Page 106 of A Scandalous Kind of Duke

He crouched down to tidy up the pieces of the broken figurine. “If given the choice,” he said as he stood, “would you choose to marry or to run the Dammerton Foundation?”

She frowned. “I don’t understand. I could only be involved in the Foundation by marrying you.”

“You could be involved if I said you were involved.”

“I know nothing. I’m a lady.”

He shrugged. “Half the ladies of thetonoccupy themselves by overseeing charitable organizations and whatnot. If you were given the chance to learn? Would you make that choice?” he repeated.

The clock ticked on and on as she stared at the broken figurine and fidgeted with her thumbs. Then her thumbs settled. Her shoulders straightened. Her face cleared.

“Is such a thing possible?” she asked.

Leo waited.

She answered herself. “It could be, I suppose. But if you marry that artist—”

“You will refer to her with more respect.”

At the chilly rebuke, she gulped. “My apologies. But if she becomes your wife…”

“She will support you, I am sure. She is not as judgmental as some.”

She had the grace to flush at that. “If I am to take on this task, I will need all the support I can get. My family will not approve. It can be difficult to learn new ways to think.”

“I shall write to the director to make arrangements,” he said. “Your education can begin.”

A ghost of a smile crossed her face. “And perhaps I shall be fortunate enough to find another eligible lord who does not love me.”

“If you are very fortunate, you might find one who does not even like you.”

She made a soft sound of laughter. “It’s too bad, Dammerton, really it is. We would have rubbed along well enough.”

Alone again, Leo wandered through the rooms, through his collection, saying his farewells. Juno had not spent much time here, but her spirit filled every room. He trailed out to the garden, to the stone rotunda where they had agreed to have an affair. What a fool he’d been, thinking a few nights of passion would burn his desire for her right out of his blood.

All it had done was seal her place in his heart.

He would not have it any other way.

And here: the fountain, the three Fates dancing, where she had thrown a pin into the water in hope of magic. The spray dusted his cheeks.

Leo could use a little magic now. He fumbled for the ruby stickpin in his cravat, closed his eyes, and touched it to his lips. Then he tossed it into the water and made a wish.

CHAPTER27

Juno ran. When she could run no more, she walked. When she could walk no more, she ran.

Upon bursting into her house, she learned from a bewildered Mrs. Kegworth that the men had already taken her trunks to the docks for loading onto the ship. Once more she set off, racing to her aunt’s house, where she begged to borrow the carriage that she might chase after her trunks. Hester and Livia, exchanging confused, concerned looks, abandoned their breakfast and insisted on coming too.

The docks bustled with noisy activity, crowded with stevedores and sailors, passengers and prostitutes. Juno and Hester battled through them, finding the quay with her ship, and there—her trunks, a stevedore just now bending his knees to hoist one onto his shoulder.

“No! Wait! Stop!” Juno cried.

She slapped her hands onto the trunk. When he snarled at her to get away, she plonked her bottom on the trunk instead.

“If you think I’m carrying you onto that ship, lady, think again,” he said. “You have to walk like the rest of us. Now, I’ve got a job to do.”

“Do it elsewhere, please,” she said. “I need a moment to think.”

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