Despite a blissfully quiet night at home, Nora was no closer to making a decision about her future. The tea was due to start shortly, and presumably both Markham and Dawson would make an appearance. Neither would ask for her hand during such an occasion, but they would likely press their potential courtships.

She told herself that was fine. Better than fine. Either would be an excellent match, and Dawson had certainly laid out his advantages yesterday.

The mystery lay with Titus. Only there really wasn’t a mystery at all. They’d enjoyed a spectacular evening together where no promises were exchanged. She ought to continue as if it had never happened.

She practically choked at the thought.

Another option had skipped into her brain last night as she’d tried to fall asleep. What if she didn’t marry anyone? What if she worked as a companion as she’d intended and saved her pennies so that she could afford to retire to the country by herself? Granted, it would take years. And years. But what else did she have to do?

However, on her own she couldn’t look forward to a repeat of what she’d experienced with Titus. Which led her back to her choices of husband and the conclusion that she didn’t trust that any other man could give her what Titus had. It went far beyond the physical sensations he’d aroused. He’d gifted her with a sense of empowerment, something she’d never even conceived of.

She’d lost everything that mattered nine years ago—her reputation, her ability to secure her future, her ability to secure her sister’s future. Two nights ago, she’d realized that she’d actually lost far more: her self-respect. Titus had shown her that she’d regained it and so much more.

Nora walked into the drawing room as Lady Satterfield checked over a table laden with delicate cakes and neat sandwiches. She glanced sideways at Nora. “There you are. Just in time.” She straightened, inclining her head toward the door. “They are arriving.”

Over the next quarter hour, Nora greeted guests, including Lady Dunn, whose company she’d come to enjoy. The older woman was quite pleased to see that Nora was enjoying a surge in popularity. She clearly took a small amount of credit, since she’d championed Nora from the start.

Lady Dunn nodded toward the doorway. “Your Mr. Dawson is here.”

Nora bit her tongue before she said he wasn’t her Mr. Dawson. She turned in her chair and made eye contact. He instantly smiled and cut toward her.

He took her hand and dropped a kiss to the back. “Good afternoon, Miss Lockhart. You are lovelier than the sun.”

“Thank you. I’m delighted you could come today.”

He looked at her expectantly. “Might I take you for a turn about the room?”

Nora preferred to continue visiting with Lady Dunn but didn’t wish to be rude. “Certainly.”

At the precise moment Nora turned to thank Lady Dunn for coming, there was a stir. Conversation picked up in both speed and volume about the room. A woman whose name Nora couldn’t quite recall came toward her. Her eyes were wide and animated, her lips curved into an expectant smile.

“May I offer my congratulations to you both,” she said, beaming at Nora and Dawson.

Nora looked at Mr. Dawson and saw that he was grinning. What did he have to grin about? Something to do with this mysterious congratulations. A knot formed in Nora’s chest.

Dawson sidled closer, his smile appearing perhaps a bit forced upon closer inspection. He looked at Nora intently, his gaze piercing as if he were trying to impart some dire piece of information without saying a word. Then he turned his attention to the woman. “Thank you, Lady Faversham.”

“Have you set a wedding date?” Lady Faversham asked.

“What’s this?” Lady Dunn asked. She looked between Nora and Dawson. “There’s to be a wedding?” Her gaze fixed on Nora, and there was a bit of an accusation in its depths. “I didn’t realize you were betrothed.” She was angry that Nora hadn’t told her. But there hadn’t been anything to tell.

Nora opened her mouth, but Dawson’s elbow grazed her side as he rushed to answer, “Yes, a wedding. Thank you for your felicitations.” He tipped his head down to address Lady Dunn. “Yes, we became betrothed yesterday.”

They had done no such thing! Did he somehow think an agreement had been reached when they’d walked around the garden? He couldn’t have. She’d given him no assurances, let alone an answer to a proposal he hadn’t uttered.

She turned her head to glare at him and saw something in his eyes that gave her pause—fear. What was going on here? Why was he doing this?

Dawson took her hand, and she instinctively tried to snatch it away. He squeezed her fingers, tugging until she looked at him. He leaned slightly forward and whispered, “Please just go along with me. I promise it will all turn out right. Trust me.”

Trust him? All the power she’d felt last night leached away, leaving her cold and hopeless. People clamored around them, and the chatter in the drawing room had reached a near-deafening crescendo.

And then it quite simply stopped.

Heads swiveled to the doorway. Standing on the threshold, his face as dark as a storm cloud, was Titus.

