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redound to my credit.”
    She nodded and perched on a stone bench. He remained on his feet, looking down at her with his best troubled look.
    “As you know, I have made my living by my skill at cards and dice, since I was sixteen years old. I had no choice. I have no fortune and it’s all my father taught me. He was a rogue. Lately I became aware that gaming was no way to spend my life. I returned to London this year, determined to find a more respectable means of support. The first thing I did was to raise some capital by collecting a few debts.”
    “Caro?” She was quick.
    “Robert Townsend lost a large sum to me just before his death. I didn’t want to dun Caro, and I never would have after Robert left her in such straits. Once she married a duke I thought she could afford it.”
    “Did Castleton refuse to pay you?” she demanded with a convenient air of disapproval.
    “He was under no obligation to pay another man’s gaming debt, and neither was she. I behaved badly.” Badly as in trying to steal Caro’s most precious possession from under Castleton’s precious nose. He saw no need to go into details.
    “Did you apologize? Caro is the most forgiving person in the world. She would never hold a grudge.”
    “But her husband does. He’s a distant connection of my mother’s and we had a childhood quarrel. He dislikes me.”
    “This is terrible! I always thought the Duke of Castleton was a man of principle.”
    “I have no reason to believe otherwise. Yet even the most upright of men can be ruled by his passions.”
    “Do you know that Caro used to call him Lord Stuffy? And then she married him. I know she loves him but they are an unlikely couple. He used to disapprove of her circle of friends, but I thought he had come to accept them.”
    “The others perhaps, but not me. We have too much history between us. My dear Miss Brotherton, believe me when I say I’d do anything to mend the rift.”
    “I shall write to Caro on your behalf.”
    Marcus, who had been standing over her with folded arms, ventured to sit beside her. “Your sympathy means so much to me.” He took her hand and stroked the smooth white skin, skin never marred by a minute of work, and bestowed a light kiss on the knuckles. “Thank you for listening and giving me the benefit of the doubt, which I fear I do not deserve.”
    Her cheeks grew pinker and she didn’t pull away. Raising her eyes to his, she looked like a woman waiting to be kissed and he wanted to oblige her. He wanted to taste those lips much more than was sensible for an adventurer with a scheme. As Lewis Lithgow had instructed him from an early age, genuine desire or even liking for a mark was a weakness that led to carelessness and exposure. Summoning his resolution, he let her go. Side by side on the bench, each looked straight ahead. He wished he knew what she was thinking.
    She recovered first. “I honor your ambition to find a new occupation and I know it’s difficult for a man without fortune or connections. What would you wish to do, if you had the choice?”
    “Don’t laugh, but I think I would enjoy being a land steward. A brief time I spent at Castleton was a pleasure. I wished I could live in the country and was all the sadder when my father and I were ejected. I also visited a great-uncle’s house in Wiltshire and loved it there.” Which was sort of true. He hadn’t hated it. “But I have no experience. I’ve been reading a few books on the subject of estate management.”
    She shook her head as though bewildered by the problems of such an unconnected man.
    “Enough about my vain ambitions. I’d much sooner talk about you than me. Tell me about Anne Brotherton. What has she been doing all her life?”
    She looked doubtful. “I’ve led a very dull existence compared to you.”
    “Perhaps, yet I envy you that dullness. There’s much to be said for having an established position in a family and society.”
    “I am lucky, I suppose.” She shook