Innocent in the Regency Ballroom. Christine Merrill

his tone changed. ‘Albeit, a very wealthy nobody. And that could not possibly have influenced your decision when seeking such a humble bride—’

      ‘Stop right there.’ Adam did not shout, but the command in the tone was no longer an implication. ‘I recommend that you pause to think before speaking further.’ His voice dropped to just above a whisper. ‘Here are the facts, and you would do well to remember them. Penelope is neither a nothing, nor a nobody. She is her Grace, the Duchess of Bellston. It will do you no good to hint that I am after her fortune, since she has gained as much, if not more, than I have by the union.’

      There was another long pause, to allow the facts to sink into the thick skull of her brother. And then Adam said, ‘But you have lost by her marriage, have you not? I’ve seen the books at the bank, and the withdrawals you have been making to keep your business afloat.’

      Hector sputtered, ‘I’ve done nothing of the kind. Those monies were for Penelope’s expenses.’

      ‘Then it shall not matter to you in the least that I am willing to take the management of the monies out of your hands. I can take care of my wife’s bills without your help. You need trouble yourself no further with the management of her funds, but devote the whole of your time to business.’ Her husband’s tone clearly said, ‘Dismissed.’

      Penny covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.

      But her brother refused to yield all. His voice rose to near a shout. ‘All right, then. Very well. She has married and you have taken her money, and her as well. I wish you luck, your Grace, for you will find her fractious nature, her impulsive temper and her unending stubbornness to be more curse than blessing. She may pack her clothes and leave immediately, if she is so eager to do it. But she shall leave the books where they are. I have no intention of allowing her to put the contents of the family library into trunks and carry them from the house.’

      Her husband seemed to consider on it, and then replied, with a neutral, ‘If she wishes it, then it shall be so.’

      Her brother shouted back, ‘But it will leave the shelves empty!’

      Adam responded quietly, ‘That should not present much of a problem. You are a book printer, are you not? Bring home something from work to fill the shelves. I doubt it matters much what the titles may be, if one has no intention of reading them.’

      If her brother recognised the insult to his intelligence, he let it pass without comment. ‘This has nothing to do with whether I wish to read the books in question.’

      ‘I thought not.’

      ‘It is the value of the things. Do you know how many pounds has been spent to furnish that room?’

      ‘Quite a few, I should think. She purchased many of those books herself, did she not?’

      ‘When I could not manage to stop her.’

      Adam’s voice was cool reason. ‘Then I see no reason that she need purchase them twice to stock the library in her new home. It is not as if she will be returning here to study.’

      And still her brother would not give up. ‘See here, you. You cannot think to take her from her family.’

      ‘That is generally what happens when one marries,’ Adam said, in a bored drawl. ‘There is something in the Bible about it, although I cannot say I remember the words. She is cleaving unto me, now. You have nothing to say in the matter of her future.’

      Penny could almost imagine the wave of his hand, as he dismissed her brother’s argument.

      ‘Only because you have stolen her from me,’ Hector snapped.

      ‘Stolen her?’ The duke laughed out loud. ‘How long have you known your sister, sir? Is there some chance that you are adopted, or that she is some changeling, recently added to your family? I have limited acquaintance with her, I’ll admit. But in that time I have learned enough to know that it would be exceptionally difficult to steal her from a place she wished to be, or to dissuade her from a path she had chosen for herself.’

      ‘But that does not mean that I will allow her to behave foolishly.’

      She was angry before she could even remember to count, and grabbed the door handle, ready to push her way back into the room and tell her brother that, after all that had been said and done, he had no right on earth to control her.

      But Adam cut in before she could move. ‘You have no authority over my wife. Penelope shall arrange for the transport of the library and the rest of her things to my townhouse. She shall do so at her own pace and in her own way. If I hear of any interference from you in the matter, if you place even the slightest obstruction in her way, I will take whatever action is necessary to thwart you, and it shall be my goal, henceforth, to see that you regret the impertinence. Are we in agreement?’ His voice held a cold fury that she had never heard before, and he was every bit the man she had imagined from The Times, so powerful that he could move the country with a few words.

      Hector appeared to have been struck dumb, and so Adam answered for him. ‘Very good. Our interview is at an end. I will be waiting in the carriage, should Penelope need me for anything. Which, for your sake, Mr Winthorpe, I sincerely hope she does not.’

      Which meant he would be coming out into the hall in a moment, and he would realise that she was so lost to all manners as to listen at keyholes on private conversations. And, even worse, he might see the effect his speech had upon her, for her heart was fluttering so that she could hardly breathe.

      She turned and sprinted towards the library, ducking into the open door, only to collide with Jem, knocking a case of books from his arms. The sound of the crash mingled with his bark of objection at people charging around the house and not watching where they were going.

      Which in no way covered the faint chuckle she heard from the hall as her husband passed by on his way to the exit.

       Chapter Six

      Her heart was lighter, now that she had faced her brother at last. But empty as well. Hector was furious, and she’d cut herself off from the only home she’d ever known. It would have happened eventually, she supposed. Just as it should have happened four years before. But she had been prepared then. Now, the sudden marriage and all that came with it made her feel more alone than she had been, even though she had a life’s companion to share it with.

      And what a strange companion she had chosen. It had been much fun to watch him in action against her adversaries. And she hoped that her current feelings for him were not too apparent, for the afternoon’s appointments and the masterful way he had handled things had left her breathless and not quite herself. She had half a mind to throw herself upon him, in a display of affection that would be most inappropriate towards a man who was nearly a stranger to her. And she feared that, if she spoke, she was liable to ramble on and sound as foolish as a schoolroom miss.

      Her husband was seated opposite her in the hired carriage with a faint smile on his face, showing no effects of the day’s changes. When she said nothing, he spoke. ‘We have done a good day’s work, I think. Your money is taken care of. Your things will be brought to the house tomorrow. I recommend that we send your manservant on his way, and attend to our supper, for we have missed tea, and I am feeling quite hungry. I can recommend several restaurants …’

      Eating in public. She had always found it difficult to relax when in a crowd, and sitting down to a meal surrounded by strangers seemed to amplify those feelings. Suppose she were to order the wrong thing, use the wrong utensil when eating or break some other rule that would make her appear gauche to the duke or the people around them? If she took a simple meal in her rooms at the townhouse, she need have no worries of mistake. She would beg off, and save her husband the embarrassment of being seen with her. She said, ‘I am accustomed to eat at home of an evening.’

      ‘And I am not,’ he said, with finality. ‘I belong to several clubs—Boodle’s, White’s, Brooks’s—and frequent them most evenings when I am in town. Of course, I cannot very well take you there.