Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Rathe managed a shrug.
The duke’s unwillingness to say anything didn’t faze her. If she didn’t manage to get answers now, she could always get them from Mrs. Emerson.
Camilla laid a gentle hand on his arm. “Let me guess. She didn’t take kindly to the breakup?”
Rathe said shortly, “I didn’t even have the chance to tell her.”
Camilla sighed. “I can’t say I blame her. She truly loves you. But...you’re also right. Being with her would only hurt the poor child in the end.” Camilla pretended to hesitate. “I think...I may help you though. What do you think about the two of us pretending to be engaged? But it has to be a secret only between us two.”
Rathe frowned. “Pretend to be engaged?” The idea had merit, but the shadiness of it put him off.
Camilla’s slim shoulders moved in a casual shrug. “We can have a contract drawn up just so you’re protected. I do understand your concern.”
“It’s not that...” But in truth, the offer allayed most of his concerns and allowed him to seriously consider Camilla’s proposal.
Eyes gleaming with satisfaction as she watched the duke turn over her suggestion in his mind, Camilla added innocently, “I’m only offering this as a friend. I hope you know that.”
“Of course.” Rathe managed to Camilla a brief smile even as his mind dwelled on the possibility of a fake engagement. It could sort a lot of his problems, and in truth, Camilla was the only woman he could trust to keep her end of the bargain. Nothing sexual had ever happened between them, and it was one of the main reasons why he considered Camilla one of his closest friends.
He said abruptly, “Let’s do it then. Tonight. We’re both attending the same charity gala, aren’t we? We could do it then.”
Camilla’s head whirled, unable to believe her dreams of becoming a duchess were becoming closer and closer to reality. “T-tonight?”
Rathe asked seriously, “Would there be a problem with that?”
“No,” she said slowly, doing her best to suppress her smile of triumph. “No problem at all.”
Chapter Eleven
“Warren? May I join you for a moment?”
Something in his wife’s voice made Warren immediately stand up, and swiftly crossing the room, he opened the door to find his wife frowning, a thick envelope in her hands. “You know you never have to ask, my love.” Ushering her in, he took her straight to the couch and sat beside her. “Now, what’s wrong?”
Even after all these years, his intuitiveness still surprised her, making Alyssa smile. “You know me so well.”
“Because I love you, of course.” His tone sobered. “So tell me what’s bothering you.”
Slowly, she opened the envelope she was holding. “When I learned that Rathe found out about our contract, I started to have my suspicions.”
Warren stiffened. He had a feeling he knew where this was going. His wife had never tried to hide the fact that she did not completely trust Wilson Daughtry, his solicitor and one of his closest friends.
“And what have you found out?”
“Nothing about Wilson Daughtry.” Before Warren could breathe in relief, Alyssa added flatly, “Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about Camilla.”
Taking the report out, she handed it to her husband to read. “As you can see there, she’s responsible for a lot of the rumors going around about our son.” Quietly, she also told him about the role the woman played in Rathe and Mary’s first agreement.
“And the most worrying thing about all this? I just found out that she was the one who recommended Mrs. Emerson to Rathe when his old housekeeper retired.”
“Mrs. Emerson...do you mean the servant who deliberately didn’t tell Mary about you coming to visit?”
She nodded grimly. “That woman. I have no doubts she’s spying for Camilla and doing her best to wreak havoc between Mary and our son whenever she could.”
Warren said warily, “It still doesn’t prove that Wilson is involved—-”
Alyssa nodded again, having expected her husband to say it. He was a staunchly loyal man, one whose integrity was so high he had a hard time imagining the people around him were not the same.
“Shall we pay a surprise visit to Rathe’s home? I think it’s time we have a little chat with the ugly old witch in Rathe’s home.”
****
“Mrs. Emerson, what are you doing?” The sound of the laundry basket crashing to the floor had the housekeeper whirling around, caught literally red-handed as she had just been about to clasp a choker of pearls around her neck.
Bugger, Mrs. Emerson thought. She had forgotten to lock the door in her excitement. Deciding to ignore the maid and hoping it would just make Jenny go away, she faced the mirror once more and proceeded to try on the necklace.
Mrs. Emerson greedily admired the pearls around her neck through her reflection. This should be worth a fortune, but Ms. Camilla probably wouldn’t care if she took this. After all, this once belonged to a girl she most despised.