The Duke's Blind Temptation by Paige Cameron Page A

you,” the doctor ordered.
    “What happened? Why are you here?”
    “Son.” Rafe heard his father’s voice. “There was a fire in your barn last night.”
    “The horses?”
    “All safe, but you inhaled smoke and got hit in the head with a piece of flying wood.”
    The doctor’s hands probed gently along the side and back of Rafe’s head. When he opened his eyes, the doctor’s face suddenly came into view. Rafe jerked.
    “What is it?
    “I can see you. You’re fuzzy, but I see your face.”
    “It’s possible the recent blow helped you regain your sight. Possible, but not likely,” the doctor concluded.
    “I don’t care how it happened,” his father said. “I’m just glad it did. This is wonderful.”
    “Temper your excitement,” the physician warned. “This might only be transitory.”
    Rafe ignored the doctor’s remarks. “Father, I must talk with you privately.”
    “Of course. Please excuse us.”
    Rafe heard the haughtiness in his father’s voice and smiled. The doctor nodded and scurried out of the room.
    His father pulled up a chair by the bedside.
    How did Rafe tell him what he suspected? Ralph was his father’s son, too.
     
    * * * *

    The days went by slowly after the excitement of the fire. Ellie helped her mother prepare for the few overnight guests and the neighbors who planned to attend the dinner and country ball.
    “Ellie, go outside for awhile,” her mother said. “The first of our guests won’t begin arriving until afternoon. You look peaked and all this help without complaining is getting on my nerves.”
    Ellie glanced across at her smiling mother and then at the open window. Outside the sun shined. Restlessness filled her, but the only place she wanted to go, she had to avoid. Her father had said Rafe’s parents had arrived and planned to stay with him until he fully recovered.
    She put down her feather mop and walked toward the door. The fresh air beckoned her outside. She’d visit her mare. Nothing else, she promised herself.
    Father and several other men arrived home as she entered the shadowed barn. They didn’t see her.
    “The barn is well on its way to being finished. Having extra workers hired from the village has helped get the job done in record time,” her father said.
    “The duke is certainly happy about his son’s recovery. Can’t blame him. No one wants their heir to be blind,” Mr. Brown, the short, stout husband of Mrs. Brown, remarked.
    “It is nothing short of a miracle,” Ellie’s father agreed.
    “Strange, though, that the half brother hasn’t been seen, and now the news is he’s headed for the continent.” The tall man standing by her father shook his head. “I asked the duke about it, but he raised his eyebrows in that way he has when you know you’ve stepped over the line. He obviously doesn’t want to discuss anything regarding his second son. Seems suspicious, but I’m not going to start any rumors. Don’t want to make the duke angry. Rather not have him as an enemy.”
    “Some matters are best left between families,” Ellie’s father stated bluntly.
    Ellie tiptoed back out of the barn. Rafe had regained his sight! Her heart trembled with despair. Every mother with a beautiful daughter would be after him for a son-in-law. Her chances just went from a little hopeful to no hope at all.
    She didn’t want to witness the disappointment in his eyes when he saw she was not beautiful. Maybe she wouldn’t have to see him. Interesting was how she’d heard one of her suitors describe her appearance. Only in Rafe’s imagination could she be more. Even then, he’d probably remembered her as the rather plump, plain, dark-haired sister. Thank goodness he’d not be able to come to the ball.
    If they did meet again, she’d be engaged to a proper gentleman, putting all her childhood dreams out of reach.
      
    * * * *

    The weather was perfect for the Saturday gathering. A cool breeze came through the open french windows as the small