Christian Seaton_ Duke of Danger(35)

‘Me?’ She looked shocked at the idea.

He grimaced. ‘You are as close to Helene Rousseau as we are likely to get—’

‘I am not close to her at all!’ Lisette protested. ‘I hardly know her.’

‘Nevertheless, you are her daughter.’

Lisette took in the full import of Christian’s words. ‘You are hoping to use me in some way in order to influence Helene’s future actions.’

A nerve pulsed in Christian’s clenched jaw. ‘I am hoping to protect you; others may wish to do otherwise.’

Lisette no longer knew what to think.

That Helene could be involved in something so monstrous as kidnapping a child was abhorrent to her.

That she would be used as a similar weapon against Helene was also obvious.

She gave a shake of her head. ‘Helene will not be swayed by any threats that are made towards me.’

Unfortunately, Christian also believed that to be the truth; fanatics such as Helene and her brother André were not people who allowed personal emotions to enter into their bigger plans. Something else he would need to convince Maystone of.

In the meantime, as he had suspected, he had now succeeded in frightening Lisette with the truth. ‘I will not allow anyone to hurt you—’

‘And how will you stop them?’ Lisette rose abruptly to her feet as she looked at him coldly. ‘I should have known that your interest was never in me, that I was merely a convenient pawn for you to use in the continued war against Napoleon!’

‘That is not true—’

‘It is true, and you know that it is!’ Tears glistened in those beautiful blue eyes. ‘I cannot believe, after I helped to save you from your attackers, and then nursed you through the night and on the voyage to England, that you were all the time being so deceitful!’ She turned on her heel and ran to the door.

‘Lisette—!’ Christian once again attempted to sit up and swing his legs to the side of the bed with the intention of rising to his feet, ignoring the pain as he pushed up unsteadily onto his feet, wanting only to reach Lisette, to prevent her from leaving, to reassure her—

‘Well, well, well, and what have we here?’ drawled an all too familiar voice.

Christian felt himself toppling and then falling back onto the bed as he looked up and saw his brother-in-law Marcus Wilding, the Duke of Worthing, standing in the doorway with Lisette an unwilling prisoner in his arms.





Chapter Eight

‘Can you manage, Christian, or shall I release this beauty in order to assist you?’

Christian glared across the bedchamber at his brother-in-law as he carefully sat up on the bed; Marcus was one of his best friends as well as his brother-in-law, but that did not change the fact that he also had an infuriating knack for the understatement.

‘Ah, I see you have decided to manage on your own.’ Marcus’s green eyes were alight with curiosity. ‘Perhaps you would care to make the introductions?’ He arched a pointed black brow at the young woman whose wrist he now held securely in order to prevent her from leaving.

Christian’s glare turned to a scowl. ‘What are you doing here, Marcus?’

The other man looked completely unruffled, by Christian’s taciturn tone and Lisette’s continued efforts to release herself.

‘I am here to see you, of— Ouch!’ Marcus looked down in surprise as one of Lisette’s tiny booted feet came down painfully on his instep. ‘A hellion, by God!’ he murmured admiringly.

Christian would have warned the other man, in regard to Lisette’s temper, if he was not feeling quite so out of sorts with Marcus himself.

Having sent word ahead for his coach to arrive in Portsmouth, he should perhaps have realised that his overprotective sister, and consequently his totally besotted brother-in-law, would keep themselves apprised of his movements.

‘Just so,’ he confirmed drily as he settled himself more comfortably on the side of the bed. ‘Lisette, the man you just assaulted is Marcus Wilding, the Duke of Worthing, and married to my sister Julianna.’

Lisette ceased her struggles instantly to instead look up at the devilishly handsome man holding her prisoner; green eyes were dancing merrily down at her as he met what was no doubt her shocked gaze.

Of course she was surprised at meeting yet another duke; indeed, she seemed to be meeting more than her fair share of them recently.

‘And you are...?’ this new duke queried pointedly.

‘I am—’

‘Lisette Duprée, my ward,’ Christian Seaton answered the other man challengingly, or so it seemed to Lisette.

And no doubt it was; if this was Christian Seaton’s brother-in-law, then he must know that the other man did not have a ward. Or, at the very least, he had not done so the last time the two of them had met.