Page 5 of Project Duke

“Lady Calliope,” he said. “Is one of your brothers joining you?”

“I have a quite urgent matter to discuss. May I speak with you?”

The rest of the officers cackled and snickered like children.

Kelford threw a deadly glare at them. “Leave the lady alone and return to serving your country.”

They stopped snickering and busied themselves with something at their desks. Nathaniel, no matter how dashing, no matter how gorgeous, may be the key to finding her brother and giving her freedom from William.

She walked deeper into the room, her small heels clacking against the marble as she navigated among the heavy desks, and towards him.

“I need your assistance, Kelford,” she said as she stood before him, and oh dear lord, he smelled just like he had at the ball—something earthy and herbal and fresh. She had the strange urge to press her mouth to his skin to see if he’d taste just as delicious. “When we met, I wasn’t aware you served in the Conscription Office—”

He stared down at her with his breathtaking turquoise eyes, an unusual mixture of green and blue, with a burst of gold around his pupils. Just like the sea on white Scottish beaches.

“Lady Calliope, you shouldn’t be here.” He stretched his arm to the door. “You should leave. If you please…”

She raised her chin. “My eldest brother, Spencer, the eleventh Duke of Grandhampton—we learned that he was most likely conscripted into the navy during one of the raids. It was September 3, 1812, and I need your help to discover which ship he may be on.”

He frowned. “Forgive me, but wasn’t he dead?”

“We all thought so, but we were incorrect. We now believe that he was press-ganged onto one of your ships.”

Nathaniel chuckled. “My lady, you are confused. What you’re proposing is inconceivable. A duke wouldn’t be press-ganged.”

“Do you authorize press-gangs?”

“I do.”

There was something disturbing about a law that allowed anyone to be forced into a war regardless of station, but that was another matter altogether. Right now, she needed to concentrate on just one victim.

“And you’re certain you haven’t signed that authorization?” she inquired.

The chuckle around his lips deepened, and he looked her over in such a way that her corset felt tighter. “You little admiral,” he murmured. “Demanding things you have no right to. But I sympathize with your brother’s situation. If one of my sisters disappeared, I’d come storming any establishment.”

The rake had sisters he’d do the same thing for. Who would have thought?

“But I will reply, and once I do, do you promise to leave? I care about your reputation, even if you do not. Coming unchaperoned to seek out a man like me may land you in The Society by tomorrow morning if you’re not careful.”

“I do not care about The Society or the papers. I care about my brother.”

He tapped with his finger against the surface of the desk he stood next to, burning eyes steady on her. “Well, I don’t remember signing that one.”

She blinked. “That is your reply? You don’t remember?”

He shrugged with one shoulder. “I don’t remember every authorization I sign.”

She suppressed a gasp. “How can you not remember signing a paper that defines the lives of six hundred men?”

The other officers threw curious glances at her and at Kelford.

Kelford narrowed his eyes at her. “How do you know it’s six hundred?”

She straightened her back. “I read. So should you, sir. And especially, you should read what you sign.”

His previously cautious expression turned into pure threat. But she wouldn’t let him intimidate her.

“What else should one expect from a notorious rake than a lack of responsibility?” she continued.