One Fine Duke by Lenora Bell

Author:Lenora Bell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-07-22T16:00:00+00:00

Fear squatted in the center of your chest and choked the breath out of your body. Fear had the taste of watery oats and sour milk.

The thing about fear was that it never really left you. It was your companion for life, always there, waiting to take control when you weren’t vigilant enough.

The other thing about fear was that you never admitted it to anyone. Not if you were a man.

Not if you were a duke.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” she said.

“I never talk about it.”

“I understand.”

She did understand and she wouldn’t push him to admit his weakness. She’d just been through the experience of being trapped, her limbs splayed out, and her skirts falling over her eyes.

She’d been vulnerable, and she’d been scared. He’d heard it in her voice, though she’d also been brave. Making a joke of it, trusting him to help free her.

“Miss Penny, the sight of you in those manacles.” He swallowed. It had brought everything back. He’d been desperate to free her, clawing at the irons like an animal. “It reminded me of the kidnapping. I’m so sorry that you had to endure being trapped for even a few minutes.”

“You were trapped for days,” she said.

“Ten days. One of my wrists was chained to a ring in the wall. The other left free. I scratched marks on the rough wooden walls of the ship for every day of my captivity.”

“Who kidnapped you, and why?” she asked. Her eyes held only curiosity, not pity.

He couldn’t believe he was telling her this. But she’d been so brave and she listened so intently. The desire to unburden himself was overpowering.

Not everything. He couldn’t tell her everything, but he could admit one small slice of his fear, just a swallow, and then he’d restore order to this room, this conversation, and to his life.

“My captor was a tenant farmer seeking revenge on my father after he lost his leasehold. He was desperate. He kidnapped me to put food on the table for his six children.”

“How did they capture you?”

“I was at Eton attending the celebration for King William’s birthday. There were speeches, cricket, and a procession of boats. Large crowds on the banks of the river. A messenger approached me and said that my mother had been taken poorly and I was to come with him immediately. I didn’t think too hard about it. If Mother was sick, I must go to her. I climbed into the carriage willingly. He stuffed a gag in my mouth and placed a blindfold over my eyes so that I didn’t know where he was taking me.”

He stopped talking. One small admission—not a damned book.

He glanced down at her and their gazes met. The connection and the release of it crashed through his mind like a chunk of granite cliff breaking off and falling into the sea.

It felt good to talk to Wilhelmina Penny. More than good . . . it felt necessary.

And that scared him more than entering the shadowy chasm behind the bookshelf.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.