In Need of a Duke (The Heart of a Duke Book 1) by Christi Caldwell Page A

watery smile turned her lips. She didn’t need her spectacles to know he was there, to sense the emotion that emanated from every fiber of his masculine form.
    “Michael,” she breathed.

Chapter Ten

    M ichael bent down and retrieved Aldora’s spectacles, and with an informality that set Lady Adamson off on another wave of caterwauling, he placed them back on her freckled nose.
    “Aldora,” he murmured.
    His attention shifted to the familiar figure that rose from the ridiculously small chintz sofa. The same smoldering rage, jealousy, possessiveness that had fueled Michael’s footsteps and led him to do something as rash as invading Lady Adamson’s home, filled him when he spied his brother standing there, his face a blank, flat mask. Emotion raced through Michael’s being until his fingers twitched from the intensity of it.
    He should have respected Aldora’s desire for a respectable match but she was his and if he didn’t fight for her, he would be forever filled with a regret that would eventually destroy him.
    “I—”
    “You can’t marry him.”
    Through the thick glass of her spectacles, Aldora’s eyes went wide.
    “I know.”
    She wasn’t the conventional beauty he’d always favored. There was far too much unique in her heart-shaped face. But it was a face that was more precious than any other and he could not live without her.
    “She most certainly can,” the Countess cried out, and then promptly collapsed into a conveniently located frayed chair. She waved a hand in front of her face as though she desperately fought to hold onto consciousness.
    Michael stroked the backs of his fingers alongside Aldora’s satin cheek. Her eyes fluttered closed. “So beautiful,” he murmured. “I do not want to share you. “
    “You don’t have to.”
    “I…”
    It took a moment for Aldora’s response to penetrate his single-minded focus. He’d arrived here in a rage, convinced that he would have to battle for her hand, and now he was totally at sea.
    “I love you,” she whispered. “I don’t want to marry your brother. Or anyone else.” She shot a quick glance over her shoulder. “My apologies, my lord.”
    St. James waved his hand, a bemused look on his face. “No apologies necessary.”
    Aldora returned her gaze to Michael. “I realized as you left me in the park…”
    “You were in the park with him?” Mother screeched.
    Aldora went on as though there’d been no interruption. “I realized that I want you, Michael. For two years, I’ve thought only of my brother and sisters. And perhaps it is selfishness on my part, but I believe with you by my side I can do anything. Even save my siblings from societal ruin.”
    “You can’t,” the countess barked. “You can’t stop the gossips. No one will wed your sisters. No one!”
    Michael glared the countess into silence.
    Aldora’s throat seemed to work reflexively, and Michael knew what this decision was costing her. What manner of young woman would deal so courageously with all that she’d borne on her small shoulders?
    “You’ll no longer have to worry about your father’s debts,” his brother intoned from across the room.
    Three pairs of eyes flew in his direction.
    St. James dusted his hands across his already immaculate coat. “I’ve seen to his debt. There is nothing standing between you and Michael’s happiness.”
    The countess gasped, and for what Michael would venture was the first time in the garrulous woman’s life, she was left speechless.
    Aldora shook her head. “You…I…you can’t.”
    “I can and I did. Consider it a gift for your upcoming nuptials.”
    Michael looked away, besieged by the same panic that had driven him to the Countess of Adamson’s doorstep. His brother could make the financial difficulties disappear. Michael himself could have done that, but neither of them could erase the scandal of Michael’s past.
    Aldora slipped her fingers into his hands and gave a firm squeeze. “I love you,” she