Unmasking the Duke's Mistress (Gentlemen of Disrepute #1)(48)

‘I cannot wait till I see Dominic!’



It was only later when Archie had been put to bed and her mother had risen from hers that Arabella learned something of what had really transpired that day.

‘You sent Dominic away? But this is his house, Mama.’

‘I sent him away, like the rogue he is.’

‘Did you speak to him?’

‘Oh, yes, Arabella. I told him what you should have.’ Her mother looked even more pale and exhausted than when Arabella had seen her last, despite the hours of rest.

A shiver of foreboding moved down Arabella’s spine.

Her mother looked at her with the strangest expression. ‘Sweet Arabella, with your dignity and your pride,’ she said softly. ‘Why did you not tell him? And why did you not tell me?’

‘What do you mean, Mama?’ She had a very bad feeling. ‘What was said?’

‘I damned him to hell and told him to leave.’ Mrs Tatton smiled, but it was the saddest smile that Arabella had ever seen.

‘Oh, Mama,’ she said softly. And she handed her mother the drawing he had penned for Archie.

Her mother unrolled the scroll and in the silence there was only the ticking of the clock.

And her mother looked at her and knew what she was thinking. ‘Do not go to him, Arabella.’

‘You know that I have to.’ Arabella pecked a kiss on her mother’s cheek. ‘Archie is asleep. Listen out in case he wakens before I am returned. I should not be gone for long.’ And she rang for her carriage and her cloak.



Dominic glanced round at the commotion that was sounding from his hallway. He raised an eyebrow at the man seated opposite him within his study.

‘Please excuse me for a minute.’ He set down his brandy and the pile of political papers that had just been handed to him and went to investigate, pulling the door closed behind him.

Out in the black-and-white chequered floor hallway Bentley’s frame partially obscured a dark figure with which he was engaged in an altercation.

‘I tell you that he will see me!’ the voice insisted. Dominic’s stomach tightened as he recognised it as Arabella’s.

‘And I tell you, madam, that he is not at home. Now if you do not leave the premises I will be forced to—’

Dominic stepped quickly forwards. ‘It is all right, Bentley. Let her in.’

‘Dominic,’ she said and slipped the voluminous black velvet hood down to reveal herself, and he smelled the waft of cool night air mixed with the rose scent of her perfume. Her hair had been scraped back into a chignon, but the hood of the cloak had displaced some of the pins enough to let some golden curls escape. She looked beautiful and worried.

‘What are you doing here, Arabella?’ His voice was hushed as he hurried her into the shadows. His first thought was of the risk she was taking coming here, much more than she realised. And his second was that Arabella would not have come were there not a very good reason. A horrible fear suddenly struck him. His hands tightened around her arms.

‘Has something happened to Archie?’ he asked and his eyes searched hers.

She shook her head. ‘Archie is fine.’

‘Your mother?’

‘She is well enough, Dominic.’

‘Then why are you here?’

‘What did you say to my mother today? I have to know.’

‘Much as I wish it otherwise, now is not the time to be having this discussion, Arabella. You must leave here at once.’

He saw the hurt flicker in her eyes before cynical realisation showed on her face.

‘You are angry that I have come.’

‘Very.’ He could not lie.

‘I see.’ Her lips tightened slightly.

‘No, you do not.’ He hauled her to him, until their faces were only inches apart. He stared down into her eyes, his heart thudding too hard at the danger she was in. ‘Arabella, I am not alone this evening. I have visitors, albeit unwelcome ones, in the library—the Earl of Misbourne and his son Viscount Linwood.’

‘Misbourne?’ Everything about her stilled. ‘Lady Marianne’s father.’ He could see the sudden doubt that flashed in her mind as clear as if she had voiced it aloud.

‘Their visit is on a political matter and has nothing to do with Lady Marianne.’

Her gaze was fierce and strong and determined. ‘If you mean to marry her, Dominic, please be honest enough to tell me. I understand your position and your obligations mean that you are required to marry and beget an heir—’


But he cut her off, his voice harsh and urgent. ‘We have been through all of this before, Arabella. There has only ever been one woman I wanted to marry and that is you.’

‘We both know that is an impossibility now,’ she whispered.

‘Is it?’ His grip was too tight around her arms, but he could not loosen it. ‘Do I not already have my heir?’

They stared into one another’s eyes and he could feel that she was trembling.

‘Return to Curzon Street, Arabella. I am bound into this meeting, but I will come to you tomorrow and we will talk then.’ He pressed a short hard kiss to her lips before pulling the hood up over her head and releasing her.

Bentley and a footman appeared and Dominic spoke softly and quickly. ‘Help the lady to her coach. Discretion is paramount.’