Page 11 of If the Duke Demands

“The timing is right. The most eligible ladies will be gathered in London for the season,” he continued, reciting the speech he’d practiced in his head while his valet had been dressing him this morning. Barlow had bemoaned the entire time that he hadn’t helped Sebastian undress last night after the party. And a good thing he hadn’t, given the unexpected appearance of Lady Rose in his bedchamber. “All their extended families will be in residence, which will give me a good opportunity to examine their pedigrees. I need a respectable duchess, a highborn wife befitting the title and its holdings.”

Quinn laughed. “It sounds as if you’re choosing a horse!”

“Oh no, not at all,” Robert disagreed with a teasing wink at Quinn. “Seb wants more spirit in his horse than in his wife.”

Sebastian ignored both of them and concentrated on his mother’s growing frown, more troubled by that than he wanted to admit, as he finished with the coup de grâce to his brothers’ joking—“Someone who can give me an heir.”

Thatsobered both brothers immediately.

All four of them knew how important it was that Sebastian father a son. If he didn’t, the titles, the estate, and all the responsibilities would fall to his brothers. No one wanted that to happen. Least of all both of them. Oh, they would help him whenever he asked, yet they also wanted the freedom to live their lives however they chose and pursue their own paths of success, along which they were already rapidly excelling. But assume all the responsibilities completely?Never.

His mother’s troubled frown melted into one of concern—andthatbothered him even more than the frown. “An heir is an important duty, of course.” Motherly love and worry filled her voice. “Yet there are other considerations.”

He nodded. “She must also understand the necessity of privacy and sobriety.” A woman not at all like Miranda, he thought, once again piqued at last night’s events. What on earth had she been thinking? She could have rained scandal down on both their families if anyone had seen her sneaking in or out of his bedroom. “Having us together in London will allow for all of you to give approval before I make an offer.”

“But, Sebastian, dear,” his mother said gently, “that is not our decision to make.”

“Your opinions are very important to me.” The title was as much theirs as it was his, and the decision of taking a wife could prove a momentous one for the future of the entire family. “We’ll use the season to conduct a logical, well-reasoned search for a duchess.”

Robert and Quinn looked at each other, then hooted with laughter.

Sebastian scowled at them. They could at least take the matter seriously, and if not seriously, then at least hold their peace. And stay out of his way.

He leveled his gaze on Quinn, the cold expression making his brother choke on his laughter. “And what, exactly, doyouplan on doing this season while the rest of us are productively engaged?”

Quinn grinned. “Conducting a logical, well-reasoned search to find as many women as possible.”

“Hear, hear!” Robert raised his coffee cup in a toast. “To sweethearts and wives—”

“May they never meet!” Quinn finished, clinking his cup against his brother’s.

Sebastian shook his head. How was it possible that all three of them shared the same set of parents?

Having learned years ago that it was better to ignore her sons’ antics than to risk encouraging them by giving them attention, his mother sat forward in her chair and turned her cornflower-blue eyes on Sebastian. Her love and concern for him shone in their depths. “I think it’s a wonderful idea that you are serious about starting a family. But I hope you choose a wife for the right reasons.”

“I will,” he assured her.

She reached across the desk and placed her hand over his. “And that you have a marriage as loving and wonderful as the one I had with your father.”

“I will,” he repeated, although with much less conviction. He squeezed her hand as a knot of emotion tightened in his throat, then pulled away. As a duke, love was a luxury he couldn’t afford. After all, he wasn’t searching for a loving wife but a perfect duchess. One to make his father proud. And to be fortunate enough to find both in one woman…well, fate had never been that kind to him.

He cleared his throat and leveled his gaze on Robert. “And the family’s investments? Anything to report?”

Robert nodded, and suddenly, with the turn of conversation, he wasn’t the same man who had just joked with Quinton about May Day and marriage. He was mature, responsible, confident. The change was palpable. “I’ve moved capital from our accounts into the funds with the Bank of England. A low-risk investment just as you requested. The yields will sustain the principal and incur modest growth, enough to roll over into new land purchases in a few years, if you still want to expand the family’s agricultural holdings.”

Sebastian studied his brother, not letting the pride he felt for him show. Anyone looking at Robert now would never have suspected the wild scapegrace he’d been just two years ago or how he’d successfully taken over the Carlisle family’s financial investments in the intervening years. Or how much Father’s death had rocked Robert to his core. “You advise against property purchases? Wealth lies in land.”

Robert shook his head, his face as serious as Sebastian’s. “We have enough land to support the estate twice over. What we need are capital investments not tied to real estate. The wars are over, and the empire’s changing. New trade opportunities are springing up every day, and we’d be wise to invest a share of our profits in factories, trade, and goods.”

Quinn elbowed him in the ribs with a wink. “The ladies love it when you talk like that.”

Robert said nothing but hid his grin behind the rim of his cup of whiskey-coffee as he raised it for a sip.

“And you?” Sebastian turned his gaze onto Quinton. “Is the estate ready for spring?”

“The repairs to the dairy barn are set to start as soon as the cold weather breaks, and we’ve managed to mend the stone wall on the east pasture, as well as deepen the irrigation ditch ahead of schedule. I’ve decided to make allowances to the tenants this spring for losses in last year’s drought. We’re not obligated to, but…” He shrugged casually, as if that project alone hadn’t taken weeks to bring to fruition. Quinton had found a hidden skill in dealing with the estate’s daily operations, and all his charm had certainly helped relations with the tenants. “Trent has offered to supply free seeds for this year’s plantings.”

Sebastian arched a brow, not because he was upset at his brother for making promises on his behalf but because he was proud of the way Quinton had risen to the challenge of overseeing the estate. “Trent is, is he?”