Read One Dance with a Duke for Free Online

one.
    Nothing about this situation should thrill her. It was terrible, the way his authoritative command to the driver shot sparks to her toes. It was unpardonable, how she sat toward the middle of the seat and allowed her body to fall against his as the carriage lurched into motion.
    “How did Harcliffe die?” the duke asked.
    Thank you
, Amelia said silently, scooting away from him until she hugged the outer edge of the seat.
Thank you for reminding me of the gravity of our situation and the utter inappropriateness of my thoughts
.
    “Footpads,” said Bellamy. “He was beaten to death in the street, in Whitechapel. It appears to have been a random attack.”
    “Good God.”
    It was too dark for Amelia to make out the expressions of anyone in the coach. She reckoned, therefore, it was too dark for them to see hers. And so she permitted herself a rush of hot, silent tears.
    This wasn’t right. Waterloo was over; the war had ended. Young, handsome men at the peak of vitality were supposed to stop dying. Only a few weeks ago, she’d spied Leo at the theater. He’d taken a box with some of his friends. The lot of them were loud and disruptive in the way only Leo’s friends could be, because Leo was always forgiven everything. Everyone loved him so.
    Amelia shuddered. Beaten to death, by footpads. If such a thing could happen to Leo … it could so easily have been Jack.
    “It could have been me,” said Bellamy. “God, it
should
have been me. I was supposed to go with him tonight, but I begged off.” His rough voice cracked. “What a damned bloody waste. If I’d been there, I might have prevented it.”
    “Or you might have been killed, too.”
    “Better me than him. He had a title, responsibilities, a sister to protect.” He swore violently. “What will become of Lily now? This is all my fault. The boxing match was my idea in the first place. And I begged off. I begged off, to spend the evening with that harlot Carnelia.” He leaned forward, burying his face in his hands.
    Amelia supposed he must refer to the very scandalous, very
married
Lady Carnelia Hightower. Though her mind reeled, she remained silent. The last thing she wanted was to remind all three men there was a lady in the carriage and cause them to temper their remarks. For Lily’s sake, she wanted to gather all the information she could. For once, the quality of being invisible to men worked in her favor.
    The duke cleared his throat. “You called it a random attack. If that is the case … well then, random is random. It might have been anyone.”
    “It wouldn’t have been me.” This came from Ashworth, the taciturn giant across from her. “I cannot die.”
    “Why would you say such a thing?” Amelia asked, abandoning her intention to remain silent. It was such a shocking statement to make, and something in the low rasp of his voice told her he did not speak from arrogance.
    “Because I’ve tried, several times. And as you see, I’ve failed on each occasion.”
    She had no response to that.
    “Ask your friend Morland,” he continued. “I’m bloody hard to knock down.”
    Beside her, the duke tensed. Clearly the two men had some history of enmity.
    “Enough.” Mr. Bellamy raised his head, scrubbing at his eyes with his palm. “We’ve no time for this. Leo isgone. It’s Lily we need to discuss. As Leo died without issue, the Harcliffe title, estate, properties—including the town house—will all pass to some distant cousin. She probably has a legacy due her, but given her condition, she cannot live independently in Town.”
    No, she couldn’t, Amelia silently agreed. Poor Lily. She must find some way to help her. “What do you propose, Mr. Bellamy?”
    The man looked from Ashworth to Morland. “My lord, Your Grace—one of you must marry her.”
    “Marry her?” Spencer blinked. “Did you just say one of us must marry her?”
    “Yes.”
    Sighing deeply, he raised a hand to his temple. No offense intended to the