“If the shoe fits,” she replied, lifting her chin.
He circled behind his desk, collected a stack of documents, and flipped through them with pointed care. “You presume a great deal, Lady Nancy. I have provided for the twins in every material respect. More than their mother would have managed alone.”
“Money is not the same as affection,” Nancy said.
“Affection.” He made the word sound like a bad joke. “What use is affection to a pair of orphans?”
“Perhaps,” she said, “if you’d visited them once, you might know.”
He stopped. His silence was an admission, and Nancy pressed her advantage.
“Teresa told me you never came. Not for the christening, not for birthdays, not even after Peter’s funeral.” Her hands gripped the chair so tightly the wood creaked. “What kind of man cares for his brother’s legacy only by ledger?”
The Duke’s lips pressed into a hard line. “If you mean to shame me, you are late to the task. I have shamed myself more efficiently than you ever could.”
“Then why not do better?” Nancy challenged.
He strode toward her. “And you are an expert on family, are you? The Duchess of Neads is an institution. Your father has more opinions on scandal than Parliament. Forgive me if I doubt your qualifications.”
She met his stare. “I do not need your forgiveness. I came to see the children.”
The Duke turned away, as if the sight of her offended him. “They are sleeping.”
“I’ll wake them,” Nancy said.
“You will not.” The words were calm, absolute.
Nancy advanced. “You think they need your rules and your granite jaw, but what they need is someone to tell them their parents loved them. Someone who knows how to hold them when they cry.”
His face gave nothing away, but she saw the faintest quiver in his hand. “I am doing what is necessary.”
“Yournecessaryis insufficient,” Nancy said.
The Duke returned to his post behind the desk. “If you’re quite finished, Lady Nancy, I will be hiring a governess soon. Areputable one. You may rest assured the twins will not suffer for lack of discipline.”
Nancy braced herself. “And if I refuse to leave them?”
He looked at her, genuinely puzzled. “I cannot imagine what you hope to accomplish.”
She took a step closer, voice low. “If you must have order and convention, then I offer a solution.”
He folded his arms, unimpressed. “By all means, enlighten me.”
“Marry me,” Nancy said. Her heart beat an aria in her throat, but she did not blink as she held his eyes.
CHAPTER 4
The Duke went perfectly still, and the silence was absolute.
He blinked once, as if expecting her to recant. When she did not, his mouth curved into something between a smirk and a sneer. “That is the most preposterous?—”
“It would satisfy the world’s idea of decency, would it not?” Nancy barreled ahead, afraid that if she paused, her courage would dissolve. “A duchess for your household. A proper guardian for the children. No more questions. No more gossip. You get your reputation restored, and I get to keep my promise to Teresa. Everyone wins.”
He stared at her, his eyes unreadable. “You have not thought this through.”
“I have thought of nothing else since I heard she died.”
He circled the desk again, coming so close she caught the scent of citrus and something smoky. “You would consign yourself to a lifetime of misery, just to keep a promise?”
