Page 47 of A Deal for the Duke’s Virgin

Alex paused, glancing up at him. He worried his lower lip between his teeth. “It doesn’t seem very fair that Christian should lose all of his marbles,” he mumbled. Drawing in a breath and steeling himself, he thrust out his own handful of marbles. “Here, you can have mine back. I’ll share Sophia’s and Nicholas’s.”

The other two eyed him with chagrin.

“I suppose so,” Sophia sighed, and Nicholas reluctantly agreed.

Christian blinked down at the earnest little boy holding out his marbles. “You won those,” he reminded him.

“Yes, we did, but you don’t have any left,” Alex pointed out. “We didn’t know you were going to be so bad at marbles. So, you should take mine.”

Christian swallowed hard. “That is kind of you,” he said. “But I’m not very fond of marbles. Here, I shall take one back.” He leaned forward and took one pure red marble. “I shall take this one.”

Alex frowned. “Just one?”

“Of course. If I ever decide to win back my fortune of marbles, I only need one. And this is red, my favorite color. I shall keep it, and you can have the rest of your winnings.” Christian slipped the red marble into his pocket, not quite meeting Thalia’s eyes.

Alex eyed him uncertainly, then turned away, apparently deciding that he was serious.

Christian stood very still, a faint line between his eyebrows.

Mabel began to serve the food, and Thalia, against her better judgment, inched closer to Christian.

“Alex is an exceptionally kind boy,” she murmured. “He shares everything. To be fair, all three of them are generous. It’s a pity they haven’t families of their own.”

“Yes, I agree. A pity.”

Folding her arms, Thalia cast a wry sideways look at him. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Well, are you going to tell me what you’re doing here? It can’t be an accident. Nobody is promenading at this hour, and you brought those marbles. The same marbles that you lost so easily.”

“They won those marbles fair and square,” Christian responded stoutly.

“Hmph. Remind me not to play marbles with you in earnest.”

He glanced down at her, eyes dark and unreadable. “If you must know, I did know that you were here. Your brother complains about your ‘charitable work’ a good deal and offers many details. I overheard him talking in a club about your habit of taking orphans out for a picnic lunch several times a month.”

Thalia flushed hotly. “He has nothing to complain about. I use my allowance after all.”

Christian’s gaze sharpened. “Your brother doesn’t contribute?”

“Contribute? Ha! Jonathan is the sort who doesn’t approve of charity. He thinks that if people are poor, it is their own fault. That, by the way, is nonsense. We, for instance, inherited our money. We did not work for it or earn it. It simply came to us, a matter of birth and luck. It follows then that others might be unlucky, both in birth and in life.”

“I agree. Well, Lady Thalia, this brings me nicely to the purpose of this little visit. I would like to help.”

Thalia blinked.

Help? Oh. He didn’t come here to see me, of course. I was rather stupid to think otherwise.

She didn’t let herself dwell on that thought. If Christian wanted to patronize the orphanage, he could do a world of good. Two, three, a thousand times more than she could. If there was a prickle of jealousy following that thought, what of it? She was only human.

Breathing in, Thalia turned to face him. “You wish to patronize St. Sarah’s?”

“If they’ll accept my help.” He shrugged.

“They will,” she said firmly. “Speak to Sister Abigail; she’s in charge. There is a great deal that needs to be done.”

He cleared his throat. “Ah, my time is a little rare at the moment. I’d rather hoped I could donate money. Is that considered lazy?”