Venus in Disguise (Wicked Sons Book 6) by Emma V Leech

Author:Emma V Leech [Leech, Emma V]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Sir,

I will thank you to meet with me this day at 4pm.

Beresford.

―Excerpt of a letter from His Grace, The Duke of Beresford, to Mr Ashton Anson.

26th February 1850, Kemble House, Mayfair, London.

Ash stared at the house in front of him, wondering what the bloody hell he was doing here. When the summons had arrived, his first instinct had been to throw it into the fire, for if the bastard thought he could make Ash jump when he said jump, he was very much mistaken. Yet there was only one reason he could think of for the man to ask him to come to the house, and that was because Maud had betrayed them after all.

Guilt lodged in his chest as he wondered if he ought to have done more to silence the woman. Perhaps he ought to have been less curt with her, but his damned pride would never have allowed it. He had believed she had been grateful, too, fool that he was.

Concern for Narcissa was a chill beneath his skin. Everyone said Beresford was a cold bastard, and he hoped the man had not been unkind to her. The impossible desire to rescue her from the brute left a hollow sensation in his chest. If he’d thought they might have a future together, that she could be happy living her life with him, he would have moved heaven and earth to get her out of her father’s house. But there was little point in taking her from one unpleasant situation to another that would make her just as miserable, albeit for different reasons. That he might be mistaken in her was an idea he would have loved to believe in, but he was too cynical about the world. The sooner the girl married and got out from under the duke’s control, the better it would be for her.

Resolute and keen to get the ordeal over and done with, Ash rapped on the front door and was promptly shown in.

“His grace is expecting you,” the butler intoned, and led Ash through the hall and up the stairs to an elegant receiving room before discreetly leaving.

The duke was standing before the fireplace, arms folded. His expression as he regarded Ash was that of a man looking at something unpleasant that must be dealt with swiftly. It was a moment before Ash registered Narcissa was there, too. She sat rigidly still, her face pale and set, and she did not look at him.

“Mr Anson, thank you for arriving promptly,” the duke said. “I will not beat about the bush, for I’m certain you wish this to be over as quickly as I do.”

“That rather depends on what this is,” Ash replied dryly, watching Narcissa, who was staring straight ahead as if neither he nor the duke were there at all.

“This, sir, is a warning. I have been plagued before by social climbers and fortune hunters, who have learned to their cost that I will not be manipulated or blackmailed. So, let me make this plain.

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