“You’re a good sport for coming along today,” he continued.
“I like this museum,” Lucien answered honestly.
“And Alex?”
Lucien’s eyes widened at the rather direct question, but before he could answer, Margrave sighed.
“You needn’t keep up the pretense with me,” he explained. “I know of your little arrangement. Alex came to me last month with a similar proposition before she knew I had fallen in love with Phoebe.”
Lucien stiffened. Alex certainly hadn’t mentionedthat. And he couldn’t ignore the absurd bloom of jealousy in his chest. “I see.”
“I thought it was a terrible idea then and told her as much.” Margrave narrowed his eyes. “My opinion hasnotchanged, though I suppose I can’t fault you for going along with it. I’m sure she dangled something quite appealing in exchange for your participation.”
Lucien didn’t care for the man’s tone, but he was right. “She promised to find investors for a London branch of my supper club.”
“Ah,” the duke replied with a thoughtful nod. “Well, you could certainly do worse. And there are a fair number of men who would do a great many things to be associated with Atkinson Enterprises in any capacity.” Then he narrowed his eyes again. “You do know she’s behind it all, don’t you?”
“Yes, I’d gathered that.”
“That’s not to say that her father contributes nothing. He pulls his weight, of course. And I’m sure the firm would still be successful without Alex, but she is the driving force behind their greatest triumphs.”
“A very admirable accomplishment for a lady,” Lucien responded.
“It isbecauseshe is a lady,” the duke insisted. “She thinksdifferently from the rest of them. She doesn’t see the world the same way. That is an asset.”
Just as Lucien began to respond, Margrave raised a finger. He might not like being called a duke, but he damn well seemed to like acting like one.
“And yet, despite all that, she is not appreciated as she should be. Though she would give me hell if she heard me say this, I am very protective of her. People often misinterpret Alex’s demeanor. If she were a man, we would call her stoic. Strong. Principled. Likely, she would be hailed as a genius. Instead, she must be happy with her father’s appreciation, admiration from the select few who know the truth, and that great big pile money she has accumulated. But because she refuses to smile and simper at will, she is called cold and unfeeling. So she hides herself away in that office because it is familiar. Because theresheis the one to make demands.”
Lucien felt a flush at the back of his neck at the thought of Alex demanding, well, anything of him. “I’m aware of that,” he rasped.
The duke arched a brow. “Are you? Good. And here I was worried because I was under the impression you’ve been carrying a torch for Freddie all these years.”
Now the flush spread to his cheeks. “I didn’t—that is, I don’t—”
But Margrave waved away his hopeless dithering. “You needn’t bother denying it. Obviously Alex knows. Though I don’t think she has truly considered all the ramifications involved in choosing you to act as her suitor.”
Lucien swallowed. That could refer to any number of things: his personal connection to the family, the veritable chasm between their respective positions in society,Freddie.
“But now I’ve said my piece,” Margrave continued. “So then,why don’t you tell me about this supper club I’ve been hearing about.”
Lucien stared at him, thrown by the subject change, until the duke gave a nod of encouragement and he found his bearings. Or at least enough to do his little spiel while they walked through the rest of the gallery.
Margrave listened carefully and made a few polite hums of approval at the appropriate points. “I can see why Alex approached you,” he admitted with a trace of reluctance.
Before Lucien could respond to this, Phoebe walked over to them with Alex a few steps behind. “There you are! I thought we had lost you.”
“Ah, I’m afraid you won’t be able to rid yourself of me that easily, my dear,” he said smoothly. The man’s entire demeanor appeared to lighten in her presence.
While Phoebe beamed at her fiancé, Alex subtly rolled her eyes. Then she looked to Lucien and he shot her a private smile. A moment of understanding seemed to pass between them, and as the duke moved beside Phoebe, it felt perfectly natural to offer Alex his arm. She hesitated only a moment before she laced her arm through his and they followed a few steps behind the couple.
“I’m happy for them, of course,” she began as they entered the Egyptian Gallery. “I’m not so shrewish as that. Only I wish they weren’t so verypublicabout it all the time. It’s growing rather tiresome.”
“Entirely understandable.”
“Then again, I suppose it’s far preferable to the dramatics they both indulged in before they stopped being so dunderheaded.”
Lucien chuckled as he stared at the couple just ahead of them. “I find that hard to imagine.”
