Desperate and Daring 01 - Desperate and Daring Read Free Page A

you need anything from our room?” Heather gave her sister a speaking look. Violet shook her head in the negative.
    Heather excused herself from the group and serenely exited the drawing room. Once outside the door, she hurried to the stairs and then paused with her foot on the first step. Decision made, she pivoted and went down a side hall leading to the back of the house. She darted past a billiard room already full of gentlemen and hurried out the back door that led to a side courtyard.
    She exhaled in great relief when the cool air bathed her cheeks. The door clicked shut behind her, but Heather paid it no mind as she took deep calming breaths to bring her nerves under control. She stepped out into the weak sunshine, looking up into the sky that was a glaring white blanket of clouds rather than open blue. She wondered if it would rain. It would be fitting for the tragedy her life was turning into. The door pushed into her back and she was shoved forward. “Oh!” She landed on her hands and knees, her fingernails digging into the gravel and dirt.
    “A thousand apologies, Miss Everly.”
    Black boots filled her vision again. She winced as she pushed back onto her haunches. She was suddenly plucked up from the ground and only as her head tilted up to see the face of her aide did she remember to put her feet on the ground. Her mind blanked, but her skin burned from head to toe with indignation.
    “Mr. Calder,” he said. His hands still holding onto her arms.
    “Yes,” she said. She shook her head and put her hands on his chest to push out of his grasp.
    “I am Mr. Calder,” he said again with a frown.
    “I am aware,” Heather snapped at him. “I was not knocked senseless, merely knocked over.”
    “Are you hurt? As I said before, a thousand apologies, Miss Everly. I did not know you were standing so close to the door.”
    “I’m fine, thank you.” Heather looked down at her hands. They were resting on his chest and she could feel the warmth of his body. She snatched them away and he released her. She brushed at her hands to avoid looking at him. He offered her a handkerchief. “Thank you.”
    “I was hoping to speak privately with you, but not in such a blundering fashion.”
    Heather’s hands stilled as she slowly looked up. “In what regard did you need to speak with me?”
    “Well, to be frank, it regards your letter. It was passed on to me by the duke’s solicitor.” He met her stare calmly.
    Heather looked for any trace of ridicule but found none. If anything, his expression was guarded. “Oh…that.” She looked down at her hands again. Dirt was caked under her nails.
    “Do you still wish to meet the duke?”
    “What? I mean. Of course.”
    “The duke does not take this meeting lightly. He would very much like to meet you.”
    “Oh?” Heather felt a flutter of hope in her chest. Perhaps not all was lost.
    “Might I be honest with you, Miss Everly?”
    The hope hopped and skittered inside her chest uncomfortably. “Please do, Mr. Calder.
    “I’ve never been dispatched on such an odd task before, and I do find it odd, Miss Everly, that a young woman like yourself would wish to marry someone so much older than herself. Especially one so comely.”
    Heather moved her head back in surprise. “Why, thank you, Mr. Calder. I was quite clear in my letter why I wish to meet the duke. It is a matter of great importance and of little time.”
    “But certainly you could marry any man you chose. Why the duke?”
    Heather frowned. How could he be so obtuse? She looked around the courtyard. There was little privacy to be had. Beyond the courtyard was an orchard of trees still dormant from winter, but thick enough to hide them. A small path went straight to the heart of it. “Come, Mr. Calder.” She preceded him. The path went deep into the orchard and Heather suspected all the way to the outskirts of the garden into unkempt land. She turned to face Mr. Calder once they could no longer see the