old man’s game but chose to play.
    “Now… talk …  to… me… of… what… you… have… done. I… will… listen.”
    John smiled again and leant back in the chair, folding his arms over his chest and stretching out his legs.
    He spoke of Europe, of what he’d made of it, the things he’d seen and done, and he made his stories humorous and even made the old man express a muted laugh. It ended in another visibly painful coughing fit, at which point the old man’s valet stepped forward to plump the pillows and make the Duke more comfortable. John would have left, but his grandfather once more bid him stay.
    John changed his subject to his true passion, to Egypt, and began talking about the place and people, about the amazing artefacts and architecture of that ancient world. He talked of the finds he was shipping home.
    While John spoke, the old man smiled and shut his eyes, his chest rising and falling with each rasping breath.
    It was strange watching him thus – this ogre who’d dominated John’s life – as a man and not a child. His grandfather was just a man too, with human frailty.
    John felt a heavy sense of regret as he continued recounting a pointless search he’d set out upon once.
    A sound of humour escaped the Duke’s lips.
    If John had returned in better circumstances, he wondered if they’d had more time, man-to-man, whether the past could be put straight between them.
    His grandsire’s physician stepped forwards a while later, advising His Grace to rest.
    John rose and laid a hand on his grandfather’s shoulder. The old man opened his eyes.
    “I… do-not… want… your… pity… Sayle”
    John laughed. “You’ll not have it, Grandfather. But you will have my admiration.” He bowed, slightly. “Your Grace, I’ll leave you to recoup.” He had never spoken so openly to the old man as a youth.
    John’s hands slid into his pockets as he walked back along the hall, his head was full of drifting thoughts. He wondered now if the perceptions he’d held as a child would have changed with an adult’s view. Possibly? Probably. But it was too late to know now.
    “John!”
    Looking forward, he saw a slender, strikingly beautiful young woman. She had ebony hair and pale blue eyes, like his own. A beam of joy lit her face, and then she caught up her skirt and ran at him.
    Good God,
was this Mary-Rose, his sister, all grown up?
    She hugged him fiercely, her arms about his neck, and he held her loosely. “John! Oh John! I am so glad you’re back.” His baby sister was not even a child anymore. She’d been about ten years old and not much taller than his midriff when he’d left. Now she was as tall as his shoulder.
    He lifted her off her feet and twirled her once, smiling, before pressing a kiss against her temple. “Mary-Rose, my
not-so-little-anymore
sister.”
    Her fingers gripped his coat sleeves and she leant back, grinning as she looked him