The Misfortune of Lady Lucianna by Christina McKnight

Author:Christina McKnight [McKnight, Christina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-06-12T18:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

L uci shook her head from side to side. She shouldn’t have spoken of the events surrounding Tilda’s death, or her hatred of the duke. She, with the help of Edith and Ophelia, was determined to see that Abercorn paid for his misdeeds.

Montrose would not interfere with that plan.

For now, allowing him to think she was in agreement with their betrothal would keep Montrose occupied, and her father satisfied—and Luci out of Abercorn’s reach.

“Tell me what Abercorn did.”

The duke’s steel blue eyes drew her, wrapped her in a blanket of security. No matter how false that comfort was or how much she longed to tell him everything, Luci knew it was not true. She did not know him beyond his skill at fencing and his scandalous activities at the opera all those months ago.

Trust was something earned.

The Duke of Montrose had secured nothing with her.

“If you are in danger, I will handle this.” He moved closer still, as if she were in peril in the middle of the bookshop.

His scent of sandalwood and oak washed over her, and Luci breathed him in—deeply. She wanted to believe he would help her. Needed to trust she wasn’t alone in her task to bring Abercorn down and make him pay for the loss of Tilda.

But, first, Luci would need to confide in Montrose…Roderick.

Luci was certain even her dearest friends were hesitant to believe her account of Tilda’s fall down the stairs and Abercorn’s hand in the matter.

Her father was well aware of her hatred for Abercorn but still thought to barter her hand in marriage to gain some measure of control. The marquis thought so little of his firstborn.

“If you wed me, you will be forever indebted to my father.” She leaned back, needing distance. Surprisingly, she cared that her father would have some kind of hold over Roderick. “I cannot ever ask that of anyone. He is my sire, but he is every inch the horrid man Abercorn is.”

“You cannot expect me to walk away after learning all this, not now.” Roderick set his hands on her shoulders and gently caressed away the tension. “If he hurt another person, I am now bound by duty, and my honor as a gentleman, to see he is punished for his crimes.”

A lock of hair fell loose from its pins, and Roderick brushed it back behind her ear, never taking his eyes from her as a shiver ran down her back.

Why did this man seek to help her?

Roderick owed her nothing. He was a pawn in her father’s game to bring more wealth and prestige to the Camden name, just as she was.

“There is much you do not know about me—and my friends.”

“I have witnessed enough to know you are not one to shrink away from the truth.”

He was right, though she wished some days that she could forget Tilda, forget her wedding, and forget the gruesome sight of her falling down the stairs. Most of all, Luci wished she could forget the vacant stare from her friend’s sightless eyes after her soul had left her body.

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