Dirty Duke

Chapter 1

JACK

“She hates me,” I growl under my breath as I stand with Alex Stanley and his wife, Olivia, watching Cecelia Ravenshaw work the room like a pro.

“You could cut the woman some slack; she’s just lost her husband and son.” Alex, the one person I thought I could rely on, tries being diplomatic. I don’t recall Alex ever being a peacemaker.

“More likely the old crow’s concerned about her assets.” Alex’s sister joins us, scowling towards the woman who despises me and showing her no sympathy.

“Bea, that’s an awful thing to say.” Olivia looks horrified by her sister-in-law's comment, and I shake my head and laugh to myself while Alex rolls his eyes.

“Oh, come on, Liv, don’t be na?ve. Have you seen any real tears spill from her at any point today?” Beatrice makes an impressive argument. “Perhaps all that Botox has clogged her tear ducts.”

The snort I make echoes from the high ceiling, and it earns me an unimpressed glare from Lady Billington.

The seductive look I hit her back with, whilst her husband stuffs his face with canapés, seems to turn the woman's distaste into confidence, and holding her head just that little bit higher, she smiles to herself as she rejoins the conversation she was having.

“Will you keep your voice down?” Alex snaps at his sister before faking a smile to Annabella Linchford as she passes. My brother's fiancée heads straight towards Cecelia, and the pair of them join in a show-stopping embrace.

“Now, there’s someone who truly will be devastated.

” Bea knocks back the tiny glass of port that's in her hand. “All that work she put into being Fairfax’s next duchess, all gone to waste.” She ignores the filthy look that Annabella gives her over Cecelia’s shoulder and smiles sarcastically back at her.

“Bea, I won’t warn you again,” Alex tells his sister sternly.

“What will you do, Alex, have me sit in the car with Paul?” She searches around for another waiter, placing her empty glass on the tray when one appears and helping herself to a full one.

“Oh, I think I can do better than that.” Alex is the one with a smirk on his face as he leaves us and strolls towards the Winfields and Lord Eggleton.

“Elizabeth,” he interrupts their conversation politely. “My sister, Beatrice, was just asking what charity events you have upcoming this summer. I think she’s keen to get involved.” He looks over to his sister with a grin, forcing her to fake a smile back at them.

“I swear I’m going to fucking kill him.” Bea manages to speak without moving her lips.

“Oh, Alex, that would be wonderful.” Elizabeth immediately abandons the two old men and starts heading our way, taking Beatrice by the arm and whisking her towards the sofa in the corner of the room.

Alex is clearly pleased with himself when he rejoins us, dusting off his hands, and it earns him a sharp elbow to the ribs from his wife.

“That was cruel,” she scolds him, trying her best to look mad and hold off her own amusement.

“I warned her. Besides, I figured getting her involved would get you off the hook. You need to start doing less.” He proudly rolls his palm over her swollen stomach.

“I like being kept busy.” She places her hand over his and smiles contentedly.

“You have our son for that,” Alex reminds her.

“Well, I still think you're cruel. You know how relentless Lady Winfield can be.” Olivia bites her lip awkwardly as she watches Bea slowly losing the will to live.

“How’s this for an idea? You head over to rescue her, while I take a few minutes alone with the new duke.

As soon as we’re done, I’ll come and save you both.

” He doesn’t seem to care that we’re in a room full of people when he leans in closer, slides his hand behind his wife's ear, and kisses her like he’s been starved.

“Okay.” Olivia stares up at him adoringly as he pulls away.

Then the light in her eyes dims when she shifts them towards mine.

“I’m really sorry, Jack.” She offers me the same look of pity she gave me when I was standing over my father and brother's graves before kissing my cheek and heading off to save her sister-in-law. Alex tilts his head, watching her walk away, and I shake my head at what I’ve been witnessing from the man.

“What the fuck happened to you, Stanley?” I ask. It may have been a long time since I last saw him, but this man is nothing like the one I remember.

“I’m just admiring the way my wife waddles.” He shrugs.

“I never thought I’d see the day that Alex Stanley turned into a family man.” I laugh to myself.

“Yeah, well, I’ll bet you never saw yourself as the Duke of Fairfax either. Life throws a curveball now and then. Now, do we have somewhere we can talk?” His eyes move cautiously around the room, reminding me that I can trust no one.

