The Duke's Temptation Read Online Free PDF Page A

house without coming upon anyone. When he approached the door he slowed his steps, calculating the right moment to pounce.
    He reached his hand out and slowly turned the knob. Using pure instinct, Gabe counted silently. One . . . two . . . three. Threw the door open and . . . nothing . Well, nothing besides the bang of the door against the house that would probably wake the entire household.
    Holding the poker and ready to strike, Gabe peered around the doorway and into the darkness, his body tight with anticipation.
    Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound.
    The man was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, Gabe’s luck with intruders was about as good as the rest of his life lately.
    He slammed his hand against the wall. “Damn!”
    “Your Grace?”
    Gabe swung around.
    Framed by the candle he held, Wilkes stood in his nightclothes, his widened eyes locked on the poker clutched in Gabe’s hand, still poised to strike.
    Gabe instantly lowered his arm. “Umm . . . yes. Sorry.”
    “No problem, Your Grace.” With the threat of bodily harm gone, Wilkes transformed back to his collected self. “May I ask what you were hunting for?”
    “No need to ship me off to Bedlam, there is a perfectly good explanation for this.”
    “I never doubted it.” A smile tugged at Wilkes’s mouth, but luckily for the butler he managed to keep it suppressed. Despite the friendly nature of their relationship, Gabe was in no mood to take insolence from the man.
    “While in the study, I noticed something moving around outside. When I looked out the window, I spotted a man lurking about.”
    “And the fire poker?”
    “I couldn’t tell if the man was armed.”
    The candlelight caught the laughter shining in Wilkes’s eyes. “And of course you readily took up arms and went storming in.”
    “Yes, I see how some may view my actions as absurd. Which doesn’t change the fact that there was a man outside.”
    All trace of humor vanished. “Of course not, Your Grace. What would you like me to do?”
    “Follow me.”
    Not exactly sure what he planned, Gabe exited the house, with the improperly dressed Wilkes trailing close behind.
    “May I ask what you are looking for, Your Grace?”
    “Something, anything. Maybe nothing.”
    “Of course.” Gabe had always suspected Wilkes used his proper demeanor to hide his true thoughts. This time, there was no mistaking the mockery mixed with his words.
    They hadn’t traveled far from the house when they located the first trace of the intruder. The grass still held the imprints from the man’s boots.
    “Bloody hell, someone was here.” Gabe had hoped he’d been mistaken. That maybe his single glass of brandy had been stronger than usual.
    “Should I alert the watch?”
    Gabe paused to think. There was no evidence the man had been trying to break into the house. In fact, he’d walked right by the window of the study. He’d have to be completely daft to miss the light coming from the room. If he’d taken the time to look inside, he would have seen Gabe sitting before the fire.
    Nothing short of a complete imbecile would still try to break into a house with the homeowner present. The man might not have been an intruder after all.
    Hell, on enough occasions Gabe himself had accidently stumbled into someone’s yard after a wild night on the town. Perhaps this event was of a similar sort.
    “No. Even if the man had tried to break in, nothing can be done about it now. To be safe, have the servants remain alert for anything suspicious.”
    “Will do. Now, if you have no objection, I believe I’ll retire to the house.” Wilkes gave a slight gesture to his state of dress.
    The sight of his always-very-proper butler standing outside during the middle of the night, wearing his dressing robe, sent a silent chuckle through Gabe. He actually found it fitting justice. Served the man right for finding humor in chasing after a possible intruder with a fire poker .
    Feeling generous, Gabe let the similarities in