“I am talking about your rakishness. You never flirted with me, so I must assume I lack personal appeal .”
The Duke shrugged. “That’s not relevant. You are my best friend’s sister.”
“Still…” She mused out loud. “I have to wonder if Lords Trembley and Eaton are not the only ones who might be a little miffed about our marriage. There must be a lady or two who wished to become more than just your mistress, surely?”
“Is this an appropriate conversation for you to be having?” The Duke said, raising his eyebrows.
“Why not? I’m a married woman now, can’t I know about such scandalous things?”
The Duke’s smile had faded a little, but there was still a mischievous sparkle in his eye, and she leaned forward a little, tapping the side of her wine glass with her fingers.
“More wine, please,” she said to the nearest footman, and he came forward and poured her more of the red. She took a long sip, giving her husband a coy smile as she did so and not breaking eye contact with him.
“So tell me,husband, is there a heartbroken woman somewhere in London--or perhaps back in one of the many countries you traveled to before you returned to England?”
The Duke ran a finger around the edge of his wine glass. She could feel that he was tempted to tell her the truth, but that something was holding him back.
“Come now,” she murmured. “You can tell me. It’s not as if I’m going to be jealous.”
She had said the magic words. She could feel it in the air, in the tension that seemed to pull him toward her, in the way he smiled and laughed to himself.
“No, I suppose you won’t be,” he said. He leaned back in his chair, took a long sip of wine, and then ran a hand through his hair. Then he looked her squarely in the eye. “The truth is, there is no woman. Not in England, not anywhere in Europe.”
Leah frowned. This was not the answer she had been expecting. She was a little surprised, however, by the relief that it immediately engendered in her.
“But there was,” she said. “There were many.”
The Duke’s gaze was steady as it met hers. “No. There were never any women.”
“But…” Leah didn’t understand. She felt like the Duke was trying to tell her something, but she couldn’t comprehend it. “What do you mean, no women? You are a rake… Aren’t you?”
Her eyes swept over him, taking in the small, mischievous smile on his lips, the sparkle in his eyes.
“Oh my goodness…” Her lips parted. Her eyes widened. It hit her then with all the force of a storm. “You aren’t really a rake,” she whispered.
The Duke laughed, running another hand through his hair, making it even more messy and ruggedly handsome.
“No, I’m not a rake,” he said, grinning at her. “I never have been. Although I was happy to let all of London think so, if it meant the marriage-minded mamas stayed away from me.”
Leah gaped at him. “Who knows the truth?” she asked. “Does Lucien know?”
“Not even Lucien knows,” the Duke said, shaking his head. “You can tell him the truth if you want. It’s high time I came clean about everything, now that I’m a married man and it doesn’t matter anyway.”
“But…” Leah was still struggling to understand. “Why did you lie? That is quite the secret to keep from your closest friend!”
“I know, and it’s weighed on me,” the Duke said. “But the truth is, people always just assumed it about me without even asking. They saw I was good-looking, friendly, and, yes, a touch flirtatious with young ladies, and they jumped to conclusions. I never did much inventing, just let them believe what theywanted to believe. It was a good way of keeping the more marriage-inclined ladies away, anyway, because I did know for sure that I didn’t want to marry. But I rarely lied.”
“What do you mean you rarely lied?” she asked, a little incensed. “You lied to me when you made me those eggs. You said…” She struggled to remember his exact working. “You said,My relationships with women are more satisfactory when I do not feel legally bound to them for the rest of my life. Such an arrangement takes all the fun and spontaneity out of life.”
“As honored as I am that you remembered my words well enough to quote me, I am not technically lying. My relationships with womenaresatisfying. I have many female friends and acquaintances. I would much rather not ruin those by marrying the ladies. Although in our case… there was more necessity.”
She couldn’t believe him. “Don’t use your verbal tricks on me!” She cried. “You knew how I would interpret such a line!”
“You’re right, I did,” he said, inclining his head. “But it was important I keep up the facade.”
“Why?” she insisted, leaning toward him, her eyes narrowing. “Why did you need everyone to think you were a rake?”
“Because, as I have said, I didn’t want people pestering me to marry.”
