Page 83 of A Deal for the Duke’s Virgin

She hung her head. “I… I thought you’d be happy. If I could bring them back, you know. Besides, I know that you care for Thalia. She⁠—”

“Care for her? And how did you guess that?”

Laura blinked, frowning. “I was in that pub, remember? I was on my way home, by the way, so don’t scold me. You looked as though you were about to devour her in front of everyone.”

“Nonsense.”

“I know how babies are made, Christian. There was a distinctly hungry look in your eyes.”

He stared out the window, refusing to meet her stare. “Thalia was kind enough to help me find you,” he said shortly. “For your sake, not mine, and in exchange for my help. I’ll keep my word and hold up my end of the bargain, but that’s all there’ll ever be between us. You’d do well to accept that now, Sister.”

Laura stared at him for a long moment, eyes narrowed. Christian forced himself to meet her gaze. After all, he and his sister had been strangers for so long.

It was high time to get reacquainted. They’d have to present a united front to Society in any case after her scandalous disappearance. Most people would not believe the ‘visiting a cousin’ story. It smacked of lies. And perhaps if he’d known Laura a little better in the first place, he would have found it easier to find her.

She was trying to help. Trying to bring my son back. It’s not her fault that he’s dead after all.

“Very well,” she said shortly. “Keep telling yourself that you do not care for Thalia. Perhaps if you’re determined enough, it might even become true.”

CHAPTER 23

“What am I going to do, Orange?” Thalia murmured, running her fingers over the cat’s smooth fur. “None of this was meant to happen. I’ve gotten myself tangled deeper into this mess than I thought, and I haven’t even managed to help a single one of the orphans.”

The clock struck eight. She had slept poorly last night, unsurprisingly, and would be surprised to learn that she’d had even one hour of sleep. Breakfast would be served shortly, but she had no appetite.

How long would it be until news of her escapade broke? Not long, surely. Nothing ever took long to come out in London.

Orange meowed, tilting his head up at her, then stood up on his hind legs to rub his forehead against her chin.

With a sigh, Thalia rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. At once, Orange jumped up onto her stomach, curled up, and lay down, purring contentedly, a heavy weight on her ribs.

“I didn’t plan to marry,” she said aloud. “I know it’s foolish, but I feel as though I’ve been tricked somehow. And how will things work between me and Christian? Society will be shocked, since we’re quite a mismatch. I’ll be a duchess. How can that be? I hardly believe it myself.”

Orange purred again, closing his eyes. He seemed likely to go to sleep. Thalia, who had changed into her daydress, resigned herself to having a fuzz of orange fur over her clothes. That was simply the way things were when one had a cat.

She stroked his soft head, scratching behind his ears.

“What are we to do, Orange? How will I manage this? What should I expect?”

The cat blinked sympathetically back at her but did not, of course, offer any suggestions.

Thalia was just beginning to wonder whether she ought to get up, and if so, how she would dislodge the cat, when footsteps sounded down the hallway. She lifted her head just before the door crashed open. Orange hissed and leaped down, streaking out of the room in a gingerish blur.

Jonathan stood there, faintly out of breath, clutching a crumpled scandal sheet in one hand.

Uh-oh.

“Have you something to tell me, Thalia?” he breathed. “It’s all in this scandal sheet.”

She swallowed thickly, sitting up. “Jonathan, I can explain…”

“No need,” he said crisply. “It’s all in here. And this is Samuel Blackwick’s paper, which is one of the most reputable in town. Nothing is printed in this rag without the Duke of Thornhill’s say-so, I can tell you that. And here’s the whole, awful story. You, at some awful little pub, with the Duke, no less. You kissed him.”

“His sister was also there,” Thalia managed weakly. “We weren’t unchaperoned.”

“It was the middle of the night, and you kissed him. All the chaperones in the world wouldn’t have saved you.” He gave a disdainful sniff and threw down the paper. “That article has been read by just about everybody in London by now. Read it, if you dare.”

“Jonathan, I know you are angry, but⁠—”