Knox arched a brow. “Doesn’t look like nothing. Looks like an awful lot of something.”
A woman, Dare heard what his friend hadn’t uttered.That woman.
But whatever conclusion Knox had come to, he had it wrong. Their teasing and flirtatious remarks could never amount to whatever the tone his friend’s voice implied. That was outlandish. Blasphemous, even.
His brows knit together when he spotted Lady Leonora laughing at something the Duke of Calstone said. Calstone... a duke. A proper gentleman. A perfect match.
The exact opposite of him.
“She’s just innocent fun,” Dare murmured offhandedly even though those two words had certainly never been used by anyone else to describe anything he did.
Knox’s brow line spoke volumes, but he said nothing. He supposed he should be thankful his friend hadn’t laughed outright, and yet, even those two words could be considered laughable coming from his mouth, it was the simplest, and oddly truest way to describe his interactions with Lady Leonora.
“Your cousin is in town,” Knox suddenly said.
Dare looked at Knox. “Drake is in London?” He was the only cousin worth mentioning.
Knox nodded.
The furrow in Dare’s brow deepened. Drake loathed London and hardly ever left Brighton. For him to be here, something big must have lured him. “You’ve seen him?”
A nod. “He requires your help with something.”
“Oh? This is going to be interesting. Why send you? Why not come to me himself?”
Knox shrugged. “You’ll have to ask him that.”
Dare shook his head. No point. Drake wouldn’t set foot in Mayfair or any part of town he considered belonged to thepompous and wealthy. But was a note too damn much to ask? “What’s this help he requires?”
“The Duchess of Crane has returned to London. She has something he wants.”
Dare gave his friend an astonished look. “What do you want me to do about it?”
“Idon’t want you to do anything. I’m just telling you what Drake told me. He didn’t say anything about the what or the how.”
How very Drake. “Damn lunatic.” His gaze returned to search for the one face that never failed to lift his mood. “What exactly does he want from the duchess?”
“A deed of land.”
Interesting. “Then he can get it himself.”
Knox chuckled. “You know he won’t set foot anywhere near nobility. He’ll erupt in welts.”
Dare’s smile turned sly. “Then let him break out in gushing sores. I don’t care. I’m not doing God knows what he wants me to do to get his hands on that deed. I’m not one of his boys.”
“In any event,” Knox continued, “even if you were to help him, I’ve heard she has yet to shed her black, so your... methods of persuasion will likely be wasted on her.”
As if he would seduce her anyway. He wasn’t some dog in heat. Most of the time. “Hasn’t the late duke been dead for two years?”
Knox spread his hands, palms up. “What can I say? The widow apparently refuses to come out of mourning.”
“Then what does that devil Drake want me to do?” Dare muttered more to himself than Knox.
“Not sure, but aren’t you a master at slipping in and out of houses undetected?”
Not entirely true, though Darehadmastered the art of slipping in and out of the bedchambers of ladies. They did, however, generally leave a door open for him.
“You are a better master than I,” Dare pointed out.