The knot in Nora’s chest loosened upon seeing him, but then promptly tightened again as she registered his anger. He knew about the betrothal. Which wasn’t even real.

She stared at him, hoping to do what Dawson had tried—communicate without saying anything. She tried to convey that she wasn’t betrothed, that she didn’t want Dawson. Yes, she knew in that moment that she wouldn’t accept him or Markham or anyone else. Not when she wanted Titus. She pulled her hand from Dawson’s grip and edged away from him.

Titus didn’t break eye contact as he strode slowly into the room. People backed away from his path, and still no one spoke. He didn’t stop until he was about three feet in front of Nora.

Dawson tried to take her hand again and whispered, “Let’s take a walk.”

She kept her gaze locked with Titus, urging him to do something. Say something.

Titus held his arm out. “Walk with me.”

She put her hand on his sleeve, and they walked straight back through the sitting room toward the terrace. Once outside, he closed the door behind them. This might cause a scandal, but then this entire event seemed destined to ruin her newfound status. She couldn’t have cared less.

Titus moved away from her and walked to the edge of the terrace that looked out over the garden below. He turned, his face only slightly less fierce than it had been when he arrived. “Tell me what happened.”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you betrothed to him?” The question was harsh, clipped.

“No.”

“Then why does all of London think you are?”

“Because he told them?” She took a deep breath and tried to shake the consternation from her head. “He only just arrived a few minutes ago. Someone else—Lady Faversham—congratulated us on our betrothal. I don’t know how she heard about it. I do know that he said to her that we became engaged yesterday. He paid me a call, and we strolled around the garden. He made his intent to court me quite clear, but he didn’t ask me to wed him.”

Titus leaned back against the rail on the terrace. He massaged the bridge of his nose for a moment, then dropped his hand and fixed her with his emerald gaze. “What do you want?”

Her mind was in total disarray. Everything was happening so fast. “What do you mean?”

“Do you wish to marry Dawson? I thought you might prefer a different life—perhaps even without a husband. I know you value your autonomy.”

Nora began to relax. Here was the man who understood her. “No, I don’t want to marry him, but he’s made an awful mess. If I say we aren’t betrothed, I will be the one to suffer.”

“You are not going to suffer. I promise you that.” The simple clarity in his gaze made her believe his words. If anyone could keep her safe, she knew it was Titus.

She tensed again, but with anticipation instead of anxiety. “How?”

He strode toward her and took her hands in his. “They talk about me, they paint me as something I’m not. I ignore them. I’ve created a façade to keep them at bay. You can do that too. As my wife. Marry me, Nora, and I will give you whatever you want—even if it isn’t me.”

Oh, but she wanted him. Desperately. But did he want her, or was he simply being the most gallant man she’d ever met?

The door opened, and Dawson stepped out onto the terrace. He looked between them, his gaze landing on their joined hands. He frowned deeply. “You choose him?”

Nora looked at Titus with love bursting in her heart. “I do.”

Dawson’s answering laugh was surprisingly cold. “Do you know what you’ve chosen? I would have given you respectability and comfort, a family and security, but you prefer the man who saw you ruined all those years ago.”

Darkness crept into Nora’s happiness, dulling the edges. She looked at Titus but asked Dawson, “What are you talking about?”

It was Titus who answered, however. “He’s talking about Haywood and how I encouraged him to pursue the foolish girl who thought he would marry her. I told him to take whatever he could get away with, that no one would ever find out.”

Suddenly she recalled the Marquess of Ravenglass. He’d been the leader of the group Haywood had run with. He was the quintessential Untouchable whose reputation made him almost unacceptable. Almost. But not entirely, because he was, after all, the heir to a dukedom. And everyone knew a future duke could do whatever he pleased, including leading idiot young bucks to do the same.

She knew without a doubt that what Dawson said was true. All she had to do was look at the shadow stealing over Titus’s face and the regret creeping into his gaze.

Disappointment swirled through her. “You encouraged Haywood. Did you remember who I was from the start?”

His mouth was tight, unyielding. “I did.”

“Is that why you helped me? Is what why Lady Satterfield is sponsoring me?”

“No.” His response was immediate and vehement. Emotion stormed into his eyes. “Yes, I felt guilty, but when I learned whom she’d hired as her companion, I welcomed the opportunity to right the wrong I’d done you. Yes, I wanted to help you.” His gaze softened. “Only I never imagined you’d be the one to save me.”

She’d saved him? She wasn’t entirely sure what he meant, but the sentiment was so lovely and so pure, she knew Titus wasn’t at all the man he’d been nine years ago. And neither was she the same naïvely innocent girl. Right now, with Titus, she could put the past to rest at last. She could be the woman she longed to be—a woman with a choice.

