Cold Hearted Duke (Frigid Dukes #3)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

“ Y ou are being dramatic!” Leah tried to sound light-hearted, even as the familiar feeling of dread settled in her stomach. She busied herself with adjusting her skirts on the overly plush settees of their brother’s townhouse’s parlor.

“But I mean it! I can’t believe the Season is almost over and yet you did not secure a proposal, Leah,” Lady Eve Grove said, sighing dramatically as she sat down opposite her sister. “If there were any young lady I’d have been willing to put money on getting a proposal this Season, it was you.”

“Eve!” Lady Celeste Grove said, staring at her younger sister in shock from where she sat next to Leah. “That was very rude. You shouldn’t say such things to your sister!”

“It’s fine,” Lady Leah Grove said quickly, checking to make sure that none of the guests who were sitting near them were listening. The room was crowded with all of her brother’s and sister-in-law’s friends, and she didn’t particularly want them overhearing what her sisters were saying .

Make light of it, she told herself. Don’t let Eve and Celeste see how upset you actually are. “Eve has a point. I’m the eldest sister of the Duke of Dredford. You would think I’d have enough proposals to fill the Serpentine.”

Eve giggled and took a sip from her drink. Leah’s eyes narrowed. Is Eve old enough to be drinking champagne? She isn’t even 17. Perhaps that is what has made her so snarky tonight.

“Well, you did receive many suitors this Season,” Celeste said equitably , smiling at her older sister. “There was a week when there were at least three gentlemen visiting here every week asking for you.”

“Yes,” Leah said with a sigh, “but none of them were serious prospects. And they didn’t really like me. They just wanted to use me to get close to Lucien, or else to have some ornament to show off.”

“Are you calling yourself an ornament?” Eve asked, raising her eyebrows.

“No, I just mean--” Leah blushed. She wasn’t trying to be vain. This was actually the impression that many of her suitors had given her during her first London Season: that they didn’t care at all about her personality or character, but that they only wanted a lady they considered to be beautiful, graceful, and titled to show off on their arm.

“She’s only teasing you,” Celeste said, shooting Eve a warning look. “And she’s jealous, of course. She can’t wait until she is old enough to be out. Just you wait, though, Eve: you may find yourself without a single suitor your first Season, and then you will be very sorry that you once teased Leah for not having a proposal.”

Eve frowned. “There’s no way I won’t have a single suitor! I’ll be the most sought-after young lady when I debut.” Her eyes glittered, and Leah had no doubt that her youngest sister was right: she would be a wild success.

People had always been Eve’s strength. She was talkative, outgoing, and perhaps a little too full of energy sometimes, but this would translate well into her first Season. All the gentlemen would find her charming. And Eve loved to read the gossip columns, so Leah had a feeling she would know exactly how to navigate the strange social dynamics of the ton.

Social dynamics Leah had found much harder to decipher .

“Don’t be sad, Leah,” Celeste said, reaching out and taking her hand, and Leah started and forced herself to smile.

“I’m not sad,” she said quickly. “It’s just my first Season. This means I will get another year at home with you two, Lucien, and Emery. Won’t that be nice?”

“Of course,” Celeste said at once. “And now that Emery and Lucien have finally admitted their feelings for one another and are truly husband and wife, I have a feeling it will be a very happy year.”

All three sisters turned and looked over at where their brother, Lucien, the Duke of Dredford, was speaking to his wife near the mantle. The room was crowded with all the guests that he had invited to celebrate his marriage, but even through the crowd, the Duke and Duchess’s happiness was evident. The Duke was leaning close to his wife’s ear, whispering in it, and she was smiling, even giggling occasionally .

Watching them, Leah’s heart ached . She had wanted to find what they had this Season. A love match. But it seemed that love matches really were as rare as everyone said they were.

“I am sure we will all be as happy as they are,” Celeste said diplomatically, and Leah knew that her middle sister could tell what she was thinking.

“Yes, I’m sure we will,” she said, turning back to her sisters and forcing herself to smile again. She wished someone would change the subject. She was sick of talking about her lackluster Season; sick of thinking about how awkward and uncomfortable she felt in social situations; sick of the way every time a gentleman tried to talk to her, she didn’t know what to say. It was her fault, she knew, that she hadn’t found a match this Season. She just didn’t know how to fit in with the ton.

