A Duke's Temptation Read Free Page A

mild by temperament and had never sought a single confrontation since Lily had known him. If anything, he allowed others to order him about. It upset Lily when he hesitated to stand his ground.
    “Chloe has been charming to me,” she said.
    “Charm runs in your family,” he added with a reluctant smile. “I’d prefer it, though, if you don’t take any lessons from your cousin. I have a hard enough time refusing you as it is.”
    “That,” Lily said, “is because you are a gentleman. Even if some of your friends in town are not.”
    “They’re not all that bad. Life is different in London.”
    “I’ve noticed.” She brushed a crumb from his sleeve, tsking to herself. “What have you been eating?”
    “One of the maids slipped me a bun. I’m fair starving. Should I ask her to pinch you a bite?”
    “Certainly not.”
    “Well, I think you should eat before you get weak.”
    “I am not sneaking a bun in line. It would look uncouth.”
    “Nothing you do could look uncouth,” he said.
    The line into the brightly candlelit buffet crawled a few steps forward. Lily heard the couple behind them mention The Wickbury Tales , and her heart lost a beat. She knew she ought to mind her own business and pretend she wasn’t listening, but when the lady whispered, “And Philbert said Lord Anonymous might make an appearance to acknowledge the tribute to him tonight,” Lily could not restrain her curiosity.
    She leaned around Jonathan, ignoring the tug he gave at her sleeve that the line was moving again. “Please excuse me for interrupting, but I can’t resist. Is Lord Anonymous really going to be here?”
    The lady sighed. “He might have already come and gone.”
    Come and gone? Lily’s heart sank.
    Could she have missed him that easily?
    Had she brushed against his arm without realizing it?
    “Did anyone say what he looked like?”
    “Nobody—”
    “Perhaps he’s anonymous for a reason,” Jonathan said loudly, nudging Lily back in place. “Perhaps he’s hiding something.”
    “Such as?” she asked.
    He frowned. “I don’t know and I don’t care. But I have a confession to make before I go upstairs to play cards.”
    “I’d know him if I met him,” she said absently. “Which is unlikely, standing in this awful line.”
    “How the devil would you know him if no one else does?” he asked teasingly.
    “I could tell by the way he spoke.” She gestured with her hand. “His words. He’d say something and I’d recognize him right away.”
    “Silly Lily,” he said, making a face. “I’d be jealous if he were anything but a writer.” He bent his head to hers. “Don’t you want to hear my confession?”
    He looked so earnest and endearing with his papier-mâché King Lear crown tucked under his arm that she felt wicked for wanting to laugh. As close as they had become over the years, she doubted whatever he wanted to confess would be as intriguing as meeting a mysterious celebrated author. Besides, she and Jonathan would have the rest of their lives for confessions.
    “Come clean,” she whispered. “What have you done? Knocked over a vase?”
    He hesitated. “I never finished reading King Lear . In fact, I couldn’t make it through the first act. People keep throwing quotes at me about ungrateful children, and I’ve no clue what they mean. I had to take off my crown so that I wouldn’t be recognized.”
    “Oh, Jonathan. What am I to do with you?”
    He gave her a helpless grin. “Answer for me the next time anyone asks about the plot. I keep acting as if I can’t hear properly.”
    She reminded herself of all his good qualities. He didn’t drink. He thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and at times she believed him. He always behaved like a gentleman in her presence, and, obviously, he needed her.
    “You should have told me this before,” she whispered. “It’s too late to worry about it now. And it isn’t as if Shakespeare will appear to ask your