“Very well,” he said. “I will allow this. But at the end of the fortnight, if she is still unmarried, you will wed her.”
“I will,” Dorian agreed, and he flashed a smile at Lady Leah. “But with looks like hers, I have no doubt it will be easy for me to find her a husband.”
Lady Leah flushed, but when she stepped forward and held out her hand, she looked composed. “Thank you, Your Grace,” she murmured.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he said. “I have another condition to our deal.”
“Oh?” Her eyes widened innocently, and he felt his heart flutter.
“You will be taking lessons from me. And you will have to follow my every word, or the deal is off.”
Chapter Three
“What are you doing out here? I thought you would be at breakfast.”
Leah looked up from the garden bench she was sitting on to see Vivian approaching, dressed in a simple white morning dress, her brow furrowed with concern.
“Vivian,” Leah said weakly, not even bothering to stand up as her friend approached. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to call on you,” Vivian said, sitting down to Leah on the bench and taking her hand. “You disappeared from the ball last night right after saying you were going to ask Mr. Fitzwilliam to marry you. I wanted to make sure you were well— and to see if you were engaged. But I ran into the Duchess in the hall and she told me… Well, she told me everything that happened with you and the Duke of Nottington.”
Leah looked away. She didn’t want to think about last night. Her whole body felt numb and she didn’t know how to talk about it .
“Leah?” Vivian asked quietly, coaxingly. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I just still can’t believe it happened,” Leah said, turning back to Vivian. “I’m so embarrassed! That’s why I’m out here and not at breakfast. I couldn’t face anyone this morning. So many of last night’s guests stayed the night, and they know something happened with Lord Dubois. I cannot bear to face it all. I’m so ashamed of myself and the way I behaved.”
“Ashamed?” Vivian tilted her head to one side. “Why should you be ashamed?”
“Because I kissed the Duke of Nottington!” Leah shook her head in baffled wonder. “I kissed a man! I tried to entrap him into marriage! Something has come over me and it has turned me into an entirely different person.”
“You were desperate and scared,” Vivian said gently. “Anyone in your situation would have done the same thing.”
“I should have just asked Mr. Fitzwilliam to marry me,” she said, lowering her head. “But I couldn’t even bring myself to speak with him. I felt so tongue-tied, so nervous.”
Vivian frowned, as if trying to understand. “And yet you could kiss the Duke of Nottington? He seems to me to be far more intimidating than Mr. Fitzwilliam.”
“Nottington is an old family friend,” Leah said with a shrug. “I knew him as a girl. Perhaps that’s why I can talk normally to him. But I wasn’t planning to entrap him. He found me crying, and then, when Lucien appeared, I knew it was my chance, so I took it.”
For a moment, Vivian was quiet. Then she asked, tentatively, “And you think he can help you find a husband in the next fortnight.”
“He says he can. He wants me to have lessons with him.”
“What kind of lessons?”
“I’m not sure.” Leah looked away again.Hopefully lessons that teach me how to talk to gentlemen without getting tongue-tied.“But he is a very sociable, flirtatious man. He must know how to induce someone into marriage.”
“Yes, I suppose he would,” Vivian said with a laugh. “Half the ton wants to marry him. I think the lessons are a good idea.”
Leah looked at her uncertainly. “You do?”
“Of course! They will help you feel more confident talking to gentlemen.” Vivian smiled encouragingly. “And confidence is allyou need. You’re already beautiful and wealthy--you just need to believe in yourself.”
“Maybe,” Leah said doubtfully. She had a bad feeling her problem was much deeper.
“Well, at the very least it will help you figure out a backup plan,” Vivian said. “In case the contract is authenticated and your father’s signature turns out to be real.”
A cold sweat broke out on Leah’s forehead. In her embarrassment and panic over kissing Nottington, she hadn’t thought much about Lord Dubois. But Vivian was right: she had to take all the help she could get to ensure she didn’t end up married to him.
