My Dangerous Duke (The Twisted Dukes #2)

Chapter 4

E leanor stood in her father’s study, stunned and more confused than ever as Xander shut the door behind him. What in the world had just happened?

“Eleanor!”

The boom of her father’s voice jolted Eleanor out of her thoughts like a lightning bolt, and she jumped out of her frozen state to scurry to the door and crack it open. Her heart jumped into her throat when she saw the duke and her father standing but twenty paces away. The handsome devil wore a wide smile on his face as he shook her father’s hand, infuriating her instantly, but what he said surprised her even more.

“Yes, once again, Langley, my apologies, but I must be off. As I just said, have your solicitor draw up whatever it is that you want in terms of wedding arrangements and I will see to it that it will be taken care of,” Xander stated, his dominant tone steamrolling poor Victor like the weaker man he was.

“Why, thank you, Your Grace,” Eleanor heard Victor say in awe, “It is quite a change from earlier temperament. Perhaps, moving forward, we can have a better understanding of one another.”

At once, Eleanor saw Xander’s smile drop and a fierce look returned to his eyes as he gazed down impassively at Victor.

“Make no mistake, Langley, we will never be friends,” Xander stated, his tone full of disgust.

Eleanor’s eyes quickly jumped back to her father’s face and saw it was riddled with guilt. What is the meaning of all this?

“But I am a man to make the best of any situation,” Xander continued matter-of-factly, “So here are my demands of the wedding, and Langley, when I tell you I will not be moved on these things, I mean it. I will only be pushed so far.”

“Name them,” her father all but stammered out, seemingly growing excited.

“While I have had an aversion to marriage, my grandmother has not. She will be thrilled to know that I am to be wed, and she will insist they be a part of certain things. You will let her, and you will never bring about how this deal was formed. If she asks how Miss Eleanor and I met, you shall say we met at the Starburst Ball, which is all the truth she will need.”

“O-of course,” Victor stammered, nodding his head so quickly that his jowls jiggled. “This shall be a wondrous day for all-”

“I am sure it will be,” Xander quipped, cutting Victor off. “But I must be going. Busy day as always, as you see.”

Eleanor watched her father once more stumble over parting pleasantries as the duke strode away from him and down the hall. As soon as he disappeared around the corner, Victor chuckled, nodded his head, and smiled triumphantly to himself.

“Well done, old boy,” he murmured aloud to himself as he began to walk back toward the drawing room, “Well done.”

“How was it, Your Grace?” Jared, Xander’s valet asked as he got into his carriage.

“Beyond interesting,” Xander stated curtly as he took his seat, “And we have much to do.”

“Right away, Your Grace,” Jared replied quickly. With swift, effective motions, the man rapped upon the ceiling of the carriage, pulled out his lap desk, put on his spectacles, and drew out his pen and paper. In truth, Jared was much more than Xander’s valet; his responsibilities were spreading further in both his personal and business life. Servant or not, Xander treated him with great respect.

“First and foremost, I need you to pen a missive to my grandmother, alerting her that I shall be married,” Xander began, stating it as if he were stating the mere weather. Jared’s head shot up as the carriage began to take them to the duke’s next appointment.

“What blessed news!” Jared exclaimed, “Congratulations, Your Grace!”

Xander was not yet sure if the union he was about to enter was an actual blessing or not, but he was certain that it was a mystery. Eleanor fascinated him greatly.

“Thank you, I suppose,” Xander mused briefly, “But back to business.”

Without another word, Jared’s head dropped to pen the missive Xander wanted to send to his grandmother. When he finished, he drew out a fresh paper and made out the long list of things Xander rattled off to him.

“I will not need you in this meeting, you may go. Once you have those things arranged let me know and I shall alert you of what is next,” Xander instructed as the carriage came to their next stop. “Take care of my grandmother’s letter first.”

“Yes, Your Grace,” Jared replied quickly as Xander reached for the door, “But before you go, I must tell you something. Regarding your cousin.”

Xander’s mood, briefly lightened by Eleanor’s kiss and successfully steamrolling Victor, darkened once more, and he shut the carriage door with great force.

“What is it?” he demanded.

“I know you sent him off to Larsen but he has returned to London, Your Grace,” Jared replied meekly, visibly shrinking in his seat. “And has taken up residence in your quarters.”

A red haze settled over Xander’s vision as his chest filled with rage. This little detail was something he should have been informed of immediately. While his interest in Eleanor certainly made the blackmail easier to swallow, it still did not overshadow the fact that it was his cousin’s antics that had allowed him to be blackmailed in the first place.

“Get out,” Xander instructed, his tone void of all emotion. “Reschedule my appointments before you do anything else. I shall deal with this immediately.”

Jared exited the carriage without a word, but Xander could hear him instructing the driver to take his Master home at once. During the short drive, Xander’s mood only darkened. As soon as the carriage stopped he was out of it, striding up the stairs to his London House and directly up the stairs toward his bedchambers. Servants scattered the moment they saw him, stopping whatever they were doing the moment they saw his hardened face.

Not bothering with the door handle, Xander kicked open the double doors of his rooms, sending splinters flying off of them as they splayed apart, and marched inside to see his cousin and a woman naked in his bed, both of their eyes and mouths wide with alarm.

