A Duke in Waiting: Dangerous Dukes by Wendy Soliman

Author:Wendy Soliman [Soliman, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Cam woke with the dawn, having slept badly. Exley’s visit the previous day had been playing on his mind. At the time it had seemed like a genuine attempt to put Cam on his guard, but upon reflection he wondered if Exley had ulterior motives.

It was odd that he hadn’t observed the social niceties and enquired after the health of Cam’s mother and sisters, he belatedly realised. It was almost as though he had avoided referring to them. Cam had always treated the man with distant civility, his objections to his interest in Marianne implied but never spoken aloud. Perhaps he was simply attempting to make a good impression before pressing his suit, knowing it would be bad form to do so when Cam’s father was on his death bed.

‘Am I being softened up?’ he asked Farley as he and his dog left the house before the sun rose and strode off in the direction of the disputed land. He had arranged to meet Miss Carling and was looking forward to the engagement more than was perhaps wise. It was a longer walk for her than it was for him since the land in question was at the furthest point from Granville’s house. His own sisters, even Julia, would balk at walking so far alone, but he suspected that Miss Carling would not be deterred by the distance.

As he and Farley made their way to the rendezvous, Cam turned his mind to the arrival of Bainbridge. He had not pressed the duke for particulars of an old friendship that he had hoped never to revive. Better to wait for the man to show his face and see what transpired. Cam felt in his bones that they were on the brink of disclosures that might finally make some sense of a senseless situation. Disclosures he could use to make his stubborn father appreciate that he would be leaving Cam in an impossible situation if he still refused to offer an explanation.

Half an hour’s brisk walk brought him to the edge of the cliffs, where he was rewarded with the sight of Miss Carling approaching from the opposite direction. Cam raised a hand in greeting, admiring the rosy hue to her cheeks and the manner in which her hair, tied back with a ribbon, was being tossed around her shoulders by the strong sea breeze. She was wearing her breeches once again and seemed only slightly out of breath as she walked up to him, intercepted by Farley.

‘Good morning,’ he said, watching her as she made a big fuss of his dog, wishing that he could swap places with the mutt. ‘I see that you are a slave to punctuality.’

‘Good morning, my lord. I have always been an early riser, and my curiosity about the caves ensured that I did not oversleep this morning. We have a lovely day in prospect, but I sense rain in the air.’

‘Do you?’ Cam turned his face upwards. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. ‘I shall have to take your word for it.

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