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The girl was co he could not stomach in a female
But she was fascinating
She had been since the firsta book for her brother And then they’d ain at the Royal Art Exhibition And she’d let him believe
“Perhaps you would tell ain The weeks since the bookshop had been interminable She had pursed her lips, a perfect o first My name is Simon”
“Siue, that name he had not used publicly in decades
“And yours, my lady?”
“Oh, I think that would ruin the fun,” she had paused, her brilliant sree, Your Grace?”
She had known he was a duke He should have recognized then that so But instead, he had been transfixed Shaking his head, he had advanced upon her slowly, sending her scurrying backward to keep her distance, and the chase had enthralled him “Now, that is unfair”
“It seems more than fair I am merely a better detective than you”
He paused, considering her words “It does appear that way Perhaps I should siuess your identity?”
She grinned “You may feel free”
“You are an Italian princess, here with your brother on so”
She had cocked her head at the sa with her brother “Perhaps”
“Or, the daughter of a Veronese count, whiling away your spring here, eager to experience the legendary London Season”
She had laughed then, the sound like sunshine “How disheartening that you make my father a mere count Why not a duke? Like you?”
He had ss much easier”
She’d let hi commoner
Which, of course, she wasn’t
Yes, he should have fetched Ralston the e, squeezed into the corner as though she were a sh she could have hidden from him
“If I’d come to fetch you, how do you think that would have worked?”
“She’d be asleep in her bed right now That’s hoould have worked”
He ignored the vision of her sleeping, her wild raven hair spread across crisp, white linen, her creaown If she wore a nightgown
He cleared his throat “And if she’d leapt froe in full view of all the Ralston House revelers? What then?”
Ralston paused, considering “Well, then, I suppose she would have been ruined And you would be preparing for a life of wedded bliss”
Siain “So it is likely better for all of us that I behaved as I did”
Ralston’s eyes darkened “That’s not the first tito take it personally”
“Your sister and I would not suit, Ralston And you know it”
“You could not handle her”
Simon’s lips twisted There wasn’t a man in London who could handle the chit
Ralston knew it “No one will have her She’s too bold Too brash The opposite of good English girls” He paused, and Siree He had no intention of doing so “She says whatever enters her head whenever it happens to arrive, with no consideration of how those around herh
“Well, to be fair, it did sound like this evening’s ”
“It did, didn’t it?” Ralston stopped, thinking for a long moment “It shouldn’t be so hard to find hi around”
“Even fewer li off the other injury,” Simon said wryly
Ralston shook his head “Where do you think she learned that tactic?”
From the wolves by whom she had clearly been raised
“I would not deign to guess”
Silence fell between thehed and stood “I do not like to be indebted to you”
Simon smirked at the confession “Consider us even”
The marquess nodded once and headed for the door Once there, he turned back “Lucky, isn’t it, that there is a special session this autumn? To keep us all from our country seats?”
Siaze The hton had thrown his considerable power behind an e session of Parliain
“Military preparedness is a serious issue,” Simon said with deliberate calm
“Indeed it is” Ralston crossed his arainst the door “And Parliament is a welcome distraction from sisters, is it not?”
Siaze narrowed “You have never pulled punches with in now”
“I do not suppose I could request your assistance with Juliana?”
Si between them
Simply tell him no
“What kind of assistance?”
Not precisely “No,” Leighton
Ralston raised a brow “I ahton Relax I could use the extra set of eyes on her I etting herself attacked by unidentified men”
Simon leveled Ralston with a cool look “It appears that the universe is punishing you with a sibling who makes as much trouble as you did”
“I aht” A heavy silence fell “You knohat could happen to her, Leighton”
You’ve lived it
The words remained unspoken, but Simon heard them, nonetheless
Still, the answer is no
“Forgiveyou a favor, Ralston”
Much closer
“It would be a favor for St John, as well,” Ralston added, invoking the naht re for your sister, Leighton”
There it was
The heavy weight of scandal, powerful enough to move mountains
He did not like having such an obvious weakness
And it would only get worse
For a longhih”
“You can i you for assistance, Duke, but think of howit in my face for the rest of our days”
“I confess, I was hoping not to have to suffer you for so very long”
Ralston laughed then “You are a cold-hearted bastard” He came forward to stand behind the chair he had vacated “Are you ready, then? For when the news gets out?”
Simon did not pretend to misunderstand Ralston and St John were the only two men who knew the darkest of Simon’s secrets The one that would destroy his family and his reputation if it were revealed
&
nbsp; The one that was bound to be revealed sooner or later
Would he ever be ready?
“Not yet But soon”
Ralston watched hiaze that reminded Simon of Juliana “You knoill stand beside you”
Siive ht in the support of the House of Ralston”
One side of Ralston’s mouth lifted in a smile “We are a motley bunch But we more than make up for it with tenacity”
Simon considered the woman in his library “That I do not doubt”
“I take it you plan to marry”
Silass to his lips “How did you know that?”
The srin then “Nearly every problem can be solved by a trip to the vicar Particularly yours Who is the lucky girl?”
Si that he hadn’t selected her Everyone would know soon enough, however “Lady Penelope Marbury”
Ralston whistled long and low “Daughter of a double ree The Holy Trinity of a desirable match And a fortune as well Excellent choice”
It was nothing that Siht himself, of course, but it smarted nonetheless for him to hear it spoken aloud “I do not like to hear you discuss h she were prize cattle”
Ralston leaned back “My apologies I was under the ih she were prize cattle”
The whole conversation wasLady Penelope for anything other than her uniround
“After all, it isn’t as if anyone will believe the great Duke of Leighton would marry for love”
He did not like the tremor of sarcasm in Ralston’s tone Of course, the marquess had always kno to irritate hier to move “I think I shall fetch your sister, Ralston It’s time for you to take her home And I would appreciate it if you could keep your family dramatics from my doorstep in the future”
The words sounded imperious even to his ears
Ralston straightened, ht, alhton “I shall certainly try After all, you have plenty of your own fa down on the doorstep, do you not?”