Page 28 of The Duke of Seduction
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Beck watchedas her eyes widened, then narrowed. Her jaw clenched, and she folded her arms over her chest, which rose and fell quite rapidly with her agitation.
“Explain yourself.”
He handed the letter back to her, and she snapped it from his fingers, recrossing her arms over her bodice. The position pressed her breasts up so the creamy swell of flesh was more prominent above her neckline. He tried very hard not to look at it. “I really was just trying to help. The Marriage Mart is often unkind to young women, especially those who are the most deserving of attention.”
“Like me?”
“Exactly like you. I’m so very sorry you found the attention I drew to you a burden. It didn’t occur to me that you—or anyone else—would take it as such. I was quite mistaken, obviously.”
“Obviously.” The word dripped with disgust. “Why would you do such a thing? If you want to lend support to a young lady, dance with her or promenade with her in the park.”
“I can’t very well do that to a series of young, unmarried women.”
“Why not? You’re already a rake. I should think it would suit your reputation perfectly.” She blew out a breath and lowered her hands to her sides, the letter still clutched in her fingers. “Never mind, I can see why that would be ill-advised. Your reputation could stain that of the young lady if you consistently failed to legitimately pursue any of them. However, I would argue that it wouldn’t, not if you kept the association brief.”
“I shall take that under advisement. In the meantime, I would like to continue my poetry campaign, as you called it.”
“You still haven’t told me why. Why would you do this in the first place?”
He’d hoped to avoid answering that question and thought he just might in the face of her ire. She’d launched the question and then forged on, but apparently she hadn’t forgotten it. He considered a fabrication of some kind, but he simply couldn’t come up with one. The truth, then. Or at least a half-truth.
“My sister was devastated by the Marriage Mart. She died lonely and utterly defeated.”
Lady Lavinia stared at him for a long moment. “That’s awful. I didn’t realize you had a sister. When was this?”
“Sixteen years ago. She was my half sister. My father had three wives, and she was from his first. I have another half sister who is married.”
“She found success, then.”
“Not on the Marriage Mart. She fell in love with the local curate in Devon. He’s a vicar in Cornwall now.” Beck thought of his half sister, Margaret, and his nieces and nephews. They were a happy, close-knit family, and Beck knew Helen had been jealous of her sister’s joy. She’d hoped to find the same things for herself—a husband, family, love.
But she hadn’t. Instead, she’d found coldness and alienation. After four years on the Marriage Mart… He shook the thoughts away before Lady Lavinia detected there was more to the story. She was wickedly astute.
Beck straightened, shrugging off the ghosts of the past. “I wanted to save other young women from the same disappointment and loneliness.”
She moved closer to him, and her anger seemed to have dissipated. “I’m so sorry about your sister. However, I am neither disappointed nor lonely. If I find a husband on the Marriage Mart—a man I can respect and love—then I shall count myself fortunate. However, if I am not so lucky and end up a spinster, there are worse things.”
Yes, there were. He admired her outlook so much. And realized he’d made a terrible error. “I’m sorry I caused you trouble. I’ve tried to help fix things.”
She smiled. “I know that now, and I appreciate it. May I suggest that you ascertain whether someone wants your help before you blindly offer it?”
“Yes. I shall endeavor to do that from now on.”
“You want to continue being the Duke of Seduction?”
“The successful marriages of Miss Berwick and Miss Stewart seem to indicate I haven’t been a complete failure,” he said wryly. “The problem now is how I can continue to do that for women who truly want the assistance. Perhaps I can find a way to communicate with the subject first.”
“That takes a bit of the romance out of it, doesn’t it? Instead of the excitement of seeing their name in the paper with a gorgeous poem, it will be transacted in advance. If people know that is happening, women will clamor to be the next subject. Already, young ladies and their mothers are trying to find a way to be the next object of your—the Duke’s—attention.”
Hell, this had become far more complicated than he’d ever imagined.
“You could still help, I think.” She cocked her head to the side and turned to do another short pace before coming back to stand before him. “I could perhaps identify some young women who require a bit of assistance to elevate their visibility.”
He wasn’t quite sure he was hearing her correctly. “You’d help me?”
“Why not? You were soveryeager to help me. Even if it wasn’t well thought out.”
