Redemption of the Duke Read Online Free PDF Page B

duke’s offer.
    She imagined he would pay her more, too, and his guilt would keep him from overworking
     her.
    She sucked on her burned finger and silently berated herself. She could not allow
     herself to be dependent on one man again. Oh, Lord Warburton was certainly her employer,
     but it wasn’t the same thing as having a young, handsome bachelor take control of
     her life.
    Handsome ? Where had that come from? What did his looks matter, compared to what his behavior
     had wrought in her life? And now he was trying to make it worse.
    But he thought he was trying to make it better.
    That night, Faith almost begged leave to stay home, but for some reason Adelia seemed
     to need her nearby early in the Season, and Faith could not resist being needed. Young
     women at this stage of their lives could be so fragile. Occasionally, a title name
     slipped Adelia’s tongue, or she couldn’t remember who was related to whom and needed
     Faith’s growing expertise. Adelia was the little jewel of her very plain family, the
     one upon whom all expectations of family prominence rested. For that, Faith pitied
     the poor girl and thought she could make things better.
    Sometimes Faith found her own in-between status awkward, but she was learning to deal
     with it. If she were a lady’s maid, she’d have eaten with the servants, but as a companion,
     she sat with the guests, where occasionally, no one spoke to her. She didn’t mind;
     the food was usually delicious and listening in on conversations was the perfect way
     to learn more about Society. She planned to become the most sought after chaperone.
    But that night would be different, because while she was seated with an elderly lady
     in the corner of the Randolphs’ small drawing room discussing needlework, the Duke
     of Rothford was introduced. The whispers buzzed outward from him like the rays of
     the sun. Charlotte, standing with her charge, shot Faith a wide-eyed look.
    “I did not think I could be surprised anymore,” Miss Bury mused upon seeing the duke.
     “But then again, I did not think this party could be anything but dull.”
    She tittered and elbowed Faith, who forced a pained smile to her lips.
    “He’s trying too hard to be good,” the old woman continued in a loud whisper that
     could surely be heard by the next couple. “It won’t last long—it never does with young
     bucks. Perhaps he’s just trying to get himself a wife.”
    Or perhaps he’s trying to prove something to himself, Faith thought. Was Miss Bury
     right? Was it only a matter of time before something bad happened? If she went to
     work for him, she’d be caught right in the middle.
    Three women entered with him, two blondes and a brunette. As if Miss Bury read Faith’s
     thoughts, she said, “Those women are his mother, sister, and sister by marriage.”
    “Oh,” Faith murmured, eyes widening.
    The youngest woman must surely be his sister, and Faith watched as she was surrounded
     by other young ladies and led away, laughing.
    And he thought she needed the help of a companion? she wondered cynically.
    And then his gaze swept the crowd and landed right on her. She flushed with heat as
     if he’d touched her. No, surely it was the worry that others had noticed. How would
     she explain herself?
    But even the old woman at her side noticed nothing, so focused was she on the duke
     himself. Faith couldn’t even look at Charlotte, who knew all about her improper meetings
     in the park with the duke.
    “Faith!” Adelia hissed as she approached. “I caught my hem and tore it. I need your
     help sewing it.”
    Faith followed her out of the drawing room to the ladies’ retiring room with relief.
     By the time they returned, the duke was already leading their hostess in to dinner,
     and everyone else followed according to rank. She trailed at the end along with someone’s
     young male cousin from the country, who blushed to the roots of his hair when she
     smiled absently at him.
    She