At that moment, the door to the parlor opened, and the butler hurried in, his face paler than usual and bearing a worried look . The butler headed straight for her brother, bowed before him, and then whispered something.

Lucien frowned. “Lord Dubois?” Leah heard her brother say. “He is here? Now?”

“Yes, Your Grace,” the butler said, just loud enough for Leah to hear him. “He is requesting an urgent meeting with you.”

Lucien’s expression grew even more clouded.

“What is wrong?” His wife Emery, the Duchess of Dredford, asked, looking from her husband to the butler. “Who is Lord Dubois and why do you look so upset at the prospect of meeting him?”

“Oh, he’s no one,” Lucien said. “Just an old neighbor of ours and friend of our father’s. I just never liked him. He is a very rude man, and I never liked…” He glanced over at Leah, whose gaze he met. Leah knew what he was going to say: I never liked the way he looked at my sisters.

Lord Dubois had always stared at Leah and Celeste in the most uncomfortable, lecherous way. After their father had died, Lucien had no longer permitted him to their home.

“Well, now is not the time for a meeting,” Lucien said. “Tell him to come back tomorrow and I will see him then.”

But no sooner had the butler disappeared out the door to deliver this message than the door of the parlor was flung open again and a man strode inside, a cold, arrogant look on his face.

Leah recognized him at once: a man of average height, with thin lips, a jowly face, and gray watery eyes. He was older now, probably over sixty, with gray streaks in his black hair. Lord Benedict Dubois.

The butler followed behind the Viscount, looking distraught.

“Please, Lord Dubois!” the butler was saying. “You cannot_”

“I will speak to the Duke now!” Lord Dubois said, his cold voice ringing out through the parlor. Every guest in the room stopped talking and turned to look at him, shocked expressions on all their faces.

Lucien stepped forward, his jaw set and his eyes flashing with cool dislike.

“Excuse me, Lord Dubois, but this is my home you have just barged into without an invitation. I demand you to explain yourself. Now.”

“I would be happy to,” Lord Dubois said, his eyes narrowing as he took Lucien in. “I came here to fulfill the marriage contract your father promised me.”

A ringing silence greeted this pronouncement. Everyone was still staring at Dubois, their mouths slightly open and eyes wide. No one moved.

Then at last, Emery stepped forward. “Would our guests please excuse us?” she asked. “I believe that whatever Lord Dubois is here to discuss, it is a private family matter, and that it is best we deal with it alone.”

It took several minutes for all the guests to move from the parlor into the drawing room. No one wanted to go, of course. They all wanted to hear what Lord Dubois had to say. B y tomorrow, gossip of this event would be all over London. And although she didn’t know what Lord Dubois meant, she did know that it couldn’t be good.

Only when no one but family remained did Lucien turn back to Dubois and gesture for him to continue.

“What exactly are you talking about?” Lucien said, his voice low and deadly.

“I have a contract,” Dubois said, drawing himself up. “It was a contract that your father and I made together and which he signed before his death. In it, he states that should my wife die before giving me an heir, he would give me his daughter Leah’s hand in marriage, for a hefty sum.”

Leah stared at the man, her heart in her throat. Did I mishear that? But there was more. “Well, my wife has died without an heir, so I have come to claim what is mine.”

Dubois’s watery gray eyes found Leah’s, and she felt her stomach drop out of her.

“I have come to wed Lady Leah.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Lucien roared, taking a threatening step toward Dubois. Leah wasn’t quite sure how he had reacted so quickly, because she herself was still in shock. She couldn’t move. All she could do was stare at the Viscount in numb disbelief. Marriage? To Lord Dubois? And Papa approved of this? He sold me for a hefty sum?

She could not believe it. It couldn’t be real. And Lucien seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

“I don’t believe you for a second!” Lucien snarled at the Viscount. “Leah’s hand in marriage is not for sale, and there is no way my father would have signed a contract to that effect.”

“I have it here,” the Viscount said, raising an eyebrow and looking almost bored by the Duke’s anger. “Would you like to see it?”