She looked between the two men. The hope and vulnerability in Titus’s eyes, coupled with the power to choose, which he was once again ensuring she possessed, made her decision quite simple.

She turned her head to look at Dawson and said, simply, “Yes, I choose Titus.”

* * *

Titus had watched the joy fade from her face after Dawson had spilled the truth. Now he stared at her, uncertain of what he was seeing.

“Titus.”

The single word came from the doorway. His stepmother had followed them and had clearly heard everything Dawson had said. The anguish in her tone cut straight to his soul. It was like watching his father lose his faith in Titus all over again.

Dawson scoffed. “Of course you’d choose a duke over me.”

Titus’s stepmother moved onto the terrace. “She chose the better man, you dolt. You should take the stairs down to the garden and escape that way. If you don’t, I fear you’ll be eaten alive by everyone in the drawing room. The second they find out that Nora is betrothed to my son, you’ll be a laughingstock.”

Dawson pursed his lips and gave Nora a final beseeching look. “I didn’t want to lose you to Markham.” He shot a perturbed glance toward Titus. “I didn’t even realize he was in the hunt too.” He turned his attention back to Nora. “My apologies. I shall be gracious in defeat. I wish you both well.”

Nora smiled at him, which was more than he deserved. “Thank you. I wish you the best as well.”

Titus marveled at her poise and her generosity of spirit. If he hadn’t already been head over heels in love with her, he would be now.

Dawson turned and left.

The countess cleared her throat. “This is going to cause quite an uproar. The mess Dawson created was exciting enough, but I fear this may break the entire ton.”

Titus looked at Nora. The love he felt for her threatened to surge from his chest like a living, breathing thing. A veritable dragon of emotion, the likes of which he’d never encountered. “I don’t care.”

“No, I’m sure you don’t,” his stepmother said. “However, Nora may feel differently.”

Nora didn’t look away from Titus. She stroked his hands with her thumbs. “Actually, I don’t. If I’m to be the Forbidden Duchess, I don’t need to care about anything. At least not about anything I don’t want to. And I choose not to. Titus, I may never hold a ball. Is that all right with you?”

“It only makes me love you more.”

Her mouth curved into a smile that was equal parts joyful and seductive. Titus wanted nothing more than to have her alone.

Nora turned to look at the countess. “Must we go back inside?”

His stepmother shook her head gently, her expression resigned but happy. “No. I’ll make your excuses. Titus, I regret to inform you that your notoriety will only soar, not that you’ll pay any attention to it.”

He pulled Nora closer. “Not a bit.” He bent and inhaled the floral fragrance of her hair before pressing a kiss to her temple.

His stepmother smiled widely. “You’ve made me very happy. Both of you.” She turned and went back into the house, closing the door behind her.

Nora looked up at him. “Did you mean what you said? About loving me?”

“Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I think I realized it the other night. It just… It took me by surprise. I’m not good at this sort of thing.” Loving people. Letting them get close.

“I know. You hold yourself so apart from everyone. Is it because of what happened with Haywood?”

He could scarcely understand her compassion. “I wanted to tell you. I just didn’t know how. You should be furious with me. I had a hand in ruining you.”

“You were young and foolish—like me. What did you mean when you said I’d saved you?”

“I hated myself after what happened to you. Not just because of how it affected you, but because of the disappointment I caused my father. He died shortly after that, and I was, quite simply, wrecked. I’ve been doing penance all these years. Helping you, loving you has set me free.”

Tears glistened in her eyes. “Oh Titus, I feel precisely the same.”

He brushed a fingertip along her cheek. “I wish my father had known you. He would’ve liked you immensely.”

She grinned. “I’m sure the sentiment would’ve been quite mutual.”

“Are you certain you won’t mind being the Forbidden Duchess? You were the most celebrated woman in town for a moment.”

She laughed. “Yes, my brief time in the sun. Only, I don’t need the sun when I have you. You’re all I want, Titus. All I need. I love you.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her full on the mouth. She kissed him back, igniting his desire. He decided right then that a special license would definitely be in order.

After a long moment, he lifted his lips from hers and looked into her eyes. “I’ve waited my entire life for you, and I’d wait a thousand more. You’ve made me the happiest man alive. Do you think they’ll start calling me the Smitten Duke?”

She giggled. “I don’t care what they call you, so long as everyone understands you’re my duke.”

He bent his head to kiss her again. “For eternity.”