“Lucien, stop this at once,” Lady Leah snapped, and both Dorian and Lucien turned to stare at her in shock. Never in his life had Dorian heard Lady Leah speak so firmly and decisively. She was usually so ladylike, so poised and demure. But she was now looking at Lucien with a dark determination in her eyes. “This isn’t the Duke’s fault. It’s mine.”
Lucien stared at her. “Yours?” he repeated, incredulous. “Leah, you don’t know what you’re talking about. He is an experienced rake— he knows how to seduce women and make them feel as if they started it.”
Dorian frowned.If only I had such skills!But he couldn’t exactly object, since he himself had cultivated this reputation.
“I did start this,” Leah said. “I wanted to–” She swallowed. “To entrap him.”
A stunned silence followed this pronouncement. Dorian gaped at Lady Leah. This was not the polite, guarded, perfect young lady he thought he’d known.
“Why?” he asked, his voice aghast. “Why would you want to entrap me?”
“Because I have no other choice.” She turned to look at Lucien. “You know I have no choice. If I don’t find someone else to wed, I will be forced to marry Lord Dubois.”
“That old cod?” Dorian snorted. “Why in heaven’s name would you marry him?”
“Because he showed up at our house tonight with a marriage contract signed by my father promising me to him,” she said in a flat, expressionless voice.
Dorian stared at her. “Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously,” Lucien said, sighing heavily. “But the document may be fake! I am getting it authenticated. You shouldn’t have done this, Leah. You should have left it to me to prove the contract false.”
“I cannot leave my fate to chance,” she said, staring boldly at her brother. “I have to make my own destiny.”
“This is not the way to do it!” Lucien said. “Entrapping a gentleman will only lead to scandal!”
“Marrying Lord Dubois will lead to a lifetime of unhappiness!” she countered, her voice becoming edged with hysteria.
“I understand,” Dorian said, stepping forward and laying a hand on her shoulder. Lucien glared at him, and he removed the hand quickly. “You did this to save yourself. I can understand that, and I must admit, I admire your gumption.”
Lucien glared even more furiously at him. “Do not encourage her,” he snarled.
“Many young ladies are forced into terrible marriages that destroy them,” Dorian said, a bit more forcefully than he’d intended. “More of them should take matters into their own hands. I cannot discourage that.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lady Leah glance at him with surprise and appreciation, but he did not dare look at her, in case she read more in his eyes than he intended to show.
“Well, she may have taken matters into her own hands,” Lucien said after a moment, “but you still kissed her back.” There was a short, loaded silence. “Which means you must marry her. No matter how many ladies’ reputations you have ruined, you will not ruin my sister’s.”
Dorian said nothing for a long moment. The truth was, he had never ruined a lady’s reputation, no matter how flirtatious he was. Nor did he want to start now. Lady Leah was a good woman, and she didn’t deserve that. More importantly, he couldn’t allow her to marry a scoundrel like Lord Dubois.
But on the other hand, Dorian absolutely could not marry her. He had decided a long time ago that he would never marry, and he wasn’t going to break that vow now.
“How about a different proposal?” he asked, looking between Lucien and Lady Leah. “As you know, Lucien, I have no intention of marrying. Nor do I think I’d make your sister a good husband. But I also agree that I behaved abhorrently tonight and that I must do right by Lady Leah.”
He took a deep breath. “I will make you a deal. Give me a fortnight to find her a husband. A good, handsome, clever man who will treat her well. There is no way a document could be authenticated that quickly when one of the signatories is deceased, therefore we have at least that long until Lord Dubois will want the banns read. I am sure that in a fortnight, I can find Lady Leah a suitable match.”
He looked down at her, and the fear in her eyes was like a knife through his heart.
“And if I do not,” he added gently, “then I will marry her myself.”
Lady Leah looked at her brother. His brow was furrowed. “A fortnight…” He muttered. “I suppose I can delay the authentication that long. And it would be better for Leah if she were married to someone other than you. No offence, of course.”
“None taken,” Dorian said lightly, although he was a little offended.
“But… what if Dubois is able to prove the document is real by then?” Lady Leah asked nervously.
“Then I will marry you the moment he says so,” Dorian said. “But let us hope it does not come to that, and that I am able to find you a worthy husband.”
There was another short silence as Lucien and Lady Leah looked at one another again. Dorian got the impression that they werecommunicating in some kind of unspoken, sibling language of looks and glances. At last, Lucien turned back to Dorian.
