Page 35 of Wedded to the Duke of Seduction

“Do not be foolish. I can easily afford it.”

“My financial problems are not your concern,” she insisted, her chin lifting with familiar stubbornness.

“They became my concern the moment they involved my private life,” he countered.

Marina’s eyes flashed. “So that’s it? You would pay simply to silence me?”

“No, I would pay because you’re in trouble, and I have the means to help.” Leo squeezed her hand. “Let me do this for you.”

She pulled her hand away. “I cannot accept such charity.”

“It is not charity, it’s?—”

“If you pay Giles directly, the ton will learn of it.” Marina interrupted. “He isn’t the sort to keep quiet about such matters, especially if it hurts me. And once people connect us…”

Leo paused, considering. She had a point. Giles would certainly spread word of the Duke’s intervention on behalf of a scandalous authoress. The connection would be drawn immediately, and both their reputations would suffer.

“Then marry me,” he said.

Marina’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Marry me,” Leo repeated, the solution suddenly seeming perfectly logical. “As your husband, I could settle your husband’s debts without raising eyebrows. It would be expected.”

“You cannot be serious.” Marina stood and moved away from him.

“I am entirely serious.” Leo rose as well. “Think about it logically. Marriage would solve both our problems. I could pay your debt without scandal, and you would no longer need to write about me for income.”

“You’re proposing marriage as a business arrangement?” Her voice held disbelief.

“It is hardly unprecedented among our class.”

Marina shook her head. “I have already endured one loveless marriage. I won’t trap myself in another, no matter how desperate my circumstances.”

“We get along well enough,” Leo argued. “And our kiss at the Ellinsworths’ suggested we’re hardly indifferent to each other.”

A pink flush crept up her neck. “Physical attraction is not enough basis for marriage.”

“It’s more than many marriages begin with.” Leo stepped closer. “Be practical, Marina. Giles won’t stop at a single payment. Once he knows you can produce such sums, he will continue extracting money until you have nothing left.”

She hesitated. “Even if what you say is true, marriage… it’s too extreme a solution.”

“Is it?” Leo pressed his advantage. “Think of what you gain—financial security, protection from men like Giles and Lupton,and a position in society that would make it impossible for anyone to credit you as the author of scandalous stories.”

Marina eyed him with wariness. “And what doyougain from this arrangement?”

Leo smirked. “Beyond the joy of rescuing a stubborn woman who refuses to be rescued? Perhaps I simply wish to save the ton from reading yet another scandalous tale featuring a certain brooding rogue with my face.”

“That’s not an answer.” Marina’s expression remained doubtful. “Why settle for me when you could have a duchess from a more prestigious family?

The smirk faded from Leo’s face, replaced by a seriousness that surprised even him. “Because I do not like the idea of you being beholden to men like Giles. This way, you’ll owe me and no one else.”

“And what will the nature of that obligation be?” Marina asked quietly. “What will you want from me in return?”

“I have already told you. I want you to stop writing about me.”

She was silent for a long moment. Then, almost reluctantly, she said, “I won’t give myself to you, if that’s what you expect.”

Leo recoiled. “Do you have such a low opinion of me that you think I would force you to do something you don’t want to do?”