What a Duke Dares
Sons of Sin - 3
Anna Campbell
Prologue
Houghton Park, Lincolnshire, May 1819
Every young lady dreamed of a proposal from the heir to a dukedom. Especially when the heir was rich, feted, in possession of his wits, and still young enough to have all his teeth.
Every young lady except, apparently, Penelope Thorne.
From the center of her fathers library, Camden Rothermere, Marquess of Pembridge, eyed the girl hed known from the cradle and wondered where the hell hed slipped up. He straightened and summoned a smile, struggling to bridge the awkward silence extending between them.
Damn it. He never felt awkward with Pen Thorne. Until now. Until hed spoken the fatal words.
Until, instead of radiating delight at the prospect of marrying him, Pens black eyes sparked with the rebellious light that always boded trouble.
Why? It wasnt the first time this afternoon that shed asked him the question.
Stupidly he couldnt summon an adequate answer. Hed blundered into this half-cocked. It was his own fault. Knowing Pen as he did, he should have prepared a comprehensive list of reasons for their marriage before broaching the subject.
Right now, he wished hed never broached the subject at all. But it was too late to retreat, or too late if he hoped to salvage a shred of self-respect from this dashed uncomfortable encounter.
Devil take you, Pen, I like you, he said impatiently. Despite her inexplicable and irritating behavior today, it was true. There wasnt a girl alive that he liked so much as the chit currently regarding him as if hed crawled out of a hole in the ground.
He knew her better than any other girl too, even his sister, Lydia. Through their childhood, hed rescued Pen from a thousand scrapes. Shed been a hellion, riding the wildest horses in her fathers stables, climbing the tallest trees in the park, throwing herself into brawls to defend a friend or mistreated animal. Cam had long admired her spirit, loyalty, and courage.
Those were qualities he wanted in his duchess. And if she needed some guidance in deportment, he was perfectly prepared to teach her proper behavior. She was a Thorne and Thornes werent renowned for their prudence, but while Pen might be impulsive, she was intelligent. Once shed become the Duchess of Sedgemoor, he was sure shed settle down.
Or he had been, until her unenthusiastic response to his proposal.
I like you too, she said steadily, regarding him with unwavering attention.
Cam wondered why her admission didnt reassure. Inhaling deeply, he strove for forbearance. Well, there you have it, then.
That bitter note in her laugh was unfamiliar. He could hardly believe it, but the possibility of failure hovered. Pen was clever, determined, headstronghed get that out of her soon enoughand stubbornly inclined to take a positive view of events. Or at least so hed believed until today.
Hed also believed that shed leap at the chance to marry him.
Clearly hed been wrong.
He wasnt used to being wrong. Confound her, he didnt like it.
Her voice remained curiously flat. Im sorry, Cam. There you have it, then wont pass muster. Youll need to do better than that.
From where she stood before the high mullioned window, she studied him much like a schoolmistress surveyed an unpromising student. He only just resisted the urge to run a finger under his unaccountably tight neckcloth.
Good God, this was Pen. She wasnt a female who put a man through hoops before she fell into harness. Shed never demand more than he could give. Shed never subject a fellow to emotional storms. Shed never lie and cheat and betray.
She was the absolute opposite of his late mother, in fact.
Cam was unaccustomed to feeling like a blockhead, especially with the fairer sex. By nature he wasnt a vain man, but hed anticipated a better reaction to his proposal. Pens father Lord Wilmott had been in alt to hear that his daughter would become a duchess.
Most definitely, Pen was not in alt.
And she bloody well should be. After all, she was a mere barons daughterand a ramshackle baron at thatwhile Cam was heir to the nations richest dukedom.
The Thornes were an old family, but had always had a justified reputation for trouble. In times of political unrest, they backed the wrong side. If they managed to lay their hands on any money, they lost it, usually in some disreputable pursuit. Wine, women, and song should be the family motto instead of the much more staid and highly inappropriate steadfast and faithful.
The previous generation had spawned a handful of eccentrics, including an uncle who had married his housekeeper. Bigamously as it had turned out. Lord Wilmott had squandered his wifes dowry on a succession of greedy strumpets. Pens aunt ran with a dissolute crowd on the Continent. Peter, Cams friend and the current heir, was devoted to the gaming tables and disastrous investments. If Cams mother hadnt been great friends with Lady Wilmott, the families would have had little contact.
What made Pens tepid response to Cams suit even harder to understand was that shed always worshipped the ground he walked on. Was he a fool to presume on childhood adoration?