He thought she shuddered, but she did not speak and he carried on,
“We will discover whether or not we have anything in common and if there is any chance of our friendship developing into something deeper.”
“You mean – I might – fall in love with – you?” Magnolia enquired.
“It is what I hope you may do in the future.”
“I thought – you – wanted me only for my – money – not because you wanted – love.”
“I understood,” the Duke retaliated, “that you wanted me only for my title!”
“It was Mama who wanted – that,” Magnolia commented. “She would have preferred a Prince, but there was not one available.”
She spoke scathingly and the Duke remarked with a faint smile,
“I thought myself it was rather a bad exchange, but, as I was desperate, I accepted it.”
“You were – desperate for – my – mon
