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She nearly reached up to touch his brow, worried that he was already feverish and his mind was baking into a stupor under the heat of it.

Anthony sighed. “I have been thinking about your rejection while you have been here, tending to my son.”

“My mind has not changed,” she blurted out.

“And I am not finished,” he said coolly. “You were right to reject my proposal, such as it was. It was not a proposal worthy of you. But I have seen your worth today, Miss Longman.”

Her next protest died on her lips, curiosity sweeping in to keep her listening. The duke did not merely trust her, but he had seen the value in her work. That alone was nothing short of miraculous.

“I should like to court you, Miss Longman, with the intention of marriage,” he continued. “I have not been a good father to my son but tonight has shown me that I must do better for him. I missed his fever because I was dismissive of him entirely. And he asked for you, Miss Longman. That means something.”

Marina sat down in the chair belonging to the desk, suddenly very unsteady on her feet. “Fevers can play all sorts of tricks on the mind, Your Grace. I would not read into it too much.”

“You may well have saved him, and I must honor that,” he pressed, taking a step closer. “I need a wife and he needs a stepmother. You need a husband and someone who will support your endeavors in this… healing interest of yours. I cannot make you a doctor, I do not have that sort of power, but I can offer a marriage of convenience.”

Fidgeting with her bag to try and ease her anxieties, Marina could not quite look at Anthony in the eyes. Why was he proposing again? Was it just gratitude that she had helped his son? She could not fathom it when he likely had countless ladies out there in society who would swoon at the notion of marrying him.

“What… um…” She shook her head, tried again. “What, in your mind, would a marriage of convenience entail?”

He seemed surprised by her question. “It would mean us living together, so that you could help with my son, but you would be free to do as you please with the rest of your time. My son has tutors, so much of the day would be yours, and he will go away to school in a couple of years.” He glanced at the bottle in his hand. “I would ask nothing more of you than that. Just… be a companion for him.”

It was tempting. She could not deny that.

“Would I be permitted to have a greenhouse? And a workshop for my medicines?” she said.

“Anything you like,” he agreed.

She hesitated, her eyes drifting to the boy in the bed. His face was peaceful now, his cheeks less red, the sheen of sweat on his brow gone. The sleepy grass concoction had worked well.

“What happened to his mother?” she asked before she could stop herself.

Then again, why would she stop herself? If she was going to consider marrying this man, she figured she should probably know about her predecessor and the mother of the child that would become her responsibility.

“She died,” Anthony replied, turning away slightly. “Five years ago. William was three.”

“So, he does not remember much about her?”

Anthony shook his head. “No, he does not.”

“The poor thing,” Marina murmured, her heart sore. “It is a terrible fate to lose one’s mother.”

Anthony said nothing but took that opportunity to swig from the bottle of tonic. Great gulps that drained a quarter in no time at all.

“You said your father was dead,” he spoke again. “Is your mother gone, too?”

Marina nodded. “Both of them, yes. I do not like to speak of it.”

Her uncle had encouraged her to, in the first years after the tragedy, but she had found no use in speaking of what could not be changed. It only hurt more, to remember what she had lost.

In truth, she strangely envied William that he had not been old enough to remember his mother, for it was the memories that injured the most deeply. The scars on her skin were nothing compared to the gashes in her mind that refused to heal.

“Then, I will not ask you about it,” Anthony said. “We need not be romantic or even companions. We can just exist together, with my station and fortune to support your endeavors, and your… caring nature to support my son. Indeed, it cannot hurt to have the equivalent of a doctor around.”

Equivalent? Her heart swelled at the compliment.

Indeed, the offer grew more tempting by the moment. This was something she could say yes to: a proposal far greater than anything else she might receive. A proposal beyond her wildest hopes.

He put the stopper back into the tonic bottle. “Of course, I shall understand and accept your reply if you reject the offer, but⁠—”