Taming the Duke by Jackie Manning

“It’s quite all right, Lady Olivia.” She swallowed, realizingthat Olivia, as well as the other members of the ton, knew the embarrassing details. “Then Dalton will marry Elizabeth?”
    Olivia shook her head. “No, he mustn’t! I have to alert Dalton before our mother finds him.”
    “I don’t understand—”
    “I don’t have time now to explain it to you, Alicia. Please help me find my brother.”
    “Of course.” Alicia took Olivia’s arm and urged her toward the stable. “Let’s ask the stable master if a horse was saddled for Dalton.”
    “I’ve already asked Ulger. He said Dalton usually saddles his own mount. Penn said the sorrel that he favors is missing from the stable.” Olivia’s forehead wrinkled in thought. “Oh, where can he be this time of night?”
    “Who are you looking for?” Dalton’s deep voice caused Alicia and Olivia to gasp in surprise. He stepped from the shadows, leading the sorrel beside him.
    Relief welled within Alicia as she drank in the sight of him. Dalton was dressed in a royal-blue riding clothes. The moonlight gave a blue-black sheen to his hair.
    “Dalton,” Olivia cried, clasping her hands. “Lord Templestone found Elizabeth with the earl of Rothbury. She’d drank too much and caused a great scene. Thankfully, Templestone can be trusted, but Mother is determined that you announce your engagement to her before the ton hears of this.”
    Dalton glanced at Alicia, then turned his attention to his sister. “Is Mother still at the ball?”
    “You mustn’t go to her!” Olivia caught herself and lowered her voice. “Not until we think of some way for you to—”
    “My dear little sister, don’t worry about me.” He smiled at her with such tenderness that Alicia was caught off guard by his compassion. “Why don’t you stay with Lady Alicia in her cottage while I’m gone? I’ll return as soon as I speak to Mother.”
    Before Olivia could object, Dalton stepped behind the hedge and was gone. Alicia forced back the sudden feeling of dread that threatened to engulf her. “Come, Olivia. We’ll have a cup of tea while we wait.”
    Couples strolled along the moonlit gardens and the wide veranda leading to the French doors of the ballroom. Dalton climbed the stone steps and moved past the throngs of people who would linger until dawn. His gaze met Sir John Oxley, his solicitor, who immediately moved toward him.
    “Enjoying yourself this evening, Sir John?” Dalton smiled at the tightly pinched face of the serious old man whose family of solicitors had served the duke’s family for generations.
    “Your grace, I must have a word—”
    “I know, John.” Dalton kept walking toward the staircase. “Where is the dowager duchess?”
    The solicitor hurried to keep up with Dalton’s long strides. “She’s taken to her bed, your grace. The doctor has been called.”
    “For mother or for Elizabeth?” Dalton didn’t try to keep the sarcasm from his voice.
    Sir John’s mouth tightened as they ascended the stairs. “Then you’ve heard about Lady Elizabeth?”
    Dalton raised a brow. “Isn’t that exactly what the lady had in mind?”
    Sir John was out of breath when they reached the third floor landing. “It would be…in everyone’s best interest…if this matter remained secret,” he said finally.
    A groom stood at attention at the front of the hall. Dalton strode to the double doors of his mother’s suite and knocked.
    Moments later, a maid opened the door. She gave a shy smile when she saw Dalton. “I’ll tell her ladyship that you’re here, your grace.”
    Dalton returned her smile, then glanced down at Sir John. “Wait for me here,” he said. “This won’t take long.”
    Before the solicitor could answer, the maid returned, and Dalton was ushered into the duchess’s suite.
    His mother was propped up in the French chaise where she often greeted visitors. Two candelabras flickered nearby. She settled back against the satin headrest, her eyes