Page 5 of An Orphan for the Broken Duke

He must be plotting something!

“What is it that you think you are doing here, Your Grace?” she demanded of him.

The duke stood over a circle of young boys, watching as they played cards amongst themselves. He did not join in, but he seemed truly interested in them, as if they were the center of all things.

“Excuse me?” The duke turned and frowned at her.

“I said, what is it that you think you are doing here, Your Grace?” She clasped her hands tightly before her.

He tilted his head, amusement passing behind his gray eyes. “I believe I am watching a card game, although I am a little confused by the rules.”

“No, not that,” she said sharply. “Here. Why are you here? And do not lie to me, Your Grace. I am not such a fool that you might think.”

“Ought I not to be here?” he asked, not at all put out by her rancor. “I have spent a lot of money on this orphanage. Should I not be allowed to see how it is spent?”

“So, that is your game. You are trying to decide if these children are worth the cost? And what happens if you decide they are not? No doubt you will go home to your large manor, you will pour yourself an expensive glass of brandy, and you will not think about them again.”

“Have I done something to offend you… it is Miss Beaumont, no?”

“Not yet.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “But I know gentlemen of your character well enough to know that it is only a matter of time.”

If Violet had not been feeling so irate, she might have stopped to question what she was doing.

The duke stood almost a foot taller than her. He was twice as wide. And while he did not appear angry, that did not mean he wasn’t intimidating. There was a power that emanated from him—the type common in men used to getting what they wanted. Such a power ought to have had her reeling backwards.

Funnily, it only made Violet angrier.

The duke, however, continued to appear both amused and curious. Then, he looked down at her legs, and he frowned. “You are alone.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your little friend, Lucy…” He swept his gaze around the warehouse. “Where has she gotten off to? You have been together all day. The two of you are usually attached at the hip.”

“And that is another thing.” She put her hands on her hips. “Why do you continue to look at her? I have seen you watching her all day. What do you want?”

The duke’s eyes turned sad again, and his gaze became distant. For a moment, it was as if he had forgotten where he was and who he was speaking to. “She… reminds me of someone…” A smile touched his lips, one that was just as sad as his eyes.

“She does?” Violet blinked. “Who?”

The duke shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. Then, he raised one eyebrow at her. “I thought you might be pleased to see me here. Miss Wilks certainly is. She knows, as well as I, that children such as these need security and safety. I can offer them that.”

“That is where you are wrong,” she huffed. “What they need is affection. Love and someone to care for them.”

“But how can they have that without the other?” he fired back.

Violet opened her mouth to argue… but no words came to pass. Frustratingly, the duke was right! It was all well and good to care for and love someone, but if you could not protect them and ensure that they were safe, then what was the point?

“Your Grace!” Miss Wilks hurried toward them. “I am free for that meeting now, if you are?” Miss Wilks came over to them, saw the look on Violet’s face, and widened her eyes.

Violet shrank back, suddenly embarrassed and guilty.

The duke studied Violet for a moment longer, with a smirk on his lips and something behind his eyes that she could not read. “I am, Miss Wilks. Let us be about it.”

He shook his head, turned, and followed Miss Wilks across the warehouse to her office.

Violet watched him go. She tried to glare. She tried to remind herself who he was and what he stood for. But the more she tried, the more she was forced to admit that nothing that the duke had said or done confirmed what she suspected of him.

Still, deep down, she knew that she was right. She had to be!