Love With a Scandalous Lord by Lorraine Heath Page A

unnatural stillness to descend over the hallway. Her eyes flooded with tears. Tears for him that made his own eyes sting. He took a step toward her, fully intending to wrap his arms around her—
    “You promised!” she retorted. “Promised to keep them at bay. And now that wretched, horrible boy—”
    “Did nothing more than step into the hallway,” Lydia protested, her voice seething.
    “I was looking for Lyd,” the lad said, stepping out from behind his sister, who quickly moved in front of him.
    At any other moment, Rhys might have thought their actions amusing. Right now, however, his cheek, mouth, and heart still smarted.
    “You promised!” his mother reiterated.
    “I know I did,” he said quietly. “I shall rectify the situation posthaste.”
    “I want them out of my house!”
    “That wish I cannot grant.”
    “I want the bastard’s boy flogged!”
    “Over my dead body,” Lydia snarled.
    “That can be arranged,” his mother said haughtily.
    “Mother, is anyone with Father?” he asked in an effort to distract her from the problem at hand. Anything to diffuse the escalating tempers.
    She snapped her gaze to his, horror clearly etched across her aging face. “Do you suppose he heard?”
    Surely she was joking. His father would have heardeven if he were already lying in his grave. Still, Rhys shook his head. “Hopefully not, but if he did, tell him you saw a mouse.”
    “Yes, yes,” she murmured absently before turning toward the door. “He knows I’m frightfully terrified of the vile creatures.”
    She entered the Duke’s bedchamber, and Rhys shifted his attention to Lydia and Colton. He did not welcome the unpleasant task that awaited him, but order needed to be maintained. “We shall discuss this unfortunate matter in my study.”
    “Colton did nothing wrong,” Lydia insisted.
    Rhys narrowed his gaze. “I am in no mood to be corrected or questioned at the moment. And considering the fireworks shooting from your eyes, I would think you would appreciate a few moments to calm yourself, before we discuss why you and your brother are in this hallway when I specifically requested that Grayson and his brood vacate the premises each afternoon between the hours of two and five.”
    His comment only served to ruffle her feathers more if her deepening glare was any indication. She opened her mouth. He held up a finger to silence her. “In my study.”
    She snapped her mouth closed, squared her shoulders, bunched up her skirt with tightened fists, and marched down the stairs. Her brother started to follow and then halted, glancing up at Rhys.
    “You really don’t want to get on Lyd’s bad side,” he warned before traipsing after his sister.
    On the contrary. Rhys was definitely looking forward to the encounter. Perhaps afterward she would demand he rescind his offer to help her practice heretiquette. Based on what he’d just witnessed, she did indeed need a tutor when it came to learning about the proper way to handle unpleasant situations.
    Removing a monogrammed handkerchief from his pocket, he pressed it to his mouth, disappointed to discover blood. He didn’t fancy being a wounded warrior, he mused as he followed them down the stairs. In the entrance hall, Lydia had already turned to the right.
    “To my study,” he called after them.
    She spun around, her brow furrowing, her gaze quickly darting around the foyer. She pointed over her shoulder. “The library—”
    “Is not my study,” he interrupted. “If you will be so kind as to follow me?”
    He knew by the mutinous set of her mouth that she preferred to be the one leading. How different she was when someone she loved was threatened. He’d perceived her to be young, sweet, and innocent. At this precise moment, she looked as though she wished to scratch out his eyes. He couldn’t determine why he found that aspect of her character appealing.
    He led the way along the wide hallway and entered a room that, like the library, looked