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“ I will not confess it to anybody else, but my armpits feel as though they have taken a swim in the pond Lord Pendleton fell in,” Nathaniel said and chuckled.

“We shall keep it between the two of us. For what it’s worth, I cannot tell. You are a picture of composure.”

He grimaced. “I’m afraid you must say so. You are my wife.”

“When have you ever known me to say anything I didn’t truly believe?” she challenged.

He smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead. “That is quite true. You are many, many things, my dear, but not a liar.”

“Well then, it is settled.” They stood in the antique chamber beside the House of Lords, where his peers were gathered to hear his speech on the climbing boys. Six weeks had passed since they had found a way to one another, and in those last six weeks, a great many things had changed.

Her father had done what he had promised.

He had used his contacts to help Nathaniel and Julian’s father put together a small confederacy of Lords who were attempting to pass a law to assist the climbing boys, to regulate the hours they worked, and to stipulate that they be given equipment to protect them from the harsh conditions.

In addition, a workhouse was to be set up for them with real beds, good food, and shelter.

It wasn’t enough. Ideally, Evelyn didn’t want the poor children to work at all, but it was the best they could do for now.

Nathaniel would follow Julian’s father in addressing the matter.

She would sit upstairs in the small area preserved for relatives and spectators. Women did not usually attend the sessions, but there were exceptions. Today was one such exception.

“You must be nervous,” she said. “It is understandable.”

“I do not want to disappoint you,” he said. “It is as simple as that. And of course, I do not want to let those who are in our corner down.” She stepped closer to him and took his hands. His palms were indeed sweaty.

“You will do wonderfully, indeed. Your uncle will look down on us from wherever he is and regret ever doubting you.”

“I am uncertain that he will be looking down,” he said, and glanced downward at the ground. She chuckled, though she knew it was not kind.

“Well, perhaps he will be looking up. Regardless, he will feel dreadful for ever doubting you.”

“I do not deserve you,” he said. “Truly, I do not.”

“I dare say, a few months ago you might’ve said the same thing, but meant it quite differently.”

He let out a laugh. “That is true. A few months ago, I thought you were some sort of curse set on me.”

“And I thought the same of you. How foolish we were.”

“Indeed.” He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her lips.

They had kissed many times over the last few weeks, and they had certainly kissed more passionately than now, but she was still not used to the feeling of his lips on hers.

It was such a delight. Her heart fluttered, and she wrapped her arms around him for a moment, but then a knock came on the door.

“Your Grace,” an usher called.

“Right,” he said. “Well, wait for me up in the gallery. I will come and get you.”

She nodded and watched him go before making her way upstairs.

There, she joined the relatives of some of the other Lords who had been speaking and watched as he made his way up to the front in ceremonial garb.

She had watched her father give speeches such as this when she was a child, and she had thought him as powerful as a king when he stepped up in his robes.

She knew better now, of course, but it was nonetheless impressive.

She wished that her aunt or her sisters were there with her, but these were not meetings for the public.

Some of the other wives were up with her, as were some of the heirs to certain titles.

She stood at the very front of the balcony and looked down.

From there, she saw Nathaniel take his place.

He glanced up, his eyes fluttering as though he were nervously looking around, but then he found her and stilled.

They smiled at one another across the vast space between them, and she felt a quiet settle over her, and hoped the same was true for him.

He cleared his throat then and spoke. At first, tentatively, but then he found his pace and spoke with passion about the little climbing boys and their horrible fate.

He had memorized the names and stories of each and recounted them now with equal passion to his peers.

She watched him, her lips slightly parted and a smile bright on her face.

He was an amazing orator. She had never known this about him.

He spoke, and in her mind, she could already see rousing applause rising when he was finished, and everybody in the chamber would agree with him.

They would quickly open their purses to help the climbing boys—she knew it. That was how convincing he was.

However, when he was finished, there were no cheers and applause—or rather, not intimate applause, as most people seemed to be simply knocking their closed fists on the wooden benches instead.

But there were a few cheers as well. Someone called him out on something he had said, and quickly, all turned to where the voice had come from, firing back.

A debate erupted, and she watched, both shocked that there would indeed be people who would stand against a bill to help children, but more impressed by Nathaniel, who fired back with facts.

