Of Dukes and Deceptions Read Free Page B

when she recalled her lack of manners later.
    “Good day, Your Grace.” She called the words over her shoulder, almost as an afterthought.
    “What was that all about?” Gibson asked.
    “What indeed.”
    Nick reclaimed his place on the box seat without making a more complete response since he’d yet to work out the answer for himself. He waited patiently for Miss Woodley and Matilda to get clear before setting his team to a steady trot on the road to Ravenswing Manor. Only then did he briefly explain the remarkable scene on the riverbank.
    Gibson guffawed. “The nerve of the chit! Still, it makes a change from all that grovelling you have to put up with. It’s about time someone other than me treated you like a real person.”
    “You forget yourself, Gibson, and I’ll probably have to dismiss you tomorrow as a consequence.”
    Gibson, who was engaged in rubbing his stubbly chin, appeared unmoved by this dire threat to his livelihood. “Still, she’s a lively little piece, right enough. The poor relation, you say? Hmm.”
    “Leave her alone.” Nick spoke more sharply than he’d intended. “She’s mine. Besides, you’re old enough to be her father.” He paused, flashing a brief grin at his henchman. “No, on second thoughts, make that her grandfather.”
    “There’s no occasion for pulling rank, nor for issuing insults neither. You ain’t so big and grand that I can’t still tan that backside of yours, if I’ve a mind to. Anyway, what’s wrong with sharing? We’ve done it often enough in the past.”
    Nick shook his head emphatically. “Not this time.”
    Gibson cast a thoughtful glance in his direction. “Have a care, guv’nor. You said yerself she’s related to the family. If you get caught, they’ll have yer ring on her finger before you can pull yer breeches back up. It ain’t worth it just ’cos she’s got spirit and you’re bored. Besides, unless I read her all wrong, she ain’t the type to be impressed by a bit of finery.”
    “Really.” Nick quirked a brow. “Care to have a wager on that?”
    “Sure, our usual terms?”
    Nick’s attention was on his team as he negotiated a turn in the road that was barely wide enough to accommodate his carriage. He merely nodded once, already relishing the prospect of breaching Alicia Woodley’s defences.
    “Don’t let yer guard down,” Gibson said in a serious tone he seldom employed. “It seems Miss Woodley’s cousin has her sights set on you. I told you all along that this had to be a setup.”
    “You did indeed.” Nick grinned. “Don’t you ever get tired of being right, Gibson?”
    “Nah.” He waved the suggestion aside with a careless flap of one hand. “I got used to that years past.”
    “Anyway, you’re the one who encouraged me to leave Dorchester Park. Go somewhere, anywhere, were the words you used, if memory serves.”
    “Aye, well, if I hadn’t, then you’d have finished up offering for that Lady Isabel.” Gibson shook his head. “I couldn’t let you do that.”
    Nick was genuinely surprised. “I don’t see why not.”
    “So you were considering it then.” Gibson pulled a doomed face. “I knew it!”
    “You must own that she’s both beautiful and impeccably bred.”
    “Bloody hell, you make her sound like a horse.”
    “Bloodlines are just as important in selecting a wife as in breeding thoroughbreds.”
    Gibson’s jaw gaped open. “But her conversation bores you rigid.”
    Nick sighed. “I don’t mean to marry her for her conversation, Gibson. My own parents managed perfectly well without having any interests in common, or any particular feelings for one another either, for that matter.”
    “Aye, I noticed.”
    “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Oh, nothing.”
    “They understood that quality of breeding is more important for the future of the duchy than anything else. I’ve had that mantra drummed into me since I was in short coats and am hardly likely to forget my