“Luckily, I don’t need your support.”
“Such gracious words, cousin.” Not that Dare minded. He’d rather not play nursemaid to adult men.
“What about you?” Drake asked. “You’re working on seducing a little bird, I hear.”
A little bird? Leonora? “She is just a friend.”
“Just a friend?” Drake’s low laughter prickled the lines between Dare’s brows.
“What? Can’t I have a friend?”
Drake said nothing, though his glowing eyes held a whole conversation in them. Damn man. Time to change the topic. “Just what is it about this property that has you crawling out of your darkened hole? Why do you want it so badly?”
Drake shrugged. “The property was left to my mother by hers.”
Ah, his mother, one of the duke’s many mistresses. “Why does the duke have the deed?”
Drake clenched his jaw. “Why else? To use the money made from the land to pay for his indulgent lifestyle.”
Interesting. “What did your mother get in return?”
“Me.”
Dare grimaced. He shouldn’t have asked. Everyone knew the late duke had a way of getting what he wanted, and once he had it secured, he’d toss away any excesses he didn’t want. In this case, that had been his aunt and his cousin. He attempted to lighten the mood. “Don’t sell yourself short, you are worth a lot.”
He let out a bitter laugh. “Land aside, it’s my mother’s ancestral home. I want to get it back for her. She’s suffered enough.”
Worthy goal. “Why not explain this to the widow Crane?” She seemed like a reasonable sort. Maybe.
“The widow and I are at a deadlock.”
“Of course, the deadlock you will not tell me about.”
“It’s best if you don’t know.”
“I shall take your word for it,” Dare said. He had no desire to press. “What of your half-brother? The current duke.”
“Crane loathes our existence. Would you entertain the bastard son of your father’s mistress?”
He supposed not.
But then, one of those bastard sons washisfamily. So, maybe he would? It was a rather difficult situation. It’s hard to say how anyone might react. “The woman is still in black,” Dare commented. “Perhaps give her more time.”
“If she is wearing the black for him, I can’t understand how she could love such a monster.” He removed two cheroots from his inner pocket and inhaled the scent. He handed the other over to Dare.
“Much obliged.” He bit it between his teeth but didn’t light it. “In any event, I think many things are not as they seem.” He didn’t believe things were ever just black or just white. And then there was Leonora’s curiosity about the duchess. “Have you ever met Lady Leonora Heart?” Dare asked, watching his cousin’s expression closely.
“No,” Drake said. His gaze met his. “Why would I meet anyone that innocent?”
It was a good point. “What about her brother? Heir to the Marquess of Heartly?”
Drake shrugged. “Can’t say that I have. The only nobles I rub shoulders with are you and Knox.”
Dare nodded his head thoughtfully. So whatever Leonora’s curiosity about the duchess, it was likely unconnected to Drake’s affairs. A comforting thought.
Drake eyed him. “Should I have met them?”
Dare shook his head. “He and the duchess seem to be acquainted with one another.”
