Page 81 of How Not to Marry a Duke

“Ten pounds for the work of M.J. Price is theft to me.”

“Publishing is a complex business.”

“So it seems. I’ve heard that Mr. Winter, another publisher I assume you are familiar with, as he is your rival, has expressed interest in the lady’s novel.”

“Mr. Winter!” Mr. Elder straightened his spine, but even so reached only to Warwick’s chest.

“Yes, the gentleman has asked for Mary to send him the manuscript for consideration. As a smart businessman, I suspect he realizes Lady Mary’s book will earn the publisher a good deal of money. I’ll also be sure to tell my godmother, Lady Heywood, who is a fan of M.J. Price. I anticipate her friends will be thrilled to discover M.J. Price is a woman.”

Elder rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. “Perhaps I was a bit hasty.”

Warwick clucked his tongue. “It’s too late. What is the saying? One man’s loss is another man’s gain.”

Mr. Elder blinked.

Mary’s blue eyes twinkled, and Adeline knew it took heroic effort for her not to laugh in the man’s face.

“Come along, ladies. Servants just wheeled out more refreshments. I’ve heard Lady Trehorn’s hired a French pastry chef.”

“Is it true?” Mary asked once they had left Mr. Elder behind. “Has Mr. Winter expressed an interest in my manuscript even knowing that a woman wrote it?”

“Yes,” Warwick said. “Mr. Winter has yet to read your manuscript and you will be competing with other writers to gain publication, but he is genuinely interested in your work.”

Mary’s enthusiasm was clear as she leaped forward to hug Warwick and place a chaste kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for the introduction to Mr. Winter, Your Grace. I will submit my best work and dazzle the publisher.”

“I have no doubt,” Warwick said.

A tingling warmth rushed through Adeline. She waited until Mary left to return to Miss Hart before asking what was on her mind. “You did that for Mary?”

“Do you want an honest answer?”

“Of course.”

“I did it for you. I do not like to see you unhappy, and I know you care for your sister.”

“I—”

“I also happen to think Mary is a charming and talented young lady. Mr. Winter has attended my scientific group on occasion. He isn’t an inventor but is a highly intelligent man who enjoys reading scientific journals in the evening. All I had to do was mention Mary’s pseudonym. He has read her short stories and is a smart businessman who isn’t afraid to acquire a talented female author. I was truthful. I’m confident Mary will be able to sell her manuscript to Mr. Winter on her own. Besides, it was a pleasure for me to aid her.”

A familiar tug and twist centered in her chest when she looked up at him. Warwick had gone to the trouble of making her sister happy. She’d initially thought the duke selfish, engrossed in his own strange world, a man too preoccupied with himself to care for others. But there was so much more to him.

And the more she discovered, the more she liked, despite herself.

…

“When you visited Mary the other afternoon,” Hasmik began, “Lady Heywood had a group of ladies over for tea.”

“I assume you attended the gathering,” Adeline said.

They were in Adeline’s bedchamber and Hasmik was helping her change from a morning walking dress into a serviceable dress without lace or trim. She was to travel to the home of a Lebanese woman who suffered from repeated morning nausea from pregnancy.

“Yes. Lady Heywood treats me as a guest.” Adeline stepped out of the walking dress, and Hasmik shook the garment, then hung it in the wardrobe.

“She’s a kind woman.” Adeline wasn’t surprised. Lady Heywood could be a bit eccentric, especially when it came to her views of the sexes, but she was not prejudiced and would have included Hasmik with her friends.

“The lady isn’t just kind. She makes one feel like a loaf of freshly baked bread.”

The Arabic saying was not lost on Adeline. She could never be upset with Lady Heywood for artfully arranging her encounter with Warwick the prior afternoon. As Warwick’s godmother, she meant the best for the duke, even if the lady’s machinations had resulted in Warwick walking in on Adeline half dressed in her ballgown. As for what happened afterward…that passionate encounter was entirely their doing.