Ravensworth.
That was all it said.
Her eyebrows lifted in silent question.
“The Duke of Ravensworth,” said Archie.
“He and I are not acquainted,” she said, as if the fact weren’t already obvious.
Archie’s jaw tensed and released. “But you could be.”
“Should I feel insulted?” She’d made her view onarrangementsperfectly clear last night.
“Ravensworth is a known patron of the arts. His patronage would guarantee you the illustrious career you and your talent deserve.”
“And what would be the price of the Duke of Ravensworth’s patronage?”
Archie flinched, and Valentina felt a frisson of rotten triumph.
“I’ve known Ravensworth for twenty years. He’s a good man.”
But even as Archie spoke the words, Valentinasensed he wasn’t wholly certain of them. In the eyes of other men, a man could be a “good man”anda cad to women. Other men would never see that side of their friend.
Valentina nodded and slipped the calling card into her reticule. Not that she had any intention of using it. The duke’s patronage would only keep her in Archie’s orbit, and she understood at a fundamental level that she needed to be loosed from his world to be free to find happiness without him.
Archie didn’t move, but kept studying her in silence.
“Is there anything else?” she asked, her irritation showing.
“You’re still not apologizing for last night?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t regret it.”
“Do you have any regrets?”
“None.”
Tension tightened into knots between them.
He was opening his mouth to speak when a face appeared in the window. “Papa!” Valentina exclaimed.
The carriage door opened, and the moment slipped away. Whatever Archie had been about to say, gone.
And perhaps that was for the best.
Papa’s hand appeared to assist her down from the carriage. She opened her travel bag and settled Miss Hiss inside, leaving the closure open wide enough for the kitten to poke her head through. Once on the ground, Papa took Valentina in one of his huge hugs, and she allowed warmth and safety to sink into her. When they separated, she found Archie watching them with half a smile. He respected and admired her relationship with her family. She liked that about him.
Oh, she couldn’t think about the things she liked about Archie.
He got directly down to business with Papa, taking charge without becoming overbearing. He didn’t demand it, but others naturally deferred to him due to his air of authenticity.
She’d been wrong when she’d called him a fake. The fact was theman contained a multitude of characteristics.
Papa nodded his agreement with the plan and took himself off to tell the others.
A coach-and-four rolled into view, and Archie caught Valentina’s eye. “Ready?”
She nodded as the carriage stopped. The door swung open, and Lord Nestor descended with the assistance of a footman. Archie snorted as the coachman lugged a trunk off the back of the carriage and let it drop near Archie’s feet with a clunk that jingled just a little.
