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K ynthea was not one to shy away from hard talks. That didn’t mean she relished them. But it was past time to explain things to her cousin.

Zoe shuffled into her bedroom and plopped down on her bed with a dispirited grunt. “I thought it would work. I really thought it would.”

“Did you?” Kynthea challenged. “Or did you close your eyes, cross your fingers, and hope.”

The girl’s head jerked up. “Mama’s friend’s daughter says—”

“Nothing you can trust.”

Zoe pushed out her lower lip in a sulk. “You helped me, you know. You helped me get the potion.”

“I did,” she said softly. “And I hoped it would work out for you.”

“Then why did you…” Her words trailed away but the meaning was clear. Especially when her gaze slid to the door and the duke’s bedroom beyond it. “You’re doing something with him!”

How to answer that? She sat down on the bed beside her cousin. “Let’s talk about you first. Are you truly heartbroken? Or just embarrassed? And maybe a little bit relieved.”

Zoe crossed her arms across her chest. “You know the answer to that. I’m mortified.”

“And relieved.”

“Yes! Yes, I’m relieved. I don’t really want to get married. I wouldn’t mind the dress and the party and all. Everyone likes being a bride. But—”

“Yes,” Kynthea interrupted. “I know it’s all about the stable for you.”

“And having everyone say ‘Your Grace’ to me would be nice.”

“You’re already Lady Zoe. ‘Your Grace’ carries a lot more responsibilities than you realize.”

Zoe sighed. “The Crown approved. I didn’t think he’d say no.”

Kynthea winced. He might still be forced to say yes. When royalty decided upon a thing, even a duke had to comply. “It doesn’t matter what the Crown says. It’s a terrible idea to start a marriage with a lie.”

Zoe rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t supposed to be a lie.

He was supposed to be enamored of me. Head over heels in love.

Instead, he fancies you.” She tilted her head and gave Kynthea a sidelong glance.

“Do you think it was because you were the one to spill the potion on him the first time?” She gave a slight nod.

“That must be it. The potion worked, just on you, not me.”

Kynthea had no response to that. Whatever the cause, the duke was not enamored of Zoe.

But then the girl finally got around to thinking of someone other than herself.

Truthfully, given the magnitude of her embarrassment, she’d made good time.

Many sixteen-year-olds never thought beyond their own embarrassment.

Instead, Zoe’s eyes held sympathy as she looked at Kynthea.

And her words were gentle though they cut deeply.

“You don’t think he’s going to marry you, do you?

I mean, I wouldn’t be bothered, but the rules of society are very clear.

You aren’t even Lady Kynthea. You’re just Miss Petrelli, and he’s a duke.

And the things that Mr. Pickleherring has printed about you make it worse.

He might look past it if you were rich, but—”

Kynthea squeezed Zoe’s hands to make her stop. If things were different, if she had been born to Zoe’s parents instead of her own, if a thousand things were changed, then this next stage of her life could be very different.

But things weren’t as she’d like. So she shook her head.

“I know he won’t marry me.”

“Well,” Zoe said slowly, clearly trying to be gentle. “He might want to. He might say nice things to you—”

“But he won’t marry me. I know.”

Her words hung heavy between them both. There was no fighting the truth of it, and it took them both a while to absorb that. Zoe recovered first.

“What are you going to do?”

Might as well say it. She’d made the decision, but it was still so hard to speak it aloud. “I have two choices. I could become a governess or more likely a housekeeper somewhere that doesn’t get London gossip.”

“You’d have to go to Scotland for that. You don’t want that.”

“Your mother said Russia.”

“You can’t!”

“No,” she agreed. “I won’t.” She swallowed, forcing herself to say it aloud. “Or I could become the duke’s mistress.”

Zoe’s eyes widened. “You want that? I mean, to do the job of the marriage bed without benefit of a ring?”

“Do you see any other options?”

Zoe threw up her hands in disgust. “That’s why I was trying to seduce him. If I became the duchess, you could be my companion and—”

“And there would still be gossip. As long as I’m in London, the tales will follow me.”

Zoe shrugged. “They will get a lot worse if you become a demirep.”

Very true. But she’d have rooms of her own, perhaps even a servant.

“You want to do it!” Zoe gasped in surprise. “You’re not frightened of it!”

Kynthea shrugged, fighting the ache in her whole body. “I’ve learned a lot recently—”

“What!”

“From Madame Ilie at My Lady’s Apothecary.” And from His Grace. “It’s not as awful as you think.”

Zoe grimaced. “That’s not what it looks like when horses do it.”

“No. But I understand among men and women it can be very pleasurable.”

Zoe squirmed. “You’re staking a lot on the possibility that it will be fun. You might be better off in Russia.”

Kynthea smiled. “But then I’d never see you again.” Her heart squeezed a little bit. “You’d miss me, wouldn’t you? If I were all the way in Russia?”

“I’ll miss you when you’re right here!” she cried. “I’m not allowed to see a demirep. You know that.”

All too true. And that thought depressed her more than she could say. “But there are places we could meet. Maybe I could come riding with you sometime.”

“Mama will never forgive you if you become exactly what everyone has said.”

Kynthea nodded. The irony of it was not lost on her. The ton had decried her as a harlot and thereby forced her into that very path. She squeezed Zoe’s hand. “It’s my decision, Zoe. Do you think you can forgive me for making it?”

Zoe’s expression grew sad, but there was a maturity in her tone that was surprising.

“I’m not completely blind,” she said. “I know that you faced hard choices before you came to live with us. And that your life won’t be easy after you leave us.

” She shrugged. “I dosed a duke with a love potion. I cannot blame you for making the best choice you can.” She gripped Kynthea’s hand tight.

“And I will find a way to see you. I don’t care what Mama says. I will not abandon you!”

That made her heart light. Such fierceness in her cousin. In a few years, Zoe would be a formidable woman indeed. “Thank you,” she whispered as they embraced. And when they separated, there were tears in both their eyes.

“What will you do now?” Zoe asked.

Kynthea pressed her palms down on her dress. “Well,” she said slowly. “I doubt there will be a better time to put my proposal to the test.”

“Are you going to seduce him now?” Zoe looked around. “Now?”

“I doubt it will be a seduction. These things are a matter of business, not love.” Oh, how it hurt to say those words. She didn’t examine why. She would break if she focused on her true feelings. Instead, she put on her bravest face. “If he is amenable, I will have my future set on the morrow.”

“And if he is not?”

“Then I suppose I am off to Russia.”

“Ireland might be nicer. Not as cold.”

“Ireland it is.”

Then she kissed her cousin on the cheek, squared her shoulders, and headed off to not-seduce the duke.