Page 76 of The Duchess Audition

Anthony could not draw a full breath, his lungs ablaze. “What about William?”

“He will manage without me until I come back,” she said. “I will explain to him as best I can.”

“And if I do not permit it?”

A pained expression tightened her face. “My dear husband, I hope you will not try to stop me.” She got up. “Forgive me, but I have lost my appetite. Please, apologize to the staff for me. I am sorry to waste their efforts.”

Half of him wanted to stay there until he had all the answers, while the other half of him knew it would do no good to exacerbate the situation.

In the end, with a troubled heart and an exasperated mind, he chose to leave with his dignity intact, parting ways with a murmured, “I shall await your return.”

Walking back alone to the dining room, a dire thought struck him: Perhaps, this is truly all she wants. A marriage of convenience, as agreed.

For though his grandmother had insisted that he was falling in love with Marina, there was every chance that she did not feel the same.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Ihope you can forgive me, my husband. When all is well and my uncle is cured, I hope with everything I possess that you can forgive me.

Marina hated that she could not tell Anthony the truth, for not being honest was such a foreign experience to her. It made her feel uncomfortable in her own skin, itchy without an actual itch. But her uncle had made her promise not to tell anyone, and she owed her loyalty to him first. For the life he had given her, she could not refuse his request.

Still, she did not regret asking Anthony to be more honest with her, for William’s sake if not for her own.

“Are you sure you’re not leaving me?” the boy asked, his eyes watering, as he stood on the porch with her.

Her important belongings had already been loaded onto the carriage, all of the ingredients and tools she would need to concoct her uncle’s cure. Herbs and powders that her private broker had happened to have in his possession. Powerful remedies from the Orient that had cost her almost all the money she had to her name.

“I promise I am not leaving,” she replied with a smile. “I will be back in a few days. It is just that there is something very crucial that I must do in London.”

“But you won’t tell me what?”

She shook her head. “Not yet. Eventually, I hope I will be able to.”

“Is it why you have been working so hard?” William said, more observant than his years suggested.

She nodded. “It is.”

“Are you helping someone, the way you helped me?” He smeared a tear from his cheek with a fist.

“I am working on something tremendously important,” she replied as vaguely as she could.

The boy frowned for a moment, then his mouth curved into an odd smile. As if they were conspirators, he closed one eye in a wink, apparently satisfied with her answer.

He is such a clever child. I wish his father was half as perceptive.

For if Anthony could just figure out what she was doing, then she would not have to evade his questions and attempt to lie convincingly. Although, the only outright lie she had told was where she had been on that first day she had gone to London, after the message had arrived from her broker that he had what she needed.

However, that was more to do with the broker’s identity than anything else. He was a very private man, for obvious reasons, considering he could get hold of almost anything. She did not want to lose that relationship, that supply, if Anthony decided it was inappropriate.

“I shall see you in a few days,” she repeated, crouching to put her arms around the boy. “You be good while I am gone.”

William hugged her tightly in return. “I promise I will be on my best behavior.”

“That is good to hear,” Marina said with a smile, pulling back. “Do not drink too much cordial.”

He grinned. “I’ll try not to.”

“Goodbye, William. I will see you very soon.”