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This man, she wanted this man, despite his wretched title, his money, his land, his history, and all his myriad obligations. Maximus. Just Maximus. She’d take him bare naked if she could—and be the gladder for it.

The man without the trappings was what she craved, but since his trappings came with him, she’d take them perforce as well.

o;Oh, but—”

“Phoebe.”

The girl slumped. “Oh, all right.”

Maximus’s lips twitched. “Thank you.” He looked at the dogs sternly. “You lot stay.”

Artemis rose at his nod and bid Phoebe good night before following him from the room. He immediately mounted the stairs to the third floor.

“Was that necessary?” Artemis asked low as she trailed him.

“You do want to see your brother, don’t you?” he inquired rhetorically.

“Of course,” she said tartly, “but you needn’t have made it sound as if I were Phoebe’s keeper and that you have special instructions about her.”

He turned at the top of the stairs, so suddenly that she nearly ran into him. She halted a bare inch away, aware of the heat of him, the anger that seemed to always boil just beneath the surface.

“But I do have special instructions for you,” he said with simple clarity. “My sister is all but blind. Since you have inveigled your way into being her companion, you might as well act as one. I expect you to keep her safe. To deter her from her more dangerous outings, to make sure she doesn’t exceed what she can do without her sight, to always take at least one footman, preferably two, whenever you venture forth from my doors.”

Artemis tilted her head, studying him. His concern was real, but it also must be nearly stifling for Phoebe. “You find an afternoon at the fair too dangerous?”

“For one such as she, yes,” he said. “She might be easily lost in a crowd, easily shoved or jostled. There are pickpockets, thieves, and worse at the fair. A gently bred lady of means who cannot see is an obvious and easy target. I will not have her hurt.”

“I see.”

“Do you?” He didn’t move, but his sheer size seemed suddenly intimidating. “My sister is very dear to me. I would do anything to keep her from harm.”

“Even if your measures to keep her safe become a cage?” she asked gently.

“You speak as if she were like any other young girl her age,” Maximus growled. “She’s not. She’s blind. I brought in every doctor, every man of science, every learned healer from near and far, no matter the expense or trouble. I let them torture her with noxious medicines, all in the hope they could help her. None could keep her from going blind. I couldn’t save her sight, but I’ll be thrice damned before I see her further hurt.”

Artemis inhaled, his fervor both exciting and slightly frightening. “I understand.”

“Good.” He turned and led her down the hall. “These are my sister’s rooms.” He indicated a pale green door. “And here is the pink room where Phoebe wants you to stay.” He gestured to the next door down, which stood ajar. A maid hurried out, pausing only to curtsy deeply to Maximus.

Artemis peeked inside. The walls were covered in a deep rose-watered silk, lending the room its name. A canopied bed was bracketed by two carved tables topped by yellow marble, and the fireplace was surrounded by rose-veined marble.

“It’s delightful,” Artemis said truthfully. She glanced over her shoulder to the duke. “Are your rooms on this floor as well?”

He nodded. “Down this corridor.”

They turned into a passage and walked toward the back of the house.

“Here’s the blue sitting room—the one that Phoebe likes to use. And these are my rooms.”

The doors to his rooms were a rich forest green detailed in black.

“Come.” He led her to a small door paneled to look like the surrounding wainscoting. Behind it was a narrow staircase, obviously a servant’s stairs. They went down, spiraling into the dark, but Artemis followed him without fear.

Two floors below, and through a door cut into a stone stairs, he paused before a second door and looked at her intently. “No one must know he is here. I had to take him out as the Ghost. They’re looking for him.”

She nodded, her throat clogging. Four years. Four years he’d been locked up in Bedlam.

Maximus unlocked the door and opened it, revealing a long, low subterranean room.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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