Her Stepmother Sent Her to the Duke as a Joke – He Offered Her a Chair Before He Said a Word

on a Tuesday, the illusion of their isolated sanctuary shattered.

Norah was adding a column of figures from the sheep shearers when the heavy knocker on the front door echoed through the hall. It was not a tenant; tenants used the back entrance.

Alistair looked up from his correspondence, his pale eyes narrowed. “Bates will handle it.”

But Bates did continue reading …