To Ruin the Duke by Debra Mullins

Author:Debra Mullins [Mullins, Debra]
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books
Published: 2009-05-26T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

By afternoon Miranda had decided two things.

First, she would never let things get so out of hand with Wyldehaven ever again. She would be strong and resist his advances. Now that she knew what sensual dangers lay in his repertoire, she believed herself less likely to fall under his spell. Never mind that just the memory of that mad interlude in the breakfast room tempted her to cast aside what meager respectability she had managed to attain in favor of a whirlwind affair of romance and danger. She was forewarned now. Forearmed.

And more curious than ever.

But still, she had escaped the encounter with her virtue intact; therefore it was time to fortify her defenses and prepare for siege. And she would emerge victorious.

Second, she decided that Wyldehaven had probably not sent the threatening note she received. He was not the type to creep about in shadows scaring women with pieces of paper. If he wanted to, he could cast her out of London with little effort, but he was the sort of man who confronted a body face-to-face with little pretense. With Wyldehaven, you always knew who took issue with you and why.

Which meant there was someone else in London who wanted her dead.

Struggling to ignore the panic skittering along her nerves, she forced herself to ponder the matter rationally that afternoon over a cup of tea in the parlor. Being an intelligent woman, she was naturally concerned for her own safety. Having a mysterious enemy who might pop out of the shadows at any moment wreaked havoc with one’s nerves. She briefly considered going to Thaddeus about the matter, but then reconsidered when it occurred to her that he might somehow be connected to the threat. The fact that he numbered among his acquaintances a ruthless moneylender and those menacing collection agents made her hesitate to look to him as a protector.

And Wyldehaven? She would sooner become a beggar in the streets before she placed herself in a position of vulnerability with him. No doubt he would seize the opportunity to “protect” her by making her stop performing—and that she could not afford to do. Not when it meant the difference between surviving and starvation for her and the baby, should Wyldehaven decide he had tired of them.

Her meager inheritance was nearly gone, having been spent to pay Mrs. Cooper’s wages and to purchase the evening dresses she needed in order to perform. The duke had now assumed the cost for Mrs. Cooper, numbering her among the servants in the house he also maintained; however, Miranda knew she could not allow him to absorb the bills for her clothing as well. As soon as a man started paying the bills for a woman’s dressmaker, it was only one more shaky step before she fell into his bed and surrendered her body and her independence.

Naturally, Wyldehaven edged her in that direction with calm determination. It would be so easy to just give in and let him take care of her.

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