Page 7 of Her Lion of a Duke
Suddenly, he saw the young lady who had spoken to him all those years ago. She had not known who he was then, nor did she seem to care, and now that he was a duke, she remained quite unchanged.
He had always liked that about her: her lack of pretense. She was Cecilia Punton, and there was not much more to it.
“Do you think securing a match for yourself would ease things for her?” he asked.
“Likely. If I had a husband, it would reflect well on her, and she would be able to be out in Society as herself, rather than the cousin of a villain. If only I had not spent my entire time rejecting every suitor that crossed my path.”
“They would understand?—”
“You heard me do it several times. You know that they would not speak to me a second time.”
Leonard laughed despite the situation. He remembered all of her replies to gentlemen who had shown their interest over the years, and how he had always expected the same rejection. One had never come, however, and though he never would have asked her, he had always wondered why that was.
And so he asked her.
“Why have I never received such scorn from you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You hate every gentleman who crosses your path, and yet I seem to be an exception. Why is that?”
“Oh, I was not aware. I could insult you now, if you wish.”
“No, I am not asking you to. I am simply curious.”
“Well,” she replied carefully, “I suppose it is because I have always respected you. You do not flirt with every lady you see, nor do you display behavior that I dislike. I also admire the fact that you tell your friends when they are being improper. Not a lot of gentlemen dare to do that.”
“Are you saying that you like me?”
She nudged him playfully, smiling. “You are a friend. I did not think I would need any more, but now that my lady friends are finding husbands, I have found myself in want.”
“Then I am pleased to be the one person you do not find awful.”
“You ought to be.”
They sat in silence for a moment, Leonard trying to find a solution to their predicaments. Suddenly, an idea came to him. Their issues were completely different, but the solution…
“Marry me,” he said abruptly. “You could marry me.”
She looked at him with wide eyes, as if she could not comprehend what she was hearing.
“You are not funny. You do not need to act like those gentlemen to test me.”
“That is not what I am doing. It makes perfect sense, does it not? I need to talk to my brother, and you need to make a good match to help your cousin. You need not fall in love with me, but if we were to marry?—”
“The ton would have something else to discuss,” she finished for him, at last taking him seriously. “I do not know if that is such a good idea, though. They are not all fools.”
“Perhaps not, but the ones we need to believe it are. They will believe anything if it gives them something to discuss. You need not agree if you do not want to.”
“I did not say that. I simply need a moment to think of what all of this would mean for me.”
“I can tell you. You would have your freedom. It would be a marriage in name only, and you may do as you please. We ought to make appearances together once in a while, but other than that, I would have no expectations of you.”
“And you would like me to think the same of you?”
“Of course. You and I are friends, and that will not change. Think on it.”
They left the library separately, so as not to arouse suspicion. Leonard saw Clara with her mother, her face contorted in confusion. He wished to comfort her, but he didn't know what to say other than that he had tried to make things right for her.
