Page 7 of To Ensnare a Duke

Winking, I move to stand, brushing off my trousers. "Your secret is safe, my friend. Even if your sister was listening in, it's not as if she knows the location. Nothing is amiss. Though I dare say you both are a bit more fractious than normal. Something else is wrong, isn't there?"

A heavy sigh fills the room as he once more plops his head in his hands. "Father left me ill-equipped to oversee our estates. Though my duties do not even come close to encompassing yours, it's still a burden I do not feel prepared for."

We both take a moment of silence as he mourns the passing of his parents. Though it's been at least a year now, I know he still feels the loss keenly. Truth be told, his family is holding up far better than expected.

To lose one parent is hard enough. To lose both in one fell swoop… It's a miracle he's even functioning as well as he is. I'm sure they both thought they had more time. More time to train him, more time to prepare Miss Hunt to take on the marriage mart. It makes me all the more protective of my sisters and the time they spend at Mother's feet.

At least with me, I was trained night and day for my role as future duke. When Father succumbed to consumption, I was more than ready to fill his place. Granted, where he was gentle in his commands, I'm his opposite. So I suppose there could be an argument that I'm still not ready.

"If you have need of assistance-"

"No, Portswell. I thank you for your consideration. I have things well enough in hand. There's just far more to juggle now that it's the Season. Honestly, it's why I brought you here in the first place."

"Oh?" Intrigued, I lean forward, curiosity eating at me. "And what can I assist with that's specific to this time of year?"

"I must away to the country to see to the estates and parishes. Seems there has been a slew of unlucky circumstances plaguing my people and their crops. A skirmish has broken out on my lands that the military saw to. That part isn’t uncommon enough, but they trampled through the fields, ruining crops and animals. Those I oversee are in dire straits."

A stern frown tilts my lips as I run my hand over my chin. Far too common, as he said. Thankfully, no one has disrupted my part of the country. But then, it’s far vaster than Hardon’s. At least by four or five times. With holdings this massive, I can stand a few bits of horseflesh mucking it about better than he can.

"That is serious indeed. A veritable Goliath versus David situation. Has the crown assisted? Do you need me to send aid? Perhaps one of the others-"

“No, no,” he says quickly. “What I need is something far more serious. Something I cannot ask of the crown or many others. I need you to watch over Augusta in my stead."

Shock reels me, forcing me to lean back. I was more than prepared to send crops, food, and workers. But this? Not that I'm planning on doing my own searching for a bride this Season, but there's far more I had planned to do than watch some debutant.

"I am to be her guardian?" I clarify, leaning forward as if I hadn't heard him correctly. "But that's preposterous."

"Good heavens, no. She has her aunt for that. What I need is more of a watchful eye when they're out and about at balls. You're like me and carry similar… predilections. You know who is suitable and who is not. I cannot be there to make the match, and I don't expect you to speak in my stead, but you can certainly steer her toward those not in our peculiar ilk."

A devious smile curls my lips. Lowering my voice, I take note of where the servants are before speaking. "You mean those who do not derive pleasure from the... discomfort, to put it delicately, of others?"

He, too, whips his head around. "Yes, yes. You know precisely what I mean. I do not wish my sister to become prey to one like us."

Oh, if my friend only knew. I am like him in spirit, but the desires run far darker. However, it doesn't mean I can't bait the bear a touch. What else are friends for?

"I don't know, Hardon. She might like such an arrangement."

A moment or two of silence passes before we both nearly topple over with laughter. To think of the gentle, mild Miss Hunt craving the darker touch my friends and I can provide. Why the mental image alone is simply preposterous.

"I thank you, Portswell," he eventually hiccups. "I needed a spot of merriment."

Wrapping my arm around the waist, I stand and bend low, giving him a flourishing bow. "I live to serve, my lord."

An ungentlemanly snort vibrates through his nose. "The moment you serve anyone is the moment All of England becomes swallowed up by the Thames."

"Careful now. You do not wish to bring upon unneeded destruction, now do you?"

His demeanor sobers as he fondles his cup. "Never pegged you for the superstitious type."

"I'm not, but even I have my limits. Inclement weather is one of them. We already had an unseasonably cold snap when we visited Norhaven for Twelfth Night. I do not wish to call upon the wrath of Hera when we're already still a bit bundled to the gills."

"Fair enough," he chuckles, draining the rest of his coffee. "Fair enough."

After a few moments of silence, I stretch, feeling oddly uncomfortable and tight about the shoulders. Something feels off, but I cannot put my finger on it. Perhaps it's just the distress of knowing my friend will have to make haste back home, leaving his sister here with no one to attend to her other than an old aunt.

It's good he has others of her age and rank to come visit. To my remembrance, Miss Hunt seemed a bit reclusive growing up, satisfying herself with bouts of running through the grasses and dipping her toes into the water. She preferred the company of frogs over female friends, and as the only daughter to the late Viscount and his Viscountess, she was in desperate want of companionship.

Granted, as she grew, such boyish actions faded, transforming her into the woman upstairs recovering in her room. The Viscountess must have imparted some sort of femininity onto her before her sudden demise to allow Miss Hunt to move with such grace. Granted, her earlier outburst certainly hailed back to a far more primitive time.