To Catch A Duke Read Online Free PDF Page B

took a swipe at her eyes for
good measure, not wanting anyone to know she'd been crying.
    Finally, when she was ready, she
went to the door and opened it, surprised to see Nicholas on the other side,
still dressed in his evening clothes.   "Evening, Jules," he said as he wandered in, and she noted
that his cravat was undone and his stick pin missing, probably tucked into his
pocket, a sure sign that he'd been drinking.
    "Good evening, Nicholas.   Out carousing again, were you?"   There was no censure in her tone.   Like her, Nicholas had endured quite a bit
in his life, and she wasn't about to lecture him on denying himself the
pleasures of women and drink and gambling.   She might think it, but she would not say it.   She would not take away someone else's source of comfort, even
though she might wish he would find other ways to fill his evenings.
    He flopped himself into a chair and
pinched the bridge of his nose.   "A
bit."   Then he waved a hand in the
air.   "Good God, Jules.   It's all so boring.   There is nothing new.   Town has become boring.   We need to go back to Seldon
Park."   Yet there was no conviction
behind his words, and immediately, she guessed the truth.
    "You heard about the incident
at the ball."   She regarded him for
a moment before moving to sit in the chair beside his.   "Only a few more weeks, Nicholas, and
then we can leave.   I can endure that
long."
    Reaching out, he took her hand and
held it tightly in his, and for a moment, she allowed herself to bask in the
warmth of brotherly love.   "You
should not have to endure, Jules.   You
should be able to enjoy all that town has to offer.   This was to be your time to shine."
    "We both know that I will
never shine."   Julia squeezed his
hand back just as tightly.   "And I
cannot run back to Seldon Park every time an incident occurs, or I am
embarrassed.   If I do, those horrid
creatures will have won, and I do not want that.   They will not drive me away.   If I run now, I will not be able to return.   Ever."
    He raised an eyebrow, obviously not
nearly as drunk as he wanted her to believe.   "I thought you were never coming back to London again.   You told me you did not want to."
    "I don't, precisely," she
admitted, pulling her hand away from his.   "But what if I change my mind, Nicholas?   What if some day I wish to attend a play?   What then?   I could never hold my head up in society if I allow them to chase me back
to the country.   I would be shamed.   No.   I will endure and leave on my own terms when the season ends."   Then she patted his hand in an attempt to
ease the heat of her words.   "It
will be fine.   You shall see."
    Nicholas's dark eyes, so very like
her own, traced the lines of the scars.   "I don't want to see you hurt, Jules.   That's all."   There
was concern clearly written all over his face, so much that it made her heart
swell with love for him.
    "I am hurt every day that I
live, Nicholas."   It was the truth,
and it was time he knew it.   "Each
day that I awake, I know that someone I shall encounter during the day will
hurt me, intentionally or not.   That
includes the servants when they look at me with curiosity, wondering if they
can learn my secret so that they may sell it to the highest bidder."  
    When he looked at her warily, she
grasped his hand in both of hers.   "There is the bet, Nicholas, and whether here or at Seldon Park,
someone is looking for the answer.   Thousands upon thousands of pounds are one the line, and do not think
for one moment that even someone as loyal as Meggy would not sell me out if
they knew the answer for that ridiculous bet."
    Rising, Julia stalked back to her
dressing table, her earlier sadness now morphing into fury.   "Even back home, a groom or a maid will
stare at me at some point during the day.   If not because of the bet then because of idle curiosity or an
inquisitive nature.   People want to know
what happened to me, Nicholas, and