LITMIR.BIZ

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down and caught her hand, gave it a squeeze. “Very astute. I sensed that from our first meeting. A man with a wife who understands her role can be a tremendous asset to her husband’s business.”

      Dani continued to smile. She wasn’t exactly certain what role Richard expected her to play, but in time she supposed she would figure it out.

      “Actually Jacob Wentz is in the dye manufacturing business. His plant is in Easton, not far from Clemens’s Textiles.” Richard turned for a moment to speak to Aunt Flora, and as the pair made polite conversation, Dani studied the man she was to wed.

      Richard stood slightly above average in height, and he was attractive, his hair a deep golden blond and his eyes a mixture of brown and green, turning more one color than the other, depending upon his mood.

      She had only begun to know him during his time in England. He’d been attentive and interesting, an intelligent man, successful in his business endeavors, a widower who seemed to find her attractive. Here he was different, more driven. Here, business always came first. At times it seemed to consume him.

      “If you will excuse us for a moment, Lady Wycombe,” Richard said, “there is a gentleman I would like Danielle to meet.”

      “Of course.” Aunt Flora gave him a last warm smile, turned her attention to the matron standing next to her and they began to pleasantly chatter.

      Dani let Richard guide her across the parlor, a well-designed room with molded ceilings, Aubusson carpets and Chippendale furniture. Even the furniture in the houses she had visited seemed decidedly American, mostly mahogany, with smooth lines and graceful curves, pretty lace doilies and high-backed Windsor chairs.

      Richard covered her hand where it rested on the sleeve of his tailcoat as they wove their way among the guests, stopping for a greeting here and there. It was obvious by the way people deferred to him that her fiancé held a high place in Philadelphia society. In fact, there were times he seemed overly concerned with it, but perhaps she was mistaken.

      He stopped in front of a tall, burly, gray-haired man with mutton-chop sideburns. “Senator Gaines, it’s good to see you.”

      “You, as well, Richard.”

      “Senator, I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Danielle Duval.”

      Gaines made a very polite bow over her hand. “Miss Duval, you are every bit as lovely as Richard has said.”

      “Thank you, Senator.”

      “Senator Gaines was once ambassador to England,” Richard told Dani. To the senator he said, “Danielle’s father was the Viscount Drummond. Perhaps you met him while you were abroad.”

      One of the senator’s thick gray eyebrows went up. “I’m afraid I never had the privilege.” He tossed Richard a look. “So you’ve caught yourself the daughter of a viscount. Quite a feather in your cap, old boy, if I do say so myself. Congratulations.”

      Richard beamed. “Thank you, Senator.”

      “When’s the wedding? I presume I’ll be invited.”

      “Of course. We’d be very disappointed if you couldn’t attend.”

      They spoke a moment more, then Richard said a polite farewell and so did Dani. She tried to ignore the uneasy feeling the conversation had stirred. Richard seemed so concerned with her background, so impressed that she was a member of the English aristocracy. It seemed to come up at every party they had attended since her arrival.

      “Richard! Do bring your lovely bride-to-be over here for a moment. We’ve a guest tonight I would like the two of you to meet.”

      Dani recognized their rotund little host for the evening, Marcus Whitman, a wealthy farmer Richard had introduced her to at a musical affair they had attended last week. Since her arrival, her fiancé had insisted on attending one affair after another.

      “I want you to have a chance to get acquainted with my friends,” Richard had explained.

      Dani had hoped they would have more time to themselves, a chance to get to know each other better before the wedding. So far, she had only met his children once and then only briefly.

      “Good evening, Marcus.” Richard smiled. “It’s been a lovely party. Thank you so much for hosting the affair.”

      “My wife and I were pleased to do it. Before he died, your father and I were friends for nearly twenty years.”

      Richard politely nodded. His father was often mentioned at these events. Apparently he had been quite a respected man in the community. “You said there was someone you wanted us to meet?”

      “Yes, yes…indeed.” He turned and touched the coat sleeve of a tall man standing behind him, drawing the man’s attention.

      “Richard, I would like to introduce you to an acquaintance from London, a friend of a friend, if you know what I mean. Rafael Saunders is the Duke of Sheffield. He’s here in Philadelphia on business.”

      Shock ricocheted through Dani. She felt as if the floor had just tipped sideways. She could feel the blood slowly draining from her face.

      Whitman continued the introduction. “Duke, meet Richard Clemens and his fiancée, Miss Duval. She’s a countryman of yours. Perhaps the two of you are acquainted.”

      Dani stared into the bluest eyes she had ever seen, eyes she would never forget. Her chest tightened almost painfully.

      “Mr. Clemens,” Rafael said, making Richard a very formal bow. “Miss Duval.” His eyes fixed on hers and for an instant she couldn’t look away.

      Dani couldn’t talk, couldn’t form a single word. She just kept staring, her hand trembling on Richard’s sleeve. When he turned to look at her, he must have seen the pallor of her face.

      “Darling, are you all right?”

      Dani wet her lips, her mouth gone completely dry. “I am…I am happy to make your acquaintance,” she said to Rafael, silently thanking God she had never told Richard the name of the man who had once been her betrothed. The man who had ruined her.

      Rafe’s eyes remained on hers. “The pleasure is mine, I assure you, Miss Duval.”

      She dragged her gaze away, ignored the wild beating of her heart, and glanced frantically around the room in search of an avenue of escape. “I—I’m terribly sorry. I’m afraid I am feeling overly warm. I think I could use a breath of fresh air.”

      Richard slid an arm around her waist. “Here, let me escort you. A moment on the terrace and I’m sure you’ll be right as rain.” Guiding her toward the French doors leading out into the garden, Richard led her across the room. Several people glanced their way, but Dani barely saw them. Her mind was spinning, her stomach tied into a knot.

      Rafael had followed her. She couldn’t think of any other explanation. Why had he come? What did he want?

      Did he hate her so much that he had come to ruin her chance for a new life with Richard?

      Dani clamped down on a moment of fear and prayed there was some other reason Rafael had traveled all the way to America.

      Rafe watched Danielle leave the parlor and wished he had handled things differently. She looked so pale, so shaken. Then again, what had he expected?

      Not that he’d had any choice.

      Before he’d set sail, he had done his best to discover any information that might help him find her, but there simply wasn’t enough time. He knew the name of her ship, the Wyndham, and that she had sailed to Philadelphia, where her fiancé, a wealthy manufacturer, apparently had a home.

      Beyond that, he didn’t know exactly where to look for her. Instead, he had arrived in the city with letters of introduction engineered by Howard Pendleton, a close family friend. Letters from men of influence in London with friends in Philadelphia who might be able to help him find Danielle.

      Howard

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