“Jesus, Cousin!” Richard exclaimed, jumping out of the bed as he pulled a sheet around his naked waist. “I knew you would be chapped about me being here but this is a bit much, is it not?”

Xander’s eyes narrowed in on the woman his cousin had left on the bed, and the fear in her eyes only made him more disgusted.

“Get dressed and get out,” his gravelly tone commanded as he stared directly into her eyes. With a gasp, the woman suddenly flew into motion, scrambling off the bed and toward her pile of clothes. In a moment, she had them thrown haphazardly on and was running toward the broken door.

“That was completely uncalled for,” Richard started, but before he could finish his sentence, Xander was on him, his fist sailing directly into his cousin’s chin, and for a brief moment, his rage was satisfied.

“Bloody Fucking Hell, Cousin!” Richard roared, staggering back as his hands flew to his mouth.

“Do not you dare tell me what is uncalled for, Richard!” Xander snarled, his fist clenching once more. “Do you have any idea what your debauchery has just cost this family? What it has cost me ?”

A look of genuine confusion came over Richard’s face, and his hand slowly dropped from his sore mouth.

“Xan, old chap,” Richard said calmly, reaching a hand toward him, “What are you talking about?”

“ Marcus .”

The name came out of Xander’s lips bitingly. It was a name that would be scorched in his mind forever. The night of the ball- of his demise- Victor had actually allowed him to read the letters Richard had received from his lover, Marcus; and they were disgustingly detailed in the description of not just their sexual acts, but their alleged love. If the letters were to get out, it would ruin them all.

Richard froze.

“Who?”

“Oh, off it,” Xander growled, waving a frustrated hand toward his cousin. “I know what you wrote to him, and so does someone else.”

Richard’s face paled so drastically and so suddenly that for a moment, Xander’s anger dipped toward worry.

“Oh, God,” Richard groaned, “Someone has found us out. Who is it? What do they want from me?”

Xander laughed bitterly. Of course, his cousin was only worried about himself.

“You always think it is just about you, do you not?” He asked, shaking his head as walked over to Richard’s discarded breeches. He tossed them toward him bitterly, and Richard only gave him a confused look as he caught them.

“Tell me what has happened and I will fix it,” Richard stated as he drew his pants on. “They will kill me if I do not fix it, Xander. You know they will. They will have me hanged if word of this gets out.”

“I know,” Xander muttered bitterly, tossing him his shirt next. “Which is why you will come nowhere near this Marcus again, and I mean that literally. I am sending you back to Larsen where you shall live as a hermit while I handle this. You are in luck, Cousin. It is not you that this pathetic social climber wants, but me. ”

Richard started to ask a question, but Xander cut him off.

“And so, help me, Cousin,” he warned gravely, “If you attempt to involve grandmother in this, I will put you in the ground myself! All she needs to know is that you are tired of partying and I am going to be married.”

Richard’s eyes bulged suddenly and despite the trouble he knew he was in, he chuckled.

“Married?” He repeated. “You are actually getting married? To whom?”

Realizing he had only given Richard snippets of details, Xander explained how Victor cornered him at their last ball and presented him with evidence of Richard and Marcus’s love affair. In return for his silence on the rather scandalous matter, Xander had agreed to marry Victor’s youngest daughter, Eleanor, and make her a duchess. Which would, in turn, elevate his own status. Xander found the way the man was willing to use people particularly disgusting, but until he had a foolproof way to get out from his thumb, he had to play along.

“So, are you ready to tell me about him now?” Xander asked, looking at his cousin coolly. “He must really be something to change all of this.”

“Xander,” Richard pleaded, his usual sarcastic and smug nature long gone as he looked toward his older cousin, “I know I have made a fool of myself with my lecherous ways. I know I have caused this family unjust pain. But Marcus, he is different. I know how wrong this sounds, Cousin, but I love him.”

“Ha!” Xander barked, unable to believe his very ears. He turned toward Richard and marched toward him, stopping only when they were face to face.

“You were just in bed with a woman!” he stated, pointing toward it. “ My bed. You have been in many women’s beds since we have gotten here, and have visited nearly every woman’s bed in our land. It is not your level of debauchery that surprises or appalls me, Cousin, though I cannot say the same for the Ton if they were ever to find out, but it is the fact that you claim you can love.”

Richard’s brow furrowed as he shot Xander a dirty look, and quickly walked away from him.

“Like you would know more about love than I,” he shot back bitterly. “Your ledger is not pristine either, Xander. I may be known as a rake, but at least I am not known as a monster like you. People talk, you know. About how ruthless you are. Your force may not damage your reputation but it wins you no friends either.”

Xander realized at the moment that he had two options: to give in to his fury and beat his cousin to a bloody pulp- which would only cause more scandal- or walk away, and deal with his frustrations in a more suitable manner. Remembering that Jared’s missive was most likely on its way right now and that his grandmother would probably be arriving on the morrow, he chose the latter.

“I may be the monster I am known for,” Xander agreed, throwing Richard’s jacket- his final piece of clothing at him- “But it is the monster’s mercy that is saving your life. Go home, Richard. You have done enough damage here.”