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“Why didn’t you simply ask?” she hissed.

He blinked as if the possibility of asking had never crossed his mind.

“I couldn’t wait. See, I needed a sample of the plant in order to apply for the expedition financed by none other than Sir Alexander von Humboldt.

It’s a one-year-long trip to the Amazon with a team of selected scientists. An opportunity I couldn’t miss.”

“Oh, Lord.” Maddie stifled a sob, the first since the incident.

Her state of numbness was fading, and it wasn’t a good thing.

“You should have asked. I would have given you the whole stupid plant.” She cried, unable to hold back the tears.

“Th-there was no need to break m-my window.” And wreck her life.

“By Jove, Wentworth.” Maddie’s father plonked down onto his chair. “My daughter is right. A simple inquiry would have sufficed.”

“My brother sent a letter,” Hector said. “Haven’t you received it?”

Verity trapped her bottom lip between her teeth. “I saw a letter and took it to the parlour, but I forgot about it and didn’t mention it to anyone. I’m sorry. Was it important?”

“The letter was a formal request to take a sample,” Hector said in a resigned tone. “You didn’t answer, and I was in a hurry. It’s not an excuse, but I was eager to get the plant.”

Obviously. Maddie shook her head.

Her mother waved a hand. “But the window can be repaired and Madeline’s hand will heal. Nothing irreparable happened.”

More tears poured out of Maddie’s eyes. She disagreed.

The damage was irreparable because she couldn’t finish a new painting in a matter of days even if her hand hadn’t been injured.

Aside from sketches and a few other canvases that weren’t halfway ready to be shown to Mrs. Blanchet, she didn’t have anything complete.

Her fellowship? Gone, like the colours melting on her painting.

She glared at her mother who glared back as if challenging her to contradict her.

Verity hugged Maddie. “Mother. Maddie lost her painting and her hand is wounded.”

“I’m so sorry,” Hector kept saying.

“A pastime,” Mother said. “Nothing more.”

The words were nothing new for Maddie, but maybe because she was so fragile at the moment, they cut deeper than the glass shard. How could her mother be so dismissive of something bringing so much joy to her daughter? And Maddie’s hand hurt!

Her father stomped a fist on his polished desk. “Catherine, please. Don’t you see how distraught Maddie is?”

Her mother shrugged. “Reality and dreams are two different things. The sooner we learn this lesson, the better.”

Hector scowled and opened his mouth, but didn’t say anything.

There was more bickering between her parents, Verity whispering that everything would be all right, and footsteps thundering around her. Maddie mentally went through her half-finished canvases in the hope of finding something she could present to Mrs. Blanchet.

Voices sounded from downstairs. The door opened, and the maid said something she didn’t care to understand.

When Maddie wiped her face, a man she’d never seen before stood in front of her.

From his fair hair and peculiar blue eyes, she guessed he was Hector’s brother, the darn duke.

Where Hector was all angular shapes and raw beauty, the Duke if Blackburn had a certain softness to his features that made him less harsh but less intriguing as well.

Even his eyes, even though of an intense blue, didn’t hold the determined quality Hector’s had.

The duke took in the scene, pausing on Maddie and his brother.

“What is the meaning of this?” he asked Hector.

“Your Grace.” Mother’s voice lost her high-pitched tone completely. “Thank you for coming here.” She curtsied.

“Robert.” Hector hung his head, not pleading with his brother for help while Maddie’s father recounted the incident.

The more she heard the story of the incident, the more bizarre it sounded.

Whenever Father turned angry about Hector’s abrupt intrusion, Mother would intervene with a kind word, reminding everyone Hector had meant no harm. He should still be held accountable for his actions, in Maddie’s opinion. Not that anyone asked for it.

The duke listened in stoic silence. The only sign the tale upset him was the ticking tendon in his neck. When her parents finished talking over each other, he narrowed his eyes to slits as he regarded his brother.

The duke’s teeth flashed. “Hector, we’ll talk about what you did later.” He bowed to Maddie. “Miss Debenham, I wish to express my deepest and most sincere apologies for tonight’s incident. My brother is an overeager scientist who didn’t mean any harm, although he triumphantly succeeded anyway.”

“Nothing serious happened.” Mother smiled, tugging at her long braid.

Oh, not again! “Excuse me?” Maddie stood up on shaky legs. “Nothing serious? My painting is ruined. My hand is injured. And my window doesn’t exist anymore.”

Hector tortured his hat again, his cheeks turning a deep crimson.

No, she wouldn’t feel pity for him...all right.

She did pity him a little. He was obviously sorry for what he’d done, but the rage boiling inside her had to vent somewhere.

The duke shook his head in consternation, but Mother pressed her lips in a flat line.

“For heaven’s sake, Maddie. A silly painting is nothing.” Mother pressed two fingers to her temples. “And your hand will heal. No harm done.”

“Mother.” The single word came out strangled. “My painting...the academy...Mrs. Blanchet…”

“Academy?” Hector and the duke asked together, turning towards her.

She let out a strangled noise.

Verity wrapped an arm around Maddie’s shaking shoulders. She seemed unable to leave Maddie alone.

“That painting would have granted my sister a place in the Royal Women’s Academy of Arts.

Mrs. Blanchet herself was supposed to inspect the painting and help her find a fellowship.

Now…” She rubbed Maddie’s shoulder. “With the painting destroyed and her hand injured, it seems unlikely her dream will come true.”

“I won’t allow that.” Hector paled, twisting his hat so tightly to rip the fabric. “Miss Debenham, I will make amends. I promise no matter what, I’ll help you.”

The honesty ringing in his voice struck a chord within her. His calm determination soothed her anger. At that moment, she could believe he’d find a solution and help her get a fellowship. Who knew? His brother was a duke. Perhaps not everything was lost.

“Thank you,” she said, staring into his intense gaze.

A spark of hope kindled in her chest as he bowed his head.

“I don’t deserve your gratitude, miss.”

A fire burned in the depths of his gaze.

His brother lacked that fire, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

If she had to guess, she’d say Hector was the fighter while his brother was the diplomat.

Although she wouldn’t want to be at the receiving end of the duke’s angry gaze when he’d glowered at his brother.

The duke and his brother were going to have a loud conversation tonight.

Mother shifted her weight, her lips pressing together.

A chill shuddered through Maddie. She knew her mother too well.

Mother was plotting something. To her credit, Mother always did her best to turn a terrible situation to her advantage.

The problem was she didn’t care if someone got hurt in the process.

“Your Grace,” Mother said, smiling too sweetly for the smile to be real. “Perhaps we should discuss a solution in private tomorrow.” She put a hand on Maddie’s shoulder. “It’s late and my daughter is tired.”

Maddie pushed her mother’s hand away, earning a pointed glare from her. The last thing Mother was concerned about was Maddie’s fatigue. She needed time to plot.

“I understand.” The duke bowed. Hector copied him. “As my brother said, we’ll be happy to help. I’m sure we’ll find an arrangement that will satisfy Miss Debenham and compensate her for her loss.”

Hector shot her a pleading glance, and some of her anger petered out.

Maybe she was too tired and sad, but she couldn’t find in her heart to be angry with him anymore.

She still thought the whole incident could have been avoided if he’d been more considered and less reckless.

But he showed sincere concern and regret.

She had to take that into account. Besides, she was too tired to stay angry.

She wanted to curl up in her bed—after she removed the glass shards from it—and forget the world for a few hours.