The Duke's Love (10 page)

“I’ll come to your party, but I will avoid Jake
as much as
possible. I might even help him in his efforts
to court
Miss Fairchild
,
”
s
he said. Ana looked at her
Grace
and almost pitied her for the havoc she
had
brought upon herself. “You will not use me to
repair
your mistakes
,
your
Grace
.” Ana took
the letter from Lady Katherine’s hands and placed it back in the book. She would always keep it as a reminder of why she and Jake
would never
suit.
With
the book and letter in hand, Ana left the room.

Jake had
his valet pack some clothing and other things he might need. This
was
not what he wanted to do. Damn
his mother
and her crazy ideas. He was not stupid. He knew what his mother was
about
. She
had
probably invited every single female
she could find
. 
However, when it came to his mother, he
knew it was useless to argue.
It was best to just give
in
g
race
fully and get it over with.

Jake decided he
would
personally
extend the invitation to Sarah
, but he
was a little worried
, since he
was not giving them much notice.
Hell, he
wasn
’
t even sure they would attend. He frowned to himself. Did he really want to give Sarah
the
impression of something more
to their relationship yet
?  He knew he needed to make amends to her
,
but marriage was a little
too
much. The last thing he wanted to do was to lead her on again.
Only after he spent more time with her would he be able to consider the possibility of betrothal
.

“
Jake
,
where
are you going?” He
hadn’t
even notice
d
that
his brother
had
come up behind him.

“I am going to the Fairchild's residence
to request
their
famil
y attend this blasted party of Mother’s,
”
he
said.

“Y
ou are
really
considering her then?”
Jordan
asked.

“Yes, I suppose I am. She
would make me a
fine wife. I just need
assurance
that
we are compatible
.” Jake went past him in an effort to leave.

“I can’t believe you would shackle yourself to that bitch
,
”
Jordan
said
passionately
.

“That bitch might
someday
be my wife, so watch what you say about her. I will not have her dragged through the mud
,
because you happen not to like her
,
” Jake bit out.

“You will regret this
,
J
ake. She is cold-hearted
,
and I am not the only person who thinks so. Is that what you want in your life? In your bed?”
Jordan
asked.
 

“It is my life,
and
my home. You will leave it to me to decide why and
to
who
m
I want to live it with
,
” Jake continued
, while
tossing things into his bag.

“Bugger off
,
Jake” With that parting statement.
Jordan
stalked off, presumabl
y
to get ready for th
e
trip.

Jake sighed. He himself was confused about what he wanted. He should have never promised his mother
that
he would marry and have children. Why would he want to placate her? He already knew why, it was because he loved his father and he was doing it for him
.
It
was what his father would have wanted. Sometimes
,
he wished he were not born with such responsibilities. So much was always expected of him
,
and he was
exhausted from the weight
of it.

Feeling battered after the quarrel with his brother and his own conflicting thoughts, Jake got into his carriage and had the driver take him to
the Fairchild’s residence so he could personally offer the invitation
.

Sarah was sitting in the library with her mother doing her studies
, but
not paying the least bit of attention to her work.
S
he was daydreaming about being a
Duchess, when the announcement was made.

“My Lady, the
Duke
is here. Would you like me to
direct
him
to
the blue room?”
T
he housekeeper asked.
Her m
other jumped up.

“The
Duke
of Ashbury
?
”
Mother asked excitedly.

“Yes, he has just pulled up in the carriage bearing his crest
,
”
s
he said.

Lady Felicia clapped her hands together
like a child, with
a triumph
ant
smile on her face as she received th
e
news. “Yes, yes
,
have
him
wait
in the blue room. We will
join him in a moment,
”
she
said breathlessly, trying to straighten up as best she could. “Run along Sarah, get freshened up.
Until you
are ready to join us,
I’ll keep his
Grace
company.”

Sarah was excited. His
Grace
was calling on her! Sarah flew up the stairs and dragged her maid along behind her.

“Hurry, he can’t be kept waiting. Get the pink gown out
,
and
style my hair,
”
she said.

With the maid’s assistance, Sarah
struggled to get into the gown as fast as she could.
As she looked in the mirror, she
thought
it might be
a little daring
.
The
gown’s neckline
was
décolleté and showed her
ample
bosom. It molded to her figure and she thought how perfect.
What red-blooded male
would be able
resist
her
? She smiled smugly at herself. The maid fixed her hair and she took one last look
,
before she was satisfied. She returned downstairs and made her way to the blue room. She stopped short and blew
out
a
long
breath, preparing herself to see him again.

“I am sorry to keep you waiting
,
you
r
Grace
,
” Sarah said
as she walked
into the room. She curtsied to him
, well
aware her breasts were in clear view. Jake
turned and
directed his attention to her.

“It’s fine. The wait was well worth it, I assure you.” Jake
leisurely
looked her over and he brought a blush to her face
,
as his eyes made his way down her body and back up. He walked up to her and
clasped
her hand
in his
. “You look very beautiful today
,
”
h
e said
,
just before he brought her hand up to his lips. Her toes curled inside her slippers.

“You are too kind.” Sarah was very pleased at the reaction she
elicited
from him.

“His
Grace
has
just invited us to his house party for the weekend
,
” Lady Felicia told her daughter, making her aware
that
they were not alone. It was obvious from the look on her mother's face
that
she was displeased with how her daughter looked and acted.

“That is very nice of you to think about us
,
your
Grace
,
” Sarah
responded while gazing into Jake’s eye
.

“Sarah, please call me Jake. I would be m
ore than happy to have you come,
”
h
e said gently.

“Yes
,
of course
,
Jake. We would love to come,
with
mother
’s
consent,
of course.” Sarah looked over at her mother and waited for her
to
answer.

“It is rather short notice
and
I will have to
consult with
my husband, but I dare say
;
he will be pleased
. This weekend you say?” She asked reconfirming the date.

“Yes, this weekend.
I am certain there
will be a crowd there
,
” Jake said.

“I know it is not my place to ask, but out of concern for my daughter,
will
your former betrothed
be in attendance
?” Lady Felicia asked politely, hesitantly.

“I am almost positive she will not. My mother sent out
the
invitations
,
and
as you know, she was never fond of
Lady Carmichael
,
so I don’t imagine
she
would be
on the guest list
,
” Jake answered
.

“We would love to attend, your
Grace
,
” Lady Felicia replied after
appearing to mull
it
over for a
few seconds. Sarah was sure
that
her father would be
as
ecstatic as she was about the possibility of her having the chance to marry a
Duke
. She was glad she
had
decided on the pink gown.
It seemed to have been good luck for her.

“Charming
.
Since
we
have
that out of the way, would you like to stay for tea?” Sarah asked coyly
.

“No
, really,
I must be going.
There are many things for me to do before this weekend.
I
do apologize for my haste,
”
h
e said. Sarah looked defeated
,
but smiled encouragingly.

“That’s fine. I look forward to this weekend
,
” Sarah said cheerfully as she started leading him to the door
,
aware
that
her mother was following.

“As do I
,
Sarah
,
” Jake bowed to her
, kissed her
hand,
and then
bowed
to her mother.

“I’ll have my butler see you out the rest of the way, your
Grace
,
” Lady Felicia said in the doorway of the blue room.

“Mother, I hope
for marriage
soon and to a
Duke
! Can you believe it?” Sarah looked at her mother
with glee
.

“Be careful
,
dear
. After all,
he tossed you aside once
before and he
hasn’t
really indicated that he is considering you as his wife, yet
“ Lady
Felicia looked over
at
her daughter
,
before she thoughtfully replied, "I
am afraid you might be getting ahead of yourself,
”
s
he added.