Bewitching the Duke

“Nigel Bateman, and no, he is not in my bedroom.”

“Well, shall we find out who is?” Mia raced to the door and opened it wide.

Selina chased after her. “Mia, don’t!”

Mia stared into the empty room. Finally, she recovered, “Where did that come from?” She pointed to the bed.

There was no way of making this sound good. “It was a gift.”

“From?”

“The duke. For saving Kate’s life,” she added quickly. “I had commented on how comfortable the bed was and he thought

I should have it.”

Mia dragged her to the table. “Sit down.”

“What is wrong?”

She grabbed the tea and water and poured. While it steeped, she just stared at Selina until Selina squirmed in her seat. Mia handed a cup to her and then sat down across from her. “Are you mad?”

“What are you talking about?” Selina asked and then blew on her tea.

“When did you start sleeping with the duke?”

“I am not . . .” Her shoulders sagged under the weight of another lie. “How did you know?”

“No man gives a woman a bed like that without a good reason. Saving his sister is not a good reason.” Mia picked up her cup and then put it back down. “Selina, this is madness. You cannot be the duke’s mistress.”

She hadn’t thought about it before now but taking that bed made her his mistress, not just a lover. She covered her mouth and stared at her friend. “Oh Mia, I accepted the bed. That makes me a whore.”

Mia patted her friend. “You are not a whore. Do you love him?”

She closed her eyes and nodded. “I shouldn’t but I do.”

“Oh, Selina.”

“I know.” Slowly over tea, she told Mia everything, from how she’d hated him in the beginning to how he had changed and she came to love him.

“What are you going to do?” Mia asked.

“Nothing,” she admitted. “There is nothing I can do. While he is here, I will enjoy his company. When he leaves, he will take my heart with him.”

“What are you doing here?”

Colin turned and greeted his sister as she entered the salon. “Where else would I be?”

“With Selina. You told me you were moving in with her.”

“One step at a time, Kate.” He poured another glass of sherry and handed it to her. “How do you think she would react if I told her I wasn’t leaving her house on her first day back? She’d be furious with me.”

Kate acknowledged his answer with a nod. “True.”

“Plus there was a little issue of Miss Featherstone paying a visit this afternoon.”

“Dreadfully inconsiderate of her.”

“Exactly.”