Lady Vivian Defies a Duke Read Online Free PDF Page B

tinderbox. There was no telling how long he would be delayed while Lady Vivian’s cousin recovered, and his business with Captain Pendry couldn’t wait. Luke’s man of business had forwarded him the ship’s manifest and an accounting of the costs required for supplies. He needed to review the documents before authorizing payment, but he had hoped to ask his friend for help. Captain Daniel Hillary could complete the task in his sleep after years of sea travel, but Hillary was leaving for Brighton at the end of the week. Luke’s hopes of catching him before he left London were dwindling. He would have to complete the work himself.
    The char cloth sparked and caught fire. He lit a candle, dressed, and then pulled the documents from an inside coat pocket. Sitting down at the small desk, he resigned to get the task behind him. A tightening in his jaws began before he read half the page. Rubbing the back of his neck, he discovered bunched muscles already forming. Another blasted headache. By the second page, his vision began to blur and a band squeezed his head like an ill-fitting hat. He blinked and tried to clear his sight, but the ink remained a hazy mess on the page.
    Devil take it . He threw the papers aside and pushed to his feet. The movement set off a dull drumming in his skull. He cursed aloud. Captain Pendry was at a standstill until Luke responded to his request. Why couldn’t he perform even the simplest tasks without these headaches plaguing him?
    He moved to the window and shoved the drapes aside, disgusted. Dawn had begun her subtle painting of the sky. He’d watched many sunrises lately. Even before his father’s death he had been an early riser, but this past year had seen him awake more hours than asleep.
    He’d lost his chance to make his father proud, and no amount of wishing would ever bring him back. Before his father’s death, Luke had been too busy raising hell. He needed adventure, craved the thrill of putting his life on the line. Sitting in a study going over ledgers was boring, and he’d avoided his father—and his duties—every chance he could.
    After Luke’s accident he avoided his father for another reason. Shame. What if the duke found out he could barely read without debilitating headaches? How could he care for the estate? He would be the ruination of their family.
    Sometimes fury over his father’s death expanded inside him, pushing words from his mind. How could he have died? How could he have left him alone?
    This morning his usual disgust with himself was nudged aside by puzzlement as he recalled his encounters with Lady Vivian.
    “Why her?”
    Of course, his father couldn’t have been aware of the lady’s true nature. Her high spirits would earn his father’s disapproval, even though they appealed to Luke more than he cared to admit.
    A figure passed below the window, dragging him from his reverie. It was a woman, and she held a lantern aloft, lighting amber curls spilling down her back.
    His pulse quickened. “Lady Vivian?”
    Without a chaperone again.
    He shook his head, not believing what he was seeing. What was the minx up to now? He grabbed his jacket and left his chambers in pursuit.
    He found the corridor for a back staircase, hoping for a quicker route to the barn. He held himself in check as he stepped outside, his muscles tense and his stomach churning with anticipation. He was about to engage Lady Vivian in round three.
    The mewling of a calf intermingled with Lady Vivian’s rich laughter and drifted through the open door of the dairy barn as he neared. The lady expressed her mirth with hearty vigor, the smoky sound drawing him inside. He hurried his step, eager to see her again.
    The smells of sweet hay and musky animal hit him as he entered. He spotted her at once, but Lady Vivian had her back to him. She was scratching behind the ears of a spotted calf tethered to a post. The baby nudged her hand and elicited another heart-stopping chuckle from the