“Dad’s office, I guess?” I start leading the way, and Cecelia watches me intently as we pass, her ice-cold glare making me feel as if I’m trespassing. I stare right back at her, showing that I won’t be intimidated. What she and I both seem to be forgetting is that I am the man of this house now.

Alex closes the door behind us, and when he takes a seat, I suddenly realise that the spot my father used to sit in belongs to me.

I’m hesitant to take it; it feels as if when I do, I’ll be accepting that all this has happened, and it still feels so surreal.

I avoid it and head towards the liquor cabinet instead, pouring us both something strong.

“All this is going to take some getting used to,” I admit, handing Alex a crystal tumbler.

“And if there’s anyone in this world who knows how you feel right now, it’s me.”

Alex is right; he never wanted his father’s title.

Before his father’s death, he lived a life much like my own.

But at least he always knew it would happen someday.

Me? I could never have predicted that things would turn out like this.

I’ve lived my whole life hidden in the shadows.

I’ve done things for this family that no living person will ever know.

To the knowledge of everyone standing out there grieving my father, my only responsibility has been to be unheard and unseen. They couldn’t be more wrong.

“Things are going to change, people will treat you differently. You have to be prepared for that,” Alex warns, taking a sip from his tumbler and looking impressed by its quality.

“Those people out there…” Redirecting his glass to point at the door, he starts to get agitated, “...they’re all fucking vultures.

Your new title, your fortune, it all comes at a cost. And never knowing who you can trust is the worst of it. ”

“Fuck.” I take my father's chair when I realise this problem isn’t going anywhere.

“So what do you suggest I do?” Resting my head back, I scrub my hand through my stubble.

It’s hard to believe that this time, two weeks ago, I was in St. Tropez getting my dick sucked by a French model on the president of Portugal’s yacht.

“Despite the relationship you had with him, your father was a good man. Your brother—”

“Was an entitled little cunt,” I cut him off before he tries putting it politely. Alex doesn’t have to put on any airs and graces with me. We both know the shit Thomas has pulled in the past. What Alex doesn’t know is that every time I’ve been the one who’s had to clean up his mistakes.

“What I’m saying is…this could be good for you…Hell, it turned out pretty good for me.” He smiles optimistically.

“Come on, Alex, we both know I’m not cut out to be a fucking duke.

I’m pleased for you that you're happy, but I’m never going to be a family man.

I’m never going to want a wife to answer to.

I’ve grown up having all the privileges of being an aristocrat’s bastard.

Thomas was prepped for this bull shit from the day he was born; he was taught how to be around those vultures, and he thrived on it.

You think I don’t see the way those people look at me?

I’m a nobody to them, an imposter. A thirty-year-old fucking scandal.

” I tug at the tie that’s around my neck because it feels like it's choking me.

“Like my sister is,” Alex points out. “You see Bea feeling sorry for herself and letting those assholes intimidate her?”

“Jack, you don’t have to go straight, you just have to be careful.”

“Says the man who sold his sex club to my father the second he put a ring on his wife's finger,” I remind him. “The pressure got to you, Alex, and that's okay, because you're happy…But that isn’t going to be the case with me. I don’t want this crap.”

“Your father had been after The Residence for years; it was the only place that ever showed him any competition.” He laughs, and although it confuses me, I continue to listen.

“I sold the club because it felt tainted, and I wanted to give more of my time to my family. Your father was clever in how he made the purchase. I’m assuming he’s been clever in ensuring you own it now. ”

I nod my head.

“I know the shit you’ve done, Jack. Your father was a good friend and confidant when I found myself in the very position you're in now. I know you’ve done way more than just run his distribution business.”

It shouldn’t surprise me that my father would have confided in Alex about things I assumed he’d want to take to the grave, especially now I know what his big plan was. Everything seems a little clearer.

Since I was a teenager, my father has always ensured that mine and Alex’s paths cross.

As we grew up, we became allies in the sort of business duke's sons should never be a part of. The only difference was that my father was aware; he was a part of it. It was the only way I could prove myself and make him proud. But not for Alex; his father made it very clear that he’d always be ashamed of his son.