Dare pushed to his feet, staggering to the door. He swept the room for his boot, but of course, couldn’t find it. To hell with it all. He pulled off the one he still had on. He was in no condition to meet the woman, but he also didn’t care much about his condition, so he’d just go and meet her to see what she wanted.
She rose the moment he entered the receiving room. Her brow furrowed as her gaze moved over him from head to toe, pausing at his stocking feet, a silent commentary he didn’t care to dwell on.
“Your Grace,” he drawled, choosing a spot the farthest away from her—the wall—and leaned against it. “Forgive my appearance.”
“I’m not here for pleasantries, Lord Dare.” The duchess placed a parcel on the table and pushed it toward him.
“What is this?” Nothing good, he’d wager.
“What your cousin desires the most.”
The deed? Christ, the throb in his temples worsened. “Why offer me this?”
“It is not for free.”
Of course not. She would want payment, and it didn’t take a damn genius to guess what. “Do I dare ask the price?”
“Lady Leonora. Never approach her again. Do not speak to her, do not look at her, do not even so much as think about her.”
The last would be a little hard. Impossible, in fact.
Christ, what was the time? He needed sustenance. Coffee. Tea. A piss. Anything. Everything.
“And what is your interest in Lady Leonora? What business is it of yours to demand such a thing?”
“That you do not need to know.”
If only he could forget. “You did not want to give thisparcelto Drake before. Why should I be your messenger? And why now? You have always known Drake and I are family.”
“Yes, but your family shunned Drake and his mother. I only learned recently that you, now the head of the family, did not.”
“You shunned him, too.”
“For a reason.”
“His birth?”
She averted her gaze. “No. My husband chased any skirt that brushed past him. I know this better than anyone.” She met his gaze again. “Your cousin made it impossible to give this parcel back before now, that is all.”
Drake, you damn mongrel, what the hell did you do?“How so?”
She pursed her lips, before answering bluntly, “He discovered a secret and made demands.”
“Blackmail.”
“Such a distasteful word, but correct. However, the demand was difficult and the secret... unfortunate. The situation was not straightforward.”
What secret could Drake possibly have discovered that would set the duchess on edge and cause her to dig her heels in the ground?
Dare froze.
Leonora. Leonora was the secret.
Drake, you damn blackguard.
His cousin knew.
He’d always bloody known.