Page 54 of A Virgin for the Duke of Depravity
Leo tucked a lock of her hair back behind her ear. She bit her bottom lip, as if considering his offer. When she nodded, he understood that she was acknowledging his offer and choosing to reject it.
“I see. We should leave then,” he said, the words feeling bitter in his mouth.
How would he go back to his life with the girls and at Olympus without her? But she had the freedom to make her choice, just as he did.
He led them out of the library and unlocked the front door to let them pass through. Out in the sunlight, he realized that Margaret’s dress was still askew. He straightened her sleeves before anyone else could notice.
The walk back to Devishire Mansion was silent, but it was very different from the tense silence that they had walked to Olympus in. Then, Leo knew what he intended to do to her, the air around him charged with anticipation. Now, it was full of resignation and sadness.
When they walked into the mansion, Theresa greeted them with her arms crossed over her chest and an impatient foot tapping on the floor. It was almost identical to the expression she had had the day Margaret pulled him into that corridor to say that she would accept his offer.
“Where have you been? I left you in your rooms with Leo, and when I came back to check on you?—”
“Dear wife, I believe that you will have to excuse Leo and me,” Aaron interjected, coming up behind her and resting a hand on her shoulder. “Their departure should be discussed with Margaret alone.”
Leo said nothing and headed toward his study. Aaron followed him in, but neither man bothered to pour a drink.
“You did not dishonor her, I hope,” Aaron said, standing by the door. “Whether she chooses to take her vows or not, you are my friend, and I hope you would respect?—”
“I did not take her virtue,” Leo scoffed. “Though I dare say that she would have liked it if I had.”
“What she would have liked is not the point. You are a duke. You could have any woman you desired. Why must you want the one woman you cannot have?” Aaron crossed his arms, challenging him.
“She does not deserve what her grandfather has in store for her.”
“You do not know what he has in store for her. Perhaps it would be a suitable match,” Aaron argued.
Leo had thought of this as well. Therewas a good possibility that she could find an arranged marriage just as satisfying as Theresa had with Aaron. A possibility…
But he would not stake Margaret’s future on apossibility.
“No one in the ton will ever be good enough for her,” he said, trying not to think about the men who would bid for her hand.
Aaron watched him carefully, his mouth set in a firm line. Leo knew that his friend wanted to speak about the change he had seen in him ever since Margaret had come into his life.
“And you are?” Aaron pressed.
“I wish,” Leo muttered.
He pushed past Aaron and made his way to the opposite side of the mansion. On his way there, he summoned a maid to draw him a bath. He waited for her impatiently to warm the water and fill the tub. As soon as she left the room, he stripped out of the clothes that still smelled like Margaret.
He sank into the warm water, letting it envelop him until it was all he could hear and feel.
Margaret was determined to go through with the Earl’s demands. Nothing he had done today had swayed her or given her pause. He had done his best to show her the world she would be missing out on, but he could not stop her if she wanted to get married.
It was not likehecould marry her.
He was not the marrying type. Leo prided himself on some of the depravity that came with running Olympus. He was the King there, and he would not want to give it up in exchange for a wife to warm his bed.
It was not the way he saw himself, and it was not the way he would live his life. If Margaret truly wanted to get married, he could not grant her that wish.
He dipped his head beneath the water and let out a sigh, bubbles floating around him.
What had this woman done to him, and how was he going to sort it out?
“Where have you been?” Theresa asked Margaret, not waiting for her to offer up excuses. “You have been sneaking off the whole time during your visit, and now you are spending time with Leo alone?”
“Please don’t be cross with me,” Margaret sighed.
