Page 48 of A Virgin for the Duke of Depravity
Leo watched helplessly as Margaret and Theresa left. He and Aaron went right to the study. He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated by the constraints placed upon him by propriety.
He would give anything to follow her to her rooms and take her mind off her grandfather, even for a little while. He envied Theresa for her ability to comfort Margaret in the way he wished he could.
Aaron shut the door and poured them each a glass of whiskey. He sat at the table as Leo paced back and forth, his mind whirring as he considered his options.
“Now that we are alone, will you tell me what isreallygoing on between you and Margaret?” Aaron asked, taking a slow sip of his drink.
“I brought Margaret here under my protection,” Leo said quietly. “And it seems that she did not trust me to tell me the full story.”
“And this has to do with the Earl of Riley and the auction for his granddaughter’s hand,” Aaron said, realization dawning in his eyes. “You were protecting her from him.”
“I knew she was running from something. From someone. She stumbled into my book club at Olympus without an invitation because she had been running from someone. Fromhim.”
“You met Margaret at yourbook club?”
“She was not there for long, so do not fear for her virtue,” Leo said. “I whisked her away, but I could not help feeling compelled to help her, to protect her. Part of me wants to break her, yes. But all of me wants to save her.”
“Spoken like a true gentleman,” Aaron laughed. “You find a nun among your degenerate friends and bring her to your estate, roping your friends into protecting her as well.”
“It is no laughing matter,” Leo said sternly. “The Earl of Riley is a dangerous man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. And right now, he wants Margaret.”
“Then you cannot let him have her. Theresa and I will do our best to ensure that she is protected here. Two dukes should be able to fend off the advances of an earl.”
Leo swirled the whiskey in his glass and took a long sip.
Aaron seemed to think that this was going to be easy, but Leo had learned a few things about the little nun in his care. He knew that she was bound and determined to ruin her life.
Why else was she so determined to take her vows?
It was clear that she wanted to experience the world. That much was obvious from her desire to join his book club. From the way she moaned his name when he pleasured her. She knew that she did not want the life that had been set before her.
All he had to do now was convince her that it was not the right thing for her.
“You speak the truth,” Leo finally said, draining his glass. “I have to show Margaret what she would be giving up if she gave in to the old Earl’s demands. You will have to excuse me. It seems there is something I must do now.”
He rose from the table and set his glass next to the decanter. If Aaron knew what he had planned, he did not let on or attempt to stop him. He merely nodded and took another sip of his whiskey as Leo turned on his heel and walked out of the study.
He made a sharp turn toward the rooms on the opposite side of the mansion. Annie and Kitty were playing in their chambers, giggling with one another, but he could not stop to see what mischief they were up to. He kept going until he reached the heavy door of Margaret’s room.
Without knocking, he pushed it open.
Margaret was standing in the middle of the room, her trunk open and various items tossed inside of it haphazardly. Theresa sat on the chair in the corner, a somber expression on her face. Her eyes were sad, and her mouth was set in a tight line.
Margaret did not even look up when Leo barged into the room. Instead, she continued to grab dresses from the wardrobe and packed them in the trunk.
I can’t be too late to stop this.
Leo knew that Margaret was headstrong, but he did not think she desired her own destruction. He did not think, even for a moment, that she wanted to give in to the Earl’s demands.
She would rather give up her life to the Lord than to marry the man her grandfather would choose for her. He knew that much, and he was counting on the fact that she would choose her own way, given the chance to do so.
“Theresa, would you please excuse us for a moment?”
Theresa stood up, but she did not move toward the door. Leaving him alone with Margaret would be improper. But this moment called for all of them to discard decorum.
If she thought he would try to corrupt Margaret, she was right. But when Margaret nodded to her, she swept out of the room in search of her husband.
Then, Margaret straightened and turned to face him, pausing her packing.
