Redemption of the Duke by Gayle Callen Page A

like time had not passed, that the two of them still ruled
     the underworld of London, where there were no rules.
    But six years ago, Adam had broken away from his family, believing he had to support
     himself before that day when his brother inherited the title and showed Adam exactly
     what he thought of his “half” brother. Instead, Adam had made terrible mistakes, become
     the duke, and was now trying to be a different person.
    He clasped Shenstone’s hand firmly, and they grinned at each other. “Good to see you,
     old man,” Adam said.
    “Rothford.” Shenstone looked him over. “I never thought I would call you that. Does the mantle of near royalty rest so heavy on your shoulders that you could
     not come among your lesser friends?”
    “You know that’s not true.”
    “Do I?” his friend said lightly, but his eyes showed no amusement. “I’ve heard you’ve
     been back as long as six months.”
    Adam blinked at him a moment. “I hadn’t realized so much time had passed. I had pressing
     business to finish up after resigning my commission, and was in the North for some
     time.” Chasing a woman—how Shenstone would laugh at that, especially since it wasn’t
     for the usual reasons one needed a woman.
    “I do understand that things have changed for you,” Shenstone admitted, sounding almost
     reluctant. “You were never bred for the ducal ‘honor,’ and I imagine there might be
     a lot to discover.”
    Adam shrugged. “My father always believed in hiring the best men of business, including
     his steward, bailiffs, and land agents. They’re still doing their work, leaving me
     with little to do to assist.”
    “You make that sound like a bad thing.”
    It was. Adam still had yet to find a way to be a part of his dukedom. He didn’t want
     to simply benefit from the money and prestige. There had to be something else for
     him to do. He’d gone into the army looking for a purpose, and now that he’d had to
     give that up . . . well, he had yet to find a true substitute.
    Except, of course, for his obsession with Miss Cooper. He forced himself not to glance
     in her direction. Nothing got by Shenstone, and Adam wasn’t about to betray his interest—his
     purely professional and helpful interest.
    “Together, we can find much to occupy your time,” Shenstone reminded him. “In fact,
     tonight there is a particular hell that needs our attention.”
    Adam remembered the smoke of the dark rooms, the vivid décor, the roulette and dice
     tables—and the women. There’d been times, in his spiting of his father, that he’d
     disappeared into one for several days, and the memories were still not all present.
    But now he was the face of his family, with duties to uphold, women to protect and
     guide, including his unmarried sister. He didn’t want Sophia married to anyone like
     himself—or Shenstone. She deserved an honorable, educated, respectable man, who hadn’t
     squandered parts of his life in the worst sorts of behaviors. And he would see that
     happen.
    “I don’t know when I’ll next be able to visit our old haunts,” Adam said.
    “The Crown weighs heavy upon your brow?”
    Adam chuckled, but Shenstone’s smile was cool.
    “The fate of my sister concerns me, the honor of my family. I seem to have to be a
     different sort of man now.” India and Afghanistan had begun the transformation, but
     how could he explain that to Shenstone, whose only hardship had been getting ejected
     from Oxford, to his father’s displeasure? “But just because the gaming hells cannot
     appeal to me anymore does not mean I’m against joining you at our club or the fencing
     academy.”
    “At White’s? With the old men?”
    “They’re not all old,” Adam said quietly.
    “Next you’ll be saying you’re looking for a wife.”
    “Eventually I’ll have to, shan’t I? The heir, and all that.”
    “You’re choosing this, Chamberlin—Rothford,” Shenstone corrected himself. “Remember