Sins of a Duke(13)
He turned to his friend. “Yes, well, she introduced herself as a Miss Desiree Hastings. She clearly did not want me to know who she was.” He thought of her laughing eyes and innocent recklessness, and was instantly irritated. “Why is she even here? How did she secure an invitation?”
“You are forgetting her brother is Calydon. And her other brother, Lord Anthony, is a powerful man in his own right, a lion of commerce. They have both used their clout to try and force society to forgive her perceived sins. If not for your interference, they would have surely succeeded.” Ainsley grimaced and moved to lean against the railing. “You have had satisfaction from all the other parties who played a role in Marissa’s tragedy. Have you considered leaving Calydon be? He is nothing like Stanhope.”
Satisfaction? Lucan went cold inside. He would never be satisfied. His sister was dead, and until everyone involved had suffered as she must have suffered, he would not be able to sleep, to finally stop having nightmares.
“No,” his response was flat, and he need not say more. Ainsley should understand.
His friend clasped Lucan’s shoulders. “Calydon is a formidable opponent, Lucan. He controls the purse strings of many prominent families through his investments. And he dotes on his sister. It will be a miracle if you escape unscathed. ”
Lucan smiled. The wealth he had brought back with him from the Orient and that which he earned from the club matched Calydon’s fortune, and it was to Lucan’s benefit that he now also held a title the equal of Calydon’s. He could break the man just short of murder, with little repercussion. “I cannot leave it alone, Ainsley. Her death haunts me too much.”
The earl sighed. “The gossip said Calydon murdered Marissa, but we know it was not really so. We have her letter saying otherwise.” His friend continued, oblivious to the emotions tearing at Lucan’s insides. “The greatest blame lies with Stanhope, the man who was entrusted with her care, and you now have him where you want him. The Reverend thinks you are going down a slippery path, Lucan. You are a duke, and no longer a common gambler or a shipping merchant. You should be focused on the title, your estate, and on the procurement of an heir. It took the crown four years to track you down. You now have a great responsibility to the realm and to your lands. It cannot be dismissed lightly.”
Lucan’s lips curled in distaste. He cared not one fig about the dukedom he had been given, or in obtaining an heir. The pomp that came with being a duke was useless to him, unless it played a role in his vengeance. That was the only reason he had assumed the outward mantle of a nobleman and stepped into society these few months. With his fortune and his newly elevated status came immense power. It allowed him to execute his vengeance on those who had previously seemed untouchable.
Also, being a peer, even a notorious one, allowed him to persuade other lords to side with him on issues that were important to him. Since the opening of parliament, he’d leveraged gaming debts and secrets when he wanted certain bills to be passed. He had lived a life of poverty in the seedier parts of London, down in the soot and grime, and in the Americas and the Orient. He had known despair and deprivation. If he could use his status to fight for those who lived how he once had, he would.
All other uses of the title were irrelevant.
“The Reverend would do well to preach some sense into you.” Ainsley grunted, then sighed at Lucan’s stony face, and changed the subject. “When are you coming to the club? You have been notably absent all this week.”
“I will be there on Friday,” he said softly, his gaze returning like a magnet to Lady Constance.
She looked so lonely, standing alone in the crush of the ballroom. She was an important key to his final vengeance, and yet, there was something about the girl he had just kissed and danced with that called to him. Just remembering her sweet taste, the lushness of her frame, made his cock twitch.
Silently, savagely, he cursed his unbridled response to his enemy. I am weak. He should feel no guilt at the idea of ruining her. Calydon had possessed no compassion for his sister, and Marissa had been everything that was sweet and gentle.
Lady Constance is innocent, his conscience taunted. The lash of discomfort and guilt bothered him. He ruthlessly banished it. He had worked too hard to sway from his path, to let beauty and innocence get in his way. He allowed icy satisfaction to settle deep inside him. He had already lured in his prey, albeit unwittingly. He would not turn back now. The slipperier the slope, the better. For the harder Calydon crumbled, the more Lucan would savor his revenge.
Chapter Four