The Rake's Wicked Proposal

Until she had entered his life… In these last weeks Grace had seen Lucian display anger. Exasperation. Gentleness. Kindness. Possession. Even a little jealousy, she believed, on the occasion of Lady Humbers’s ball, when he had seemed to grind his teeth most of the evening at the attentions paid her by Sir Rupert Enderby and Lord Gideon Grayson. And most especially Grace had seen Lucian’s desire for her.

She reached up and laid a gentle hand upon the rigidness of his jaw. ‘Lucian, I cannot even pretend to comprehend your feelings on that terrible day. But I do accept them.’

‘How can you?’ he rasped as he looked down at her broodingly. ‘Are you not filled with disgust? With horror at the man that I am?’

Grace gave a shake of her head. ‘Lucian, I know you to be a man of deep integrity and honour. You are— and always will be—a hero in my eyes, as well as in the eyes of others. In short, Lucian, you are everything that is to be admired. Everything that I admire,’ she added huskily.

‘Grace…!’ he groaned achingly, his eyes very dark.

‘You are also,’ Grace continued firmly, feeling that Lucian had dwelt on death and destruction long enough, ‘a man who remains loyal and true to his friends even when all the evidence indicates you should do the opposite—are you not…?’

Lucian grimaced. ‘You are referring to Darius.’

Grace gave an inclination of her head. ‘I am referring to Darius. I was wrong about him, was I not? Completely and utterly wrong.’

Lucian drew in a ragged breath. ‘Grace, I have given my word—I am under oath not to discuss certain things with any other person.’

‘Very well.’ She nodded. ‘Then I will tell you what I think has happened. You may just listen, if that is what you prefer?’

A nerve pulsed in Lucian’s jaw. ‘I do not prefer it, Grace, but it is the way that it has to be.’

‘Can you first tell me whether or not Francis will ever be returning to Winton Hall?’

‘I will not be breaking my word if I acknowledge that he will not.’ He gave a terse inclination of his head. ‘Francis has decided to go abroad. For his health.’ Lucian’s smile was grim.

‘I see.’ Grace gave a slow nod.

‘Do you?’ Lucian rasped harshly.

‘I believe so.’ Grace sighed. ‘I am not quite sure where this tale begins. Perhaps with my cousin Simon’s death…?’

Lucian stiffened. ‘Perhaps.’

‘It was perhaps the catalyst, for the events that followed…?’

Lucian looked at her admiringly. Grace’s intelligence exceeded even what he had come to expect of her. It had taken Lucian some time to draw the conclusions that she had come to in the last few minutes, and even then he had not known of all that had happened until Darius had confided in him.

‘As I thought.’ Grace’s frown was pained as she took Lucian’s silence for confirmation. ‘And the death of Darius’s wife…?’

Lucian’s gaze narrowed but he said nothing.

Grace nodded at his silence. ‘I recall that Francis was staying with them at the time of Lady Sophie’s accident…and with my aunt and uncle at the time of George’s death. Something caused his seizure. You have assured me it was not my own altercation with Francis that morning, so it must have been something else…’ She considered frowningly. ‘Perhaps it was something that Francis either did or said…?’

‘I believe Francis and George had been in conversation shortly before your uncle collapsed.’

Grace’s eyes widened. ‘Then either my uncle had the misfortune to realize what his youngest brother had done and made the mistake of confronting him, or—or Francis, knowing of the Duke’s heart condition, chose to confide those facts to him and so placed him in a position of inner conflict that resulted in his collapse!’ she said accusingly. ‘My uncle’s integrity would have dictated that Francis could not be allowed to get away with such atrocities, while at the same time he would have known that to expose what he had done would bring shame and scandal upon the whole family!’