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“You have made it very clear, my dear—” his voice rumbled over her “—that you want nothing else to dowithme.”
“I’ve been saying that for years.” And she had. Ever since he’d pulled her into his arms and kissed her at Vauxhall, destroying whatever friendship they’d had in theprocess.
“Well, consider Simmons a parting gift then, Caroline. You’re in much better hands with him than with Tindle.” Then he pushed her, not ungently toward the corridor. “Now be a good girl and run along. I’ve got a long night ahead of me, entertaining impassioned actresses and reveling in Bramley’sfortune.”
Chapter4
Just as Marcwas about to lift a glass of whisky to his lips, his friend Alexander Everett, the Duke of Kelfield stepped into the club and nodded in Marc’s direction. That was unusual. In fact, Marc couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his friend at White’s. Months, easily. Perhaps evenayear.
Alex handed his coat and hat to a footman and then made his way through the throng to drop into a seat across from Marc. “Thought you mightbehere.”
“As I live and breathe—” Marc smirked “—I had no idea Her Grace let you out on your ownanymore.”
Alex gestured to a footman for a glass of his own, then he narrowed his eyes in Marc’s direction. “My wife doesn’t have toletme doanything.”
On that Marc begged to differ. Long gone was the wicked duke who used to haunt these very halls and much less respectable halls, but saying as much never did any good. The prissy Duchess of Kelfield had Alex wrapped around her little finger so tightly it would take an act of God to unwind him. As the man seemed quite happy about the whole thing, though Marc had no idea how he possibly could be, going further down that particular path was pointless. And had been for a number ofyears.
“You know,” Alex continued after it seemed clear Marc wasn’t going to complain about his duchess, “at some point I would like for my wife to actually tolerate yourpresence.”
At that, Marc bit back a grin. “And I should like, just once, to have a rational conversation with an actress who has all of her faculties, but we do have to live in the real world, myfriend.”
“Ah!” Came a voice behind Marc’s chair and he glanced over his shoulder to find Simon Masters, the Earl of Thurlstone, standing just behind him, a roguish twinkle in his eyes as he grinned at Alex. “Has Her Grace let you out for theevening?”
Marc couldn’t hold in the laugh that eruptedfromhim.
Alex leaned back against the leather of his chair and leveled Simon with his iciest ducal glare. “Go bugger off. Bothofyou.”
But Simon, as per usual, rounded Marc’s chair and dropped into a seat adjacent to them at the table. “Trouble in paradise?” he asked, still grinning from eartoear.
Alex snorted and shook his head. “Paradise is perfect, as always.” Then he heaved a sigh. “Should the two of you ever find respectability, you might find it agreeswithyou.”
Simon chuckled at that, but stopped when Marc added, “He’s intradenow. The chance for respectability left himlongago.”
“At leastIhad a chance.” Simonshrugged.
A footman delivered Alex’s whisky at that moment, which he happily took. Then he nodded toward Simon. “How is the business worldthesedays?”
“Oh for God’s sake,” Marc complained. “Don’t get him on the subject. He’ll bore us to tears the rest of the night. Ship logs and cargo details. Do spare us thetedium.”
Simon shook his head as he admitted, “Actually, he’s right. Hardly the adventure I thought I was buying into. Heaton, Masters & Avery is profitable, but dull as ditch water. And work. Damned work, which I find I don’t enjoy, bytheway.”
Not that Marc was surprised. Running an empire, small as it might be, would never be conducive to Simon’s way of life. “Why don’t you hop one of those ships,” he suggested. “Find an adventure…somewhere.” After all, the man had never been…anywhere.
“And have whom run the London office in my absence?” Simon frowned. “Are youvolunteering?”
“Hardly.” Marc snorted. “Those are worries I don’t need.” He didn’t, in fact, even run his late-wife’s empire. There were people for that sort of thing. People who werenotMarc.
“Speaking of worries,” Alex began and placed his glass on the table before him. “I went by Staveley House thisafternoon.”
Damnit.
“Is there a particular reasonSimmonsis under Caroline’semploy?”
Marc blew out a breath. He shouldn’t have been surprised by the question. Alex’s duchesswasCaroline’s cousin, after all. His friend was bound to find out about Simmons’ new station sooner or later. “What didshesay when you asked her?” he asked, wondering how Caroline was explaining the situation, wondering if she mentioned anything else…like showing up at Marc’s and barging into his bedchamber. It had certainly been the highlight ofhisyear.
“She’s wasn’t in,” Alex replied. “Poppy wanted to visit Emma. So I escortedherand—”
“Don’t you employ a governess for suchchores?”
