Say Yes to the Duke Read Online Free PDF Page A

the dogs stared avidly at him, their tongues lolling.
    He was a Very Bad Man, Janice thought. And, God help her, she couldn’t look away.
    Except she must when, seconds later, she walked past him. Even with snow pelting her
     cheeks, she felt his heat. And his gaze. Yet she wouldn’t look at him. That wouldn’t
     be proper. Kissing him wasn’t proper, either. But what was done was done. She could
     be proper starting now. She would behave as a real lady should.
    But as she cautiously ascended the freshly cleared steps to the front door with the
     duke—finally!—his unremarkable friends following behind in much the same way the hounds
     were, she had an odd craving, considering how fortunate she was to be with His Grace:
     she wished a wayward groom were escorting her up these stairs instead.
    Was it exhaustion or desperation that made her think this way? Every woman in London
     would like to trade places with her right now. The duke’s grip was firm and his body
     next to hers intimidating. Beneath his coat, his calves strained with muscle, and
     his belly was flat as a washing board. He was clearly in the prime of life.
    And he was without a wife.
    She looked one more time over her right shoulder to see Mr. Callahan, and her heart
     skipped a beat. There he was, watching her steadily, his mouth grim. Forbidding. As
     if he was ready to do someone bodily damage. Yet there was also that element of amusement
     behind his eyes, barely concealed, when they locked gazes.
    Janice bristled. This was the man who’d devoured her lips as if he were partaking
     of a rich gateau, who’d raked the length of her body with his hot, shameless gaze.
    He was a savage. And he had no right to be amused by her.
    But her body didn’t lie.
    She wanted him, nonetheless.

 
    Chapter Three
     
    A butler magically appeared to throw the door wide in welcome. Janice was never so
     ready to cross a threshold. The duke and his friends came behind her, and then the
     hounds. When the door finally shut, sealing the scoundrel groom out, she breathed
     a sigh of relief. She could focus on why she was here—and then she remembered she
     wouldn’t be here long.
    Her heart sank fast to her feet. And she knew it was because once the roads cleared
     she would be sent back to London.
    But at least now she was warm. And somehow the hodgepodge of a décor, faded but still
     dignified—from the suit of armor in the corner to the tall case clock ticking laboriously
     at the base of the staircase to the ancient hat stand—spoke to her. The home seemed
     ducal in the noblest sense of the word, achieving an air that overlooked mere pomp
     in favor of depth and substance.
    Perhaps Halsey was the same way. She hoped so. She’d forgive him his self-importance
     outside in the snow, as well as his apparent indifference to her. What duke didn’t
     feel important? And as for his lack of interest in her, perhaps he was wise to maintain
     his distance. For all he knew, she—like the other women who’d come before her to Halsey
     House—was after him, and if she followed her parents’ wishes he’d be correct.
    Embarrassed at the very idea of scheming to win a man she didn’t know, especially
     a duke, she stared upward at the house’s beams and rich, well-worn tapestries hung
     on its high walls. Welcome, it seemed to say. I have stories to tell, great and small. A slant of light from the transom above the front door fell on a crystal vase on
     the massive sideboard, throwing little diamonds over the black-and-white tile floor.
    She might not be Irish, like Daddy, but she was fey in her own way. She got a sure
     impression that much laughter had echoed through this home’s spaces at one time or
     another, that abundant love had flowed as copiously as wine at a wedding.
    She had a sudden wish that one of the house’s stories would be hers.
    But it won’t be, she reminded herself. You’re leaving.
    As soon as the roads cleared and her wheel was fixed. It