The Transported Duke by Lisa Torquay

Author:Lisa Torquay [Torquay, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Regency Romance
Publisher: Lisa Torquay
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“Hadrian. Oh, Hadrian!” Elvina threw herself at her brother at the first sight of him. “Percy told me of your meeting at Mr Gresham’s.”

The lady had just entered his carriage, heading to the Duchess of Brunswick’s ball. Russell and Darroch still dealt with their business, which made the Duke of Rutherford offer to drive her. The two men would follow later.

He held her with the same devotion. “I share in your relief though the occasion rose more questions than answers.”

“Yes.” She put a little distance between them. “But now we have experts’ opinions saying you did not do it.”

“It explains why I remember nothing besides being at White’s.” He’d been unconscious after what, a couple of drinks. “Elvina, please tell no one. We need to get to the heart of the matter before disclosing information.”

She lifted adoring eyes to him. “If, you are sure.”

“I am.”

After greeting their host and hostess, both siblings dived into the crush. This ball displayed a more open-minded crowd, his entrance not invoking the commotion it did in the previous one.

“Everyone is here!” Elvina rejoiced. “Come, I will introduce you.”

Hadrian got to meet the Hills, coal mine owners from Northumberland; the Lynchs, mill owners from Hull; and the Bakers from Yorkshire. He’d already crossed paths with Mrs Lynch, the sister of the Earl of Worley and Mrs Baker, daughter to the horrible Duke of Haddington, both ladies from the ton.

“We do not believe a word of what they say,” Martin Baker, a renowned mason, confided.

“He is right,” Edgar Lynch added.

“Count on us for anything you need,” Daniel Hill supported.

“And on us, too,” Amelia Hill, holding her husband’s arm, smiled at Hadrian. She meant Lady Emma, Lynch’s wife and Lady Millicent, Baker’s wife.

He remembered now that Mrs Hill was a famous astronomer who published numerous books on the subject, even for children. Hadrian looked at them with a bewildered gratefulness. “My rank has a lot to learn from your loyalty.”

As Elvina engaged in conversation with the other ladies, Hadrian’s attention wandered, looking for a lady in special.

His eyes funnelled on her in a group of her parents and none other than Hargrove. She was a vision in violet. Excusing himself, he made a beeline for her.

“Rutherford,” Lady Emma’s brother, the Earl of Worley intercepted him.

“Thomas,” Hadrian greeted.

The other man clapped him on the shoulder. “Good to see you back.”

The earl had tried to marry his sister to Mr Russell to save his pockets. Lady Emma would have none of it when she met the mill worker whom she ended up marrying. She and her husband now provided the earl funds under strict conditions.

“You too.” Hadrian murmured as he continued on his route.

As he neared them, a snippet of conversation reached him over the noise. “… permission to meet with you tomorrow,” Viscount Hargrove was saying to the Earl of Abington. This could only mean he wished to propose to the lady.

Over his dead body! Over Hargrove’s dead body! No one touched his woman. Ever!

“My lady,” he greeted Matilda, taking her hand and bowing over it.

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