Leona knew that, if she had never met Lord Strathcairn, it would have been impossible for her not to respond generously to the appeal in the Duke’s voice.
But despite what she had learnt, despite the horror she felt in knowing he had betrayed her, some part of her was still his and the thought of another man touching her made her shiver as if at the touch of a reptile.
“Perhaps your son and I could – meet and get to – know each other?” she faltered.
The thought came to her that perhaps the Marquis wished to marry someone else, someone of whom the Duke did not approve and therefore they could come to some understanding.
‘If the Marquis and I could be friends,’ she thought, ‘if we could understand each other’s feelings, then perhaps it would not seem so horrible.’
“As he is in The Castl
