Page 70 of A Deal with the Duke of Ice

“Lord Benedict.”

His smile faded at the coolness of her response.

She needed to stay cool and calm for what she had to do next.

“What’s the matter? You said you had bad news.”

Rosaline thrust the pamphlet at him.

“Read that.”

Lord Benedict read it, a frown appearing between his brows as he did so.

“Rubbish.” He said, sniffing. He crumpled the pamphlet up and tossed it away. “Groundless rubbish, designed to entertain and titillate the masses. I shouldn’t give it another thought. If I were you, I should just forget about it altogether.”

Rosaline’s fingers tightened on the parasol’s handle. “But I can’t just forget about it, Benedict.”

“And why not? Most of thetonhave been featured in gossip rags like this. There’s always some ludicrous scandal brewing. Some of them are true, most of them aren’t. One learns to rise above it. These writers are all anonymous, you know.”

“Yes, but in our case, there really is something to hide.”

There was a silence after that.

“Something to hide?” Benedict repeated.

Rosaline looked away. “Our courtship isn’t real, is it?”

Benedict only stared at her, mouth opening and closing like a fish. “It’s… it’s felt rather real recently.”

Rosaline sighed. “Yes, but you aren’t going to marry me, are you? I have no fortune, no dowry, no family to think of. I have nothing, and you’re the Duke of Keswick. We aren’t the same.”

“Exactly. I’m the Duke of Keswick.” Benedict said lightly. “I have money, power, and birth enough for the both of us, haven’t I?”

Rosaline bent down to pick up the pamphlet Benedict had tossed away. She smoothed it out.

“Iwant to keep this, as a reminder.”

“Areminder of what?” Benedict demanded. He was starting to sound angrier now.

Or perhaps desperate.

“They’re close, Benedict. Can you imagine what will happen when it comes out that youpaidme to pretend that we were courting?Me? You’ll be the laughingstock of London, and me… well, I’ll be considered little better than a… than alady of the night.” Rosaline looked away, pressing her lips together. “Although, considering what we’ve been doing lately, that might be a little more applicable now.”

“Don’t say that about yourself.” Benedict said harshly. “Not ever. I won’t hear it, do you understand? You’re nothing like the greedy, grasping Miss Wyre that this pamphlet describes. They’re liars, concocting stories for money. That’s all, Rosaline. They’re nobodies.”

“Well, what about this gentleman close to the Dowager, then? Who is he? Somebody knows that we have a secret, and they’re spilling it to the gossip columns.”

Benedict’s expression tightened at that. “I’ll find out who it is.”

“Even if you do, it won’t change the fact that we have something to hide. What if the informer tells them about how angry you were, how you confronted him? What then? They’ll know they’re on the right track.”

Apack of well-dressed young ladies scurried past, eyeing them curiously. Most of the ladies’ eyes dwelled on Benedict.

He hardly glanced at them.

“I’m sorry that this has upset you, Rosaline. This is unacceptable, and I promise I will deal with it. If you’d prefer that we didn’t meet much more until this is dealt with, I understand. Perhaps just innocent family meetings from now on, eh?”

Rosaline’s breath caught in her throat. She had to turn away, feeling tears welling up in her eyes.

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