Daring a Duke by Claudia Dain

Author:Claudia Dain [Dain, Claudia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-12-26T13:13:07+00:00

How did a woman go about inspiring a man to face

dragon’s breath for her? To take her in the light of a thou-

sand candles?

Richard had taken Bernadette in a maze at the Earl of

Quinton’s at half past eleven in the morning. There had

been three witnesses, one of them Edenham. That might

160 Claudia

Dain

have been the worst part of it, that her brother had seen it,

seen that she could not hold her husband, the man she had

married for love.

Love. It existed, she knew. It was only that she could not

seem to inspire it in a man.

Desire, then. She would inspire desire. It was a start.

Perhaps she could move from there to love, tutoring herself

in the amorous arts in the school of romance.

Katherine laughed silently, mocking herself. Love and

romance. She was a fool, hopelessly inept at the very thing

all other women knew instinctively. Just look at Jane. She

had inspired Edenham’s desire, love, and devotion upon a

single look. Even a beating had not dimmed his resolve, she

knew that without question. He was even now working out

how to attain her, in spite of Jedidiah’s rejection of his suit.

“He’s my brother, you know,” she said to Jedidiah’s

back, all hope of a plan tossed beneath her feet. She had no

plan. She could execute no plan. Perhaps the tie that bound

their siblings would serve to tie them, however briefly.

Jedidiah turned, his cool blue eyes showing slight

surprise, and regret? She did not know him well enough

to read him. Could a man be seduced upon the wings of

regret? Probably not, though Sophia would certainly know

how to manage it.

“I didn’t know,” he said. His voice was low and solid,

like ships’ timbers. She was being romantic again. He had

a low voice, pleasant and resonant, that was all. “I would

do it again, even knowing. She’s my sister.”

Katherine took a step nearer, looking out the window

at his side. There was nothing to see. It was only a garden.

She pretended to study the gravel walks, the trees blowing

in the afternoon breeze, the call of birds, ignoring the pale

and distorted reflection of herself in the glass. Distorted,

most assuredly. What was she doing? This was not at all

like her.

Daring a Duke 161

Which was precisely why she was doing it.

“Of course you would,” she said. “I am a sister. I know

very well what a brother will do. He will not blame you in

the slightest.”

Jedidiah looked down at her, a tilting of his head that

bespoke annoyance. She simply could not manage to

seduce a man. It was flatly humiliating. “I suppose I should

be relieved by that? He deserved it. He knows he deserved

it. Frankly, he deserved more, but it’s my uncle’s house and

I’m a guest in it. I would do nothing to abuse his hospital-

ity. Which is what your brother did in attacking my sister.”

“He loves her,” she said.

“He desires her,” he countered swiftly, still staring at

her. She kept her gaze on the subtle patterns in the glim-

mering glass, afraid to look into his eyes. She was the worst

seductress of her generation and had no place in any fairy

tale, unless it was as the toadstool.

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