How to Beguile a Duke (Entangled Scandalous) by Ally Broadfield

speaking of her.
    “No, my dear, I am not. Even considering the incident at the opera. She is a lovely, well-behaved girl, and Jane is thrilled to have her company. My goodness, the Duke of Boulstridge even visited her in our box this evening. If that isn’t a sign of acceptance by society, then I don’t know what is.”
    “You know I sought him out at my club earlier today and invited him to come meet her. Even explained her connection to Walsley Manor. He only did it to be polite.”
    “Be that as it may, his attention attracted the notice of others who have no notion of the reason for his appearance.”
    Thank heavens Lady Hartley hadn’t found out about her visit to Walsley Manor. In retrospect, it had been a bad decision on her part.
    She would have to follow the rules of English society, both for Jane’s sake and to win Walsley. The duke had been correct about her behavior. Overcome with guilt for eavesdropping and no longer hungry, she turned to tread back up the staircase, her limbs now heavy with fatigue and guilt. She would not make such a foolish mistake again.

Chapter Six
    It was unusual for him to receive a summons from his mother. Nick was curious to find out how she had discovered he was in town.
    It was also unusual for the warm, dry weather to last for more than a day. Once again, he found himself walking through Mayfair, this time to his mother’s town house, which he had purchased for her the day his father died. It had been his first official act as the Duke of Boulstridge. His second had been to give his father’s mistress du jour twenty-four hours to vacate Boulstridge House, which he thought was rather generous.
    Luckily it was still early and most of the ton was abed, which suited him well.
    Much like Boulstridge House, the door to Thornbury Place opened to admit him before he reached the proximity necessary to knock. Handing his cloak to the butler, he headed for the parlor, where his mother was hopefully still at breakfast.
    “Good morning, my dear.” She smiled and waved at the sideboard. “I figured you would be hungry.”
    He pressed a kiss to her forehead before piling food onto a plate and joining her at a small table. What he ate wasn’t as important as filling the emptiness. His mother was his only family, but as much as he loved her, even she could not fill the hollow space of the family he would never have.
    She spread jam on her toast and watched as he shoveled eggs into his mouth. “Why is it that I had to discover that you were in town from Justin? You couldn’t spare even a moment to let me know you were here?”
    He finished the eggs and wiped his mouth with his napkin before responding. “My apologies. My plans were made in haste, and I hadn’t realized word of my arrival had already reached you. I planned to call on you this afternoon, in fact.”
    “You rarely do anything in haste. What prompted your return?”
    He studied her. “Before we get to that, I should like to know what motivated your request to see me this morning.”
    “Sarah visited yesterday and informed me that you were to meet with them at the opera.”
    “I see.” He leaned back in the chair. “My apologies for not making you my first priority, but Justin and I have been conversing about an issue at Boulstridge Hall, so I wanted to make my presence in London known to him.”
    “That is understandable.” She busied herself with the food on her plate, knowing that he would fill in the information she was looking for if she remained silent. It was, after all, a trick he had learned from her.
    “Truly, I only arrived the night before last.” He folded his hands over his stomach. “I find that I need your help with a…situation that has arisen.” His mother was the one person he trusted implicitly.
    “Of course.” She set her napkin on the table. “Shall we move to more comfortable seating?”
    He followed her to the parlor and sat across from her on a settee. “A young lady, Miss