Intimate Deception Read Online Free PDF

too late.
    “By making some changes now, perhaps by the time you reach your five and twenty years you will be responsible enough to manage your inheritance.”
    “And if I’m not? Are you implying that you will no longer come to my aid?” Kevin Germaine’s lips curled upward in a daring grin. “I think not, Raeborn. You gave my father your word, and far be it from the Duke of Raeborn to ever go back on a promise. It’s not in your character, Your Grace. You are far too noble. Far too…responsible.”
    Kevin poured another swallow of expensive brandy into his glass and downed it in one gulp.
    Vincent waited until his cousin finished, then locked his gaze with his own. “Sit down.”
    “I prefer to stand, Your Grace. In fact,” he said, returning to his former, lackadaisical self, “if you’re close to being finished, I prefer to take my leave. I’ve an important engagement and I feel extraordinarily lucky.”
    Vincent lowered his voice, his command a serious whisper. “Sit down.”
    His cousin hesitated as if considering ignoring Raeborn’s blatant warning signs. But his better judgment prevailed and he took a seat and waited.
    Vincent picked up the thick stack of bills, then let them fall again to the top of the desk. “I will send a message to my solicitor yet today to pay each of these bills in full.”
    A knowing smile lifted the corners of the young upstart’s mouth.
    “Along with each payment will be a letter signed by me, informing every proprietor and tradesman that this will be the last expense accrued by his cousin, Kevin Germaine, that the Duke of Raeborn will cover.”
    Germaine bolted out of his chair. “What did you say?”
    “You heard me, Kevin. You’ll get no more money from me.”
    “You can’t mean that! You promised my father—”
    “I promised your father that I would see to your well-being,” Vincent cut in. “I intend to do just that. You have a lot to learn and a huge responsibility that will eventually be placed on your shoulders.”
    Vincent walked to the sideboard and poured a generous amount of whiskey into a glass. He usually had one glass of brandy late in the afternoon before his evening engagements, but today he needed whiskey to calm his nerves. He took a long swallow, then turned to face his cousin.
    “As of today, I will take care of the monthly rent on your town house here in London. I will also pay the yearly salaries for the…ten?…fifteen?…”
    Germaine shrugged his shoulders defensively. “Twenty.”
    Raeborn arched his eyebrows. “Twenty servants you need to run your home. I will also deed you the Castle Downs estate. It is yours.”
    Germaine’s disbelief was almost palpable. It came out in the form of a loud, demented laugh.
    “The town house is yours to do with as you want,” Raeborn continued. “You can sell it or keep it. It doesn’t matter to me. Castle Downs, however, has belonged to a Raeborn for over four hundred years. It can never be sold. That will be in writing.”
    “And my quarterly allowance, Your Grace?” Germaine asked through clenched teeth.
    “You will receive what your father set up for you in his will.”
    “You can’t mean that! How do you expect me to live on that paltry amount?”
    Raeborn ignored the hostile expression on his cousin’s usually pleasant face. “Castle Downs has always provided the Raeborn family with an adequate income. If managed well, you should have more than enough on which to live.”
    Fire blazed from his cousin’s eyes, his nostrils flaring wide. “I won’t tolerate this. You can’t expect me to exist like this. I have no intention of locking myself away in the country like some simpleminded fool.”
    “That decision is yours to make. I have given you the means to support yourself. What you do with the opportunity is up to you.”
    Vincent’s young cousin fisted his hands at his sides and took a step closer. “Why are you doing this?”
    “Because you are my heir! The only heir I will