“Well, he can speak,” a voice beside her said, and she turned. Instantly, her shoulders stiffened. Standing beside her was Halston. What was he doing here? He wasn’t even a peer, but merely the heir to one. “He always had a way with words.”

“And how would you know that? You were hardly friends,” she fired back, making sure her voice remained quiet and dignified.

“I suppose it’s in his family. His uncle was always one to talk a great deal. I do hope for your sake that he is more a man of action than his uncle ever was.”

“He is,” she said. “And I would remind you that he outranks you, and speaking of him in such a manner does not become you. It makes you look envious and small.”

“You did not speak so highly of him when we first met. It is well known what your opinion of him was.”

She felt shame now for having thought ill of him at all. “I did not know him well then. I know him now.”

“Do you? Well, I have heard rumors that the two of you have set aside your differences now that you are married. And looking at you, looking at the way you admired him as he spoke, it seems those rumors were true. Although I must wonder, do you smile at the man or the title?”

“I beg your pardon?” she asked.

“It has been said that your agreement goes beyond mere affection. That your arrangement is mutually beneficial. He needed to silence those wretched rumors, and you have benefited greatly from being?—”

“I know that you have not had the good fortune of finding a woman whom you truly admire,” she interrupted.

She wanted to say, ‘a woman who would put up with you,’ but knew that it wasn’t very graceful.

“But once you do, you will see that there are many layers to any marriage. Nathaniel and I—that is, His Grace and I—have discovered what we can accomplish together. That is all.”

“I see. That is good. I am glad to know that you have an agreement. I would not want to think that a woman as bright as you would have allowed herself to be blinded by a man like him.”

What was he talking about? Evelyn knew that this man would say anything to vex her, anything to make her doubt Nathaniel. But he couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

“I assure you, there’s nothing left in the shadows between Nathaniel and me.”

“I’m glad to hear it. So you know everything, then?”

“If everything you are referring to is his past in Scotland and his dalliances, yes, I do.” She did know everything about it because she had had an honest conversation with him.

He had admitted to being an awful rake back in Scotland.

He had never ruined anybody, but he had enjoyed the company of many ladies.

This had made her a little insecure, given how she had experienced exactly zero gentlemen, but as it turned out, it had not mattered in the least.

“Well, you are a very lenient woman, then, to allow your husband to carry on in such debauched ways.”

“He does not carry on,” she said, aware now that a few people were looking at them.

“Oh,” he said. “That was my mistake. I thought you said you were clear about everything. Well, perhaps you are not.”

She didn’t want to ask what he meant. She knew he only meant to rile her up, and that these were likely simply lies.

And yet, a part of her could not stop thinking about the way Nathaniel had stumbled into the house with his hair disheveled.

He said it was a fight. Was it? And he still went to the club.

He told her that he went to the club to talk to the other Lords and that it was the best place to do so because everyone was in a merry mood.

And she knew that her father had done the same.

All gentlemen went to clubs, after all. It was where the real work was done. Wasn’t that what people said?

“I will not have you speak badly about my husband to me.”

Halston sighed. “Oh, my dear Duchess, I had thought more highly of you than that. Surely you cannot believe that you are anything other than an inconvenience to him—an inconvenience he had to deal with. I wish you had not cast me aside as you had. I could’ve given you something true, something real, something that was not based on lies and deception. ”

“He does not lie to me,” she said.

“Are you that certain? Have you not heard the rumors?”

“I hear a great many rumors, Lord Halston. What sets me apart from others is that I know how to discern truth from fiction. Now, if you will excuse me.”

She turned and was about to make her way out when he took her by the wrist, stopping her.

“I admit, I am still displeased by the way you ended our brief courtship.”

“It was hardly a courtship.”

“It would have been, had you given me a chance. But you must believe me—no matter what he told you about me, I am a good man. And I do not like to see a lady deceived and lied to. If you do not believe me, have tea this afternoon. Ask some of the ladies about what happens at the clubs—about what your husband does there still. If you do not want to hear it from me, perhaps hearing it from another woman will make you wake up.”

She yanked her arm free and burst out of the door. She wasn’t going to listen to him. It was foolish. She knew Nathaniel now. He would never betray her.

And yet, in the very back of her mind, she could not help but admit that a small seed had been planted—and it was catching root.