He opened his briefcase and produced several sheets of paper, which he held out to Lucien. Her brother ripped the pages from his hand and began to read through them, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

Next to Leah, Celeste gras ped her arm. “Did Father ever say anything to you about this?” she whispered. “Is there any chance it is true?”

“No,” Leah murmured back, although she was in such shock that it was difficult to speak. “He never said anything like this to me!”

“I don’t believe this,” he said, glaring up at Dubois. “This is a fake. I’m sure of it.”

“That is your father’s signature, is it not?” Dubois asked, shrugging.

Lucien’s eyes narrowed, and he said nothing for a long moment. The truth hit Leah like someone had slapped her across the face: Lucien recognized the signature; it was Papa’s.

But he didn’t say as much. Instead, he folded the papers and set them on the closest table, then folded his arms. “I will need to have these documents authenticated by my solicitor. Until then, I will not believe their validity.”

“Fine,” Dubois snapped, “but I assure you: they are real. In fact, I am so confident in their validity that I would have brought a special license with me now and married Lady Leah tomorrow if I had been able to obtain one.”

Tomorrow! Leah was hit by a wave of dizziness, and it was all she could do not to faint right then and there. Celeste seemed to anticipate her, because she reached out and took her hand, squeezing it tight. When Leah glanced at her, Celeste shook her head, as if to say, We wouldn’t let that happen.

“You would have met the end of one of my pistols before I allowed that,” Lucien growled, a fury in his voice that sent chills up Leah’s spine . She didn’t know how Dubois didn’t look more afraid. However, he merely sneered at her brother.

“Even you are not above the law, Your Grace,” he murmured. “And the law is on the side of signed contracts.”

When no one said anything to this, Dubois turned to go. At the door, he stopped and turned back to Lucien. “You will be hearing from my solicitor. He will make sure that you are moving forward with the authentication in a timely manner. And then, when it is authenticated, I will be back for Lady Leah.” His eyes slid from Lucien to Leah. As he met her gaze, his eyes glittered menacingly. “I very much look forward to that day.”

And then he was gone, closing the door with a definitive snap behind him.

Pandemonium broke out at once. Eve was shouting something, Celeste had started to cry, and Lucien had begun to pace back and forth, muttering to himself. Only Emery remained calm, while on the sofa, Leah was still unable to move. She felt as if she had been turned into a statue.

“Can’t we destroy the document?” Eve asked, her voice breaking through the noise.

“I’m sure he has had copies made,” Lucien said, shaking his head. “Anyway, his solicitor has probably seen it as well.”

“He cannot marry Leah!” Celeste cried.

“Of course he won’t!” Lucien snarled. “I will make sure of that.”

“He seemed so certain of the document,” Emery said. She shook her head, then crossed the room and came to kneel in front of Leah. Carefully, she took her hands and peered deeply into her eyes. “Leah? Are you alright?”

Very slowly, Leah shook her head . “I cannot marry that odious man,” she whispered. “Why would Father do this to me? He always said that he loved me.” “There is no way the document is real,” Emery murmured. “Your parents believed so strongly in love, I don’t believe for a second that they would sell your hand in marriage. They wanted love matches for all their children.”

This time, Leah nodded . This was true. Emery had a good point.

“Lucien will discover the truth,” Emery said, giving her a reassuring smile. “I promise it.”

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Lucien promised, coming over to her side as well and laying a hand on her shoulder.

I won’t let anything happen to you. It was a good promise, as far as promises went. But in Leah’s experience, no one could guarantee someone else’s safety like that.

No, her brother couldn’t make sure nothing happened to her, she admitted to herself fifteen minutes later, back upstairs and preparing with shaking hands for the ball they were supposed to attend that evening. She hadn’t wanted to go, but Emery had pointed out that if they didn’t, it would only make the rumors worse.

The only person who could really take care of her was herself. As Leah stared at her reflection in the mirror, she felt something harden inside .

She had always dreamed of a love match, and all Season, she had been unable to connect with any of the gentlemen who had courted her. But she no longer had the luxury of a love match. Now, it was either Lord Dubois or someone else.

“I and I alone will make sure that nothing bad happens to me.” Her jaw tightened, and she felt the resolve and determination inside herself build.

“By the end of the night, I will have found someone to marry me.”