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on hanging the monstrosity in his town house. Gads, if her taste was so poor, perhaps he should reconsider his offer after all. Or insist she wear her spectacles.
    She touched the painting fondly. “He was eight years old at the time, and the drawing master said he showed great promise. Uncle dismissed the man, of course, saying such skills were not manly. He also put a stop to Ansel’s music lessons, although my brother was already proficient at the violin, the pianoforte, and voice. Then he turned off the tutor and the nanny, sending Ansel to the vicar for Latin lessons, before the dastard decided my brother was too feeble to attend classes.”
    Galen stood next to her, his eyes averted from the rotten fruit. Miss Penrose was a much more pleasing sight anyway. He thought he would never get tired of looking at her, which, he also thought, was an excellent prospect in a prospective bridegroom. It was all he could do to keep his hands at his sides, instead of touching the long gold hair that trailed down her back in shining waves. He ached to see if those curls were as soft as they looked, if her curves were as generous, her skin as silky as they appeared. He had not expected to want the woman as a woman, only as a wife. Now he wanted it all. If straightening out one little boy’s life was what it took to make this glorious female his, Galen was ready to give the nipper Latin lessons himself. Hell, he might even try teaching him to draw.
    “My dear,” he said now, “you can stop worrying over your brother. I will petition the courts to be named one of his trustees if I have to. I will kidnap him from your uncle if I have to. I will do whatever it takes to see him happy and healthy. All you have to do is say yes.”
    “I am tempted, my lord. So tempted you will never know. But I fear you would regret such a hasty decision. You might relish the talk now, but the disgrace of your marrying an actress will linger. Think of your family. I would hate to be the cause of a rift between you, the way my parents’ marriage divided my father’s kin. Or see you ostracized from your friends.”
    “Never fear, my father will accept you. If you give him a grandson, so he does not have to worry about Cousin Harold inheriting, he will adore you. And he married his neighbor’s governess, so cannot preach propriety at this late date, especially after the behavior of his choice of a bride for me. His own brother was shot by a jealous husband, and one of his uncles was hung as a highwayman. That’s where the viscountcy came from. Why, there have been so many scandals in my family, His Grace will never notice another. My relatives have committed every disgrace imaginable except treason and the crime without a name, although I fear Harold is working on that one.” At her look of confusion, he added, “Never mind. No one will object to your joining the family. And my friends will all be horrified, but only that I managed to snabble you out from under their eyes. Anyone who is not happy for us, who cannot celebrate our marriage or welcome us to his home, was never much of a friend to start with and will not be missed. But my father is a duke, Margot. No one is going to offend him by slighting his daughter-in-law. I apologize for the familiarity, but calling you Miss Penrose or Mademoiselle Montclaire seems absurd under the circumstances if we are about to wed. And I am Galen.”
    “Very well, Galen. But why don’t we both think about it, spend some time getting to know each other, and then decide? I am contracted for two more weeks of performances anyway, and could not let the cast down by disappearing.”
    “So we shall have our honeymoon in London before traveling to my father at Three Woods in Woburton. You see, I am not a difficult man to please.”
    “You are everything kind, but I fear that tomorrow, with a clearer head, you will see the obstacles better. I might never be accepted in your circles, no matter what you think. My