Page 8 of Desperately Seeking Seduction

He managed to retaliate that time. He laughed at the duke as he danced backward to avoid a playful fight erupting between them. “Well, think of it this way. If you didn’t exist, George might have inherited.”

The new duke shot him a sour look. “Over my dead body.”

“And ours, too.” He pulled a face. “Someone might notice a killing spree on that scale.”

The duke grunted.

“You look tired. You should get some sleep.”

“You ought to go up to bed, too. Tomorrow will be another exhausting day tiptoeing around the subject of funds and favors.”

“Yes, I should see if my new valet is settled in or completely lost somewhere about the house.”

“If he’s not any good as a valet, let me know and you can borrow Dobb.”

“The new fellow is competent so far. But it has only been a few days, so… I will let you know later if I need Dobb or Nash’s man to step in.”

“Good. Thank you again, Stratford.”

He bowed deeply to his brother. “You are welcome, Duke.”

Ravenswood laughed and shooed him away. “Sleep well.”

Stratford strolled to the door and let himself out. He was not three yards away from the ducal study when Cousin George called out to him from down the hall.

“Care for a nightcap, cousin?”

He turned to study his older cousin, the bully of the family, noting the flush of his cheeks and the glaze of his eyes. The man had been drinking hard all day and it was never very pleasant to encounter him at any hour on such a night. “Perhaps another time.”

Stratford turned for the stairs.

“You think you’ve got the upper hand now, don’t you? Think you’ve got it all.”

Stratford paused on the stairs. “Was there a contest I missed between us?”

“My sister. That was your doing. You and your wretched friend conspired to see my side thoroughly embarrassed! You used your own cousin to do it, too.”

Stratford shook his head. “Didn’t have to lift a finger myself. Amity has her own mind, and you embarrass yourself with no help from anyone on my side of the family.”

“Why, you little toad! I ought to teach you a lesson in—”

“You will teach my brother nothing,” Ravenswood warned in an ominous tone that made Cousin George spin about, looking for the duke. Ravenswood appeared from the shadows slowly, glowering at their drunken cousin. There was no love lost between the pair. They’d been enemies for a very long time for no reason other than Algernon had been the late duke’s firstborn son. “If you know what is good for you, Mr. Sweet, you will cease all harassment of my younger brother and take yourself to bed. Continue, and you and your branch of the family will suffer the consequences of my displeasure.”

Stratford shivered. When he wanted to be, Ravenswood could sound as ruthless as their father had always been. Only his brothers knew the kindness of his private heart.

George cast the duke a belligerent glare and then marched up the stairs ahead of Stratford.

“Watch your back with him,” Stratford warned his eldest brother.

“Better watch yours, too,” Ravenswood suggested, frowning after their cousin. “He’s more like our father than I care for.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Stratford promised, but he’d always known not to trust that particular cousin, and his own father as well.

He went up the stairs slowly, checking every corner where George might linger to accost him again. But he entered the family wing without incident, passing a pair of footmen stationed in the hallway. Their presence ensured the duke, and his brothers, could expect utter privacy from any lurkers. It meant they would all sleep easier.

Stratford found his own door and slipped inside his chambers. The room he’d always lived in was illuminated by a single candle but was still warm, as the fire had been banked for the night. His bed had been turned down, too, and a nightshirt and robe left out for him to wear. He chuckled to see the evidence of Cuthbert’s sense of humor. Stratford had never worn either garment, and only Cuthbert could have told the new man Winston to put them there.

Stratford shrugged out of his coat and waistcoat, untied his cravat, and pulled his shirt up over his head. He rolled his shoulders, aware his muscles, his entire body even, had been tense for hours upon hours. Being around his extended family exhausted him.