Page 40 of The Duke's Promise to Her Child
“You can see now,” she said, “how important it is that you extract yourself from this situation with all possible haste. If you have any chance of claiming that you knew nothing about any of this, you must distance yourself from me at once. It is only right.”
“Balderdash,” he said. The word came out quiet and firm. She looked up. Anger had seeped into his voice, and when he turned to her she saw that same anger reflected in his face. “Balderdash,” he repeated. “I will not retreat. Not now. Not ever.”
Helena stared at him, and for a moment she was quite still, taking in his words. Did he mean it? He intended to stand by her? But how? It would be foolish, utterly ridiculous, an act of sheer stupidity. And if she had learned one thing about Gideon, it was that he was not a stupid man.
He shook his head and curled his right hand into a fist, pressing his knuckles into his palm. This would not do. Not in the least.
“All is not lost,” he said. “Even if we cannot find you a husband with all haste, I will not let this go. I do not think you still fully understand what your father meant to me. He was an honourable man. Someone I admired greatly. So what if he allowed himself to be drawn into his wife’s schemes? Were they even such questionable schemes? She did what she thought best for her family. It is utterly ridiculous that our society is so very focused upon titles that it cannot see people for who they are. Even amongst us titled folk there is a hierarchy. You saw what happened to me. I was not born a Duke and people still look down upon me for it. It is absurd, and I will not let you fall prey to it. No, there is still a solution.”
“What is it?” she asked, and her tone was more amused than anything else.
He took a deep breath. He had thought about this all night, ever since Lady Marlborough had made her cryptic remark at Almack’s that was not, in truth, all that cryptic. He had known there was a possibility that the secret Captain Hartwell had entrusted him with so long ago was soon not to be a secret any longer. He had stayed up all night turning it over, examiningwhat options remained, what he could do for her and then at three o’clock in the morning, when the sun had not even begun to contemplate rising, it had come to him. The obvious solution.
“We must get married,” he said.
“What?” She leapt out of her chair. “Have you lost your mind? Are you in your cups? You must be for that suggestion is utterly ridiculous.”
“Is it? If you were married to a Duke, you would be elevated to the highest echelon of society. And if somebody were then to come forward and say that you were merely a commoner’s daughter. So what? You would be a Duchess. People would be more desperate for your companionship and influence than they would ever be for some old rumour.”
“But you just told me yourself that people still look down upon you, even though you are a Duke.”
He really had to stop laying traps for himself. He thought this privately and with some feeling.
“Yes, I did say that. But I am still a Duke. You saw what happened at Almack’s — Lady Marlborough chose me over Lord Henry because I outrank him.”
“Because Lord Henry is a horrid man.”
“That too. But still a lady patroness would never eject a Duke from her establishment over a Viscount or a Baron. The same is true in the House of Lords. People are so desperate for alliances with powerful men — and make no mistake, I am both rich and powerful — that they will overlook a great many things. There may always be people who treat you as less than, but you will have a powerful title. And what is more, I have friends who are well respected, and their wives will embrace you. I know it. James’s wife Frances was a gentleman’s daughter. And she is very well respected.”
“She did not claim to be something she was not,” Helena said.
“And neither did you, truly. In fact, if you marry me and become a Duchess, Lavinia will remain Lord Vale’s daughter, but she will be my stepdaughter. She will be connected to two noble houses. Nobody will care about her mother’s parentage. Think about it. It is the perfect solution.”
“For whom?” she said, raising her arms and letting them fall to her sides.
“For all of us. I must have a wife eventually. You need a husband. And I see no reason for the arrangement to be anything other than sensible.”
She shook her head and crossed her arms, walking the length of the kitchen several times before coming to a stop. “I do not seek romance. I agreed to this venture for purely practical reasons. I require a husband and a secure future for my daughter. I cannot give you love or affection. If I were to say yes to this, it wouldhave to be a marriage of convenience. I would expect you to continue living your life as you always have. Doing whatever you have always done.”
He smirked, because he knew exactly what she meant. His habit of chasing skirts and placing bets.
The truth was, he had not expected this reply. He wasn’t sure what he had expected but this was far more like the Helena he had come to know. A practical answer to a practical problem.
Did he want a practical marriage? It had not occurred to him to think about it in those terms. He had rather cast himself as the hero of the piece over the last few hours since his three o’clock epiphany, and had not paused to consider the practicalities. But it made sense. He needed a wife, that was true. He had once hoped for love, with Cassandra, but she had broken something in him, and perhaps it would make more sense to have a practical arrangement with someone he already trusted. Someone who might, in time, become something more.
Perhaps it was foolish to even hope for that. But the truth was, he liked Helena. More than liked her. The thought of spending his life with her had filled him with a kind of quiet joy he had not known in a very long time.
But it seemed she did not feel the same. Or did not wish to.
“I dare say we are friends,” he said.
“We are. Of course we are.”
“And that would be reflected in our marriage. We would carry on much as we have of late.”
“We could,” she said. “Just as long as you do not expect anything more of me.”
“I will not,” he said. “Let us be clear about the terms. We will be married. You will serve as my wife at official functions, and behind closed doors we will be the good friends we have become. I will be a loving stepfather to Lavinia.”
