Intimate Deception Read Online Free PDF Page B

ever have!”
    Tension crackled between them with as much force as a gunshot. Several long seconds passed and neither of them moved. When Raeborn spoke, his voice was calm and even, the tone more dangerous than if he had shouted.
    “When I die, you will inherit one of the most respected titles in England. As well as enough wealth to maintain its greatness. I cannot take credit for anything I have been given. It was earned by those who came before me and passed down from one generation to the next. But this gift comes at a cost.
    “The weight of responsibility is staggering. Hundreds of people rely on my judgment for their livelihood, for the very food that goes on their tables. For the clothes on their backs as well as the roofs over their heads. I have accepted this responsibility. But I’m afraid you see only what you can take from the gift. Not what is expected of you so that what you’ve been given prospers.”
    Raeborn paused, waiting for some sign his cousin concurred. He felt immense disappointment when no sign was forthcoming. Even though only ten years separated them, he knew the animosity Germaine harbored stemmed from a lifetime of jealousy and envy on the younger man’s part. His cousin’s next words emphasized it.
    “You are only doing this because all the Raeborn wealth is already at your fingertips. Because of a freak accident of birth, your father inherited everything and mine nothing. Because of the mere eighteen minutes that separated their entrance into the world, your father inherited the riches while mine was left a pauper.”
    Vincent gripped the edge of the sideboard until his fingers ached. “Whether my father was born eighteen minutes before yours or eighteen years, it still made him the firstborn and heir. He was born heir to the Dukedom of Raeborn, as was I.”
    Vincent emptied the whiskey in his glass and filled it again. After he took another swallow, he spun around to face down his cousin. “I have given you all you are going to get.”
    “Damn you, Raeborn!”
    “Enough! In time it will all be yours. Hopefully when it passes down to you, you will be responsible enough to appreciate the gift you have inherited.”
    “A town house and country estate are not enough. How dare you expect me to live like a country squire when I am your heir? Your heir!”
    “Then be an heir I can be proud of!”
    Vincent’s retort was a rare display of his anger and frustration. He regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth.
    It was at times like this that he’d give everything he’d inherited for things to be different. That he’d gladly hand over the Raeborn title and everything that went with it if the two women who’d sacrificed their lives to give him an heir were still alive.
    Vincent gripped the glass until he feared the expensive crystal would shatter in his hand. “Any argument you pose is a moot point, cousin. The fact remains that, until my death, I am still the Duke of Raeborn.”
    “That fact is always in the forefront of my mind,
Your Grace
.”
    Vincent didn’t react to the sarcasm in his cousin’s voice. “A letter will be dispatched to my solicitor yet today to pay all your outstanding debts. The papers concerning your London town house and Castle Downs estate will be ready for your signature in a week’s time.”
    The Duke of Raeborn slowly stood and, with his glass in hand, walked to the window. He turned his back on his cousin as a sign of dismissal.
    There was a slight pause before Germaine stormed from the room, the heavy oak door slamming behind him.
    Vincent slowly lifted the glass to his mouth and drank. He’d had far more than usual and was close to being drunk. Today, however, he didn’t care. Too many of hiscousin’s words burned like acid in an open wound. Too many of his accusations were closer to the truth than he wanted to admit. He
was
stuffy and staid. He’d seen too much death not to be. Given up too much of his heart not to protect himself behind a