The Lady and the Earl (Seabrook Family Saga) by Christine Donovan Page B

to the Dowager Marchioness go on
and on about David’s accomplishments until Sebastian saved her. Did Daniel’s
mother not understand that the love she had for Daniel could not just be
transferred to her other son? That kind of love happened only once. William’s
handsome face flashed in her mind, making her reconsider that belief.
    “Thank goodness the night has ended.” Amelia sat next to her mother on
the trip home. “Lady Dartmouth has it in her mind David and I would suit.”
    “You should consider it, my dear.”
    “Mother, you cannot be serious. I could never…ever…marry Daniel’s
brother.”
    “I thought not. I just wanted to make sure you knew.”
    Sometimes her mother exasperated her. “Every time I looked into David’s
eyes this evening, I saw Daniel’s and Olivia’s. It was quite disconcerting.”
    Later, alone
and buried beneath the coverlet on her bed, she fell asleep with visions of
Daniel’s naked body coming down upon hers. Then the face changed, and it became
William’s. The rest of the night Amelia spent tossing and turning. Visions of
the two different men plagued her dreams. Daniel, the love of her young life, a
life she had only just begun to experience and understand when he passed.
William, older, wiser, and more mature, perhaps a match to the woman she had
become.
    CHAPTER TEN
     
    It was bad enough that Spencer had dragged William to Brooks’s
yesterday. Did he have to insist they spend time at White’s today? The two of
them sat alone in upholstered armchairs, facing the fireplace that blazed
fiercely and held off the dampness of a chilly rain that fell steadily beyond
their window. William could not help but smile. The poor London weather was
fortuitous in one way. The young duke would not be taking Amelia on a ride
through the park today.
    A glass of brandy, cradled in his hand, was halfway to his lips when a
shadow appeared directly in front of him, blocking the warmth from the fire.
    So this was his time of reckoning. Had William honestly thought he
could come back to London and not run into him ?
    “Who let you out of Newgate? I thought murderers rotted behind bars in
there until they died. Oh, wait, you were never convicted, and justice was
never served.” Sir Phillip Trenton stared at him, hatred in his dark brown
eyes.
    “Sir Phillip,” Spencer spoke up reproachfully before William could get
a word out.
    “Cousin…” William’s one word warned Spencer not to interfere. “Trenton,
how nice to see you again.” No matter what Trenton said or did, William would
stay in control and not add to the scene Trenton had started.
    One side of the man’s upper lip curled into a sneer. Did Trenton think
to intimidate him with that look? It took all William’s self-control not to
jump out of the chair and punch the greedy bastard in the nose. Of course, it
might be an improvement to his wastrel looks. The years had not been kind to
Trenton. But then again, he’d always been a debauched drunk and gambler with no
morals, the type that tended not to age well.
    Katherine had been an angel, but her brother Trenton had been the devil
himself. The stories Katherine had told him about her brother chilled William’s
blood even now. Trenton’s performance, playing the loving, heartbroken brother
after her death, was worthy of the stage, when in truth his actions only
demonstrated he had hated his sister. After their parents had died in a
carriage accident, Trenton forced his attentions on Katherine. She had no
protector, and for months he’d raped her. It amazed William she hadn’t taken
her own life.
    William met her while she was fleeing her home in the middle of the
night on foot. He and his brother Geoffrey had rescued her from some unsavory
men on the docks as she tried to purchase passage to America. Over the years he
and Geoffrey had spent a fortune paying Trenton to stay away from Katherine.
Though she’d died twelve years ago, to honor her reputation and that of