The Ghost by Carole Mortimer
Author:Carole Mortimer [Mortimer, Carole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781914336140
Publisher: Carole Mortimer
CHAPTER SEVEN
âAny chance you are going to pull yourself out from the bottom of that decanter sometime in the near future?â the fair-haired Alaric Montrose, the Duke of Melborne, derided as he entered Spencerâs library unannounced. âYou seem to have been constantly foxed, or at the point of being so, for the past few weeks.â
Spencer barely glanced up from where he had moved to sit in a chair beside the lit fire in his library. There was a nearly empty decanter on the table beside him, a full glass of the fiery liquid cradled in both his hands as he stared morosely at the flames in the hearth.
âDo you have news of who was paid to run me through with a sword before I was then held prisoner in a hellhole for over a year?â He didnât even attempt to ask why Groves, his butler, hadnât announced Melborneâs presence. He already knew that this man was a law unto himself and always did exactly as he pleased. Marriage had not changed that.
âNo,â Melborne dismissed as he dropped into the chair on the other side of the fireplace.
âThen why are you here?â
Melborne chuckled. âYou really have become a surly bugger.â
âYour point being?â
Melborne shrugged. âYou were altogether too easy and charming before your incarceration. Behaved as if you had not a single bloody care in the world.â
Spencer stared at him for several long seconds before he burst into laughter. âOnly you could say someone was too easy and charming!â
Melborne grinned. âItâs good to see you smile again, Spencer.â
An emotional lump immediately caught in Spencerâs throat. In adulthood, the Ruthless Dukes always referred to each other by their titles, never their first name. That Melborne did so now was testament to how sincere he was in his observation.
Spencer straightened in the chair to pour brandy into a second glass before handing it to Melborne. âThere really has not been any progress made?â He was aware that he had added little to that progress. His concentration had been splintered since seeing Olivia again and realizing how deeply attracted to her he still was. Kissing her this afternoon had not helped to dispel that desire.
Because he was still in love with her?
The truth was, whenever his thoughts turned to that subject, it was also the moment when he turned to drinking the contents of the brandy decanter in order to try to numb his emotions.
âWell, I would not go so far as to say that.â The other man took a welcome sip from his glass. âWe arranged for Mr. Stanley and the Earl of Whitlow to meet and talk a few days ago to see if together they could tell us something more about the men who took you away in the cart.â
âAnd did they?â
Melborne pursed his lips. âThey are now agreed that the English officer Mr. Stanley thought he saw attacking you was, in fact, Whitlow attempting to come to your aid as you were being attacked by the French soldier.â
âSo, there never was an English officer attacking me, only a French one?â
âIt would seem so,â Melborne confirmed.
Download
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.
Evelina by Fanny Burney(26500)
Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney(26087)
Twilight of the Idols With the Antichrist and Ecce Homo by Friedrich Nietzsche(18276)
Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan(4586)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky(4373)
Dune 01 Dune by Frank Herbert(4179)
Double Down (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 11) by Jeff Kinney(3886)
Man and His Symbols by Carl Gustav Jung(3818)
Walking by Henry David Thoreau(3664)
Separate Beds by LaVyrle Spencer(3624)
FOUNDATION AND EMPIRE by Isaac Asimov(3427)
Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges(3340)
The 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith(3285)
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins(3217)
Mystery at School by Laura Lee Hope(3174)
120 Days of Sodom by Marquis de Sade(2918)
Some Prefer Nettles by Tanizaki Junichiro(2748)
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry(2713)
My Ántonia by Willa Cather(2608)
