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“Very well. If you insist. But if you do not find one this Season, then I insist you let me help you next Season. You cannot leave it too long. You need an heir.”

“I’m aware of that,” he responded dryly. “The second condition is that you do apologize to Tiffany and Gregory for your treatment of her.”

“Of course, Sebastian, haven’t I already said I would?” Now she sounded a little peeved, but Sebastian did not apologize. It needed to be stated plainly, as far as he was concerned. He did not want there to be any confusion over what she would or would not be doing.

“Thirdly, there will be no more rumors. Since your departure to the Grange, not a single word has been whispered about Tiffany and Gregory. If your return to the ton precipitates any rumors about them, I will assume you are the source.”

“That is hardly fair!” The protest was expected. “How am I supposed to control the gossip of others?”

“By not giving them anything to gossip about, to start.” He gave her a firm look. “You already know your so-called friends cannot be trusted to keep things to themselves. If you hear a word from someone else, I expect you to suppress it.”

“And if I cannot?”

“Then back to the Grange you go.” Somehow, he’d make it happen. “There has been not a word about them since you left London. If the gossip returns with you, then there is only one conclusion I can draw.”

“Perhaps becoming a duke has made you paranoid,” she said, sniffing as she got to her feet.

“Perhaps. But I will still have your word on it. I am serious, Mother. If you interfere with my search for a bride, if you do not apologize to Tiffany, if I hear one word of gossip about her and Gregory, it is back to the Grange you go. And there will be no return.”

“If you insist, Sebastian. My goodness, how very dramatic you have become in my absence.” She did not actually roll her eyes, but somehow gave off the impression that she was, as she turned and swept from the room.

Sebastian’s stomach turned over as he immediately began to second-guess his strictures. Had he been too harsh? Not with the first two conditions, but with the third? Could she really be expected to stop the gossip? Perhaps it had been coincidence…

But no. She’d admitted she was behind the original rumors—which were no more than the truth, when it came down to it. If more began to spread now that she was returned to London, surely that could not be coincidence.

Letting out a long, slow breath, Sebastian leaned forward to put his head in his hands. He hoped he did not regret letting her stay.

3

Mei

Stepping back out onto the street, Mei gave herself a small shake. That had been entirely unexpected. For both her and the duke. What to do now? She felt as though she should be doing something, even though their meeting had not gone on for as long as she’d thought.

Tiffany.

She should warn Tiffany that her mother had returned to the capital.

But Mei could not disclose that she’d been at Bolton House. The duke had expressly mentioned his sister and friends in his concerns over confidentiality. So. Perhaps she had been taking a morning promenade and happened upon Bolton House. Of course, she and her grandmother did not live in Mayfair, so it would be quite a walk.

Perhaps the better course was to keep it simple. A confidential client, who lived close enough to Bolton House that when she decided to embark on a stroll after their meeting, she happened to see Tiffany’s mother arrive. There. That would work.

Her friend would be warned, and Mei would have kept her promise of discretion to the duke.

Squaring her shoulders, Mei made her way through the streets of Mayfair to Clarence House, which was thankfully not too far away. The walk was just long enough for her to formulate her plan of what to say and to think about who she would match with the Duke of Bolton. It was not difficult to come up with a list.

Mei often thought about who she thought would make good matches, and knowing Bolton’s attitudes meant she’d privately matched him several times in her head already. The self-satisfaction if he’d unwittingly ended up with one of the matches she’d made for him in her thoughts would have been supremely validating.

Arriving at Clarence House, Mei knocked on the door. The butler, Paulson, answered the door. In demeanor, he was very similar to the butler at Bolton House, but his eyes sparkled with warmth when he saw her standing there. She’d visited often enough to be known to the staff.

“Miss Hu,” he said in greeting, stepping back to give her entrance.

“Good afternoon, Paulson. Is Her Grace the Duchess available?” Technically, both Tiffany and her mother-in-law, the dowager duchess, would be addressed as ‘Her Grace’, so Mei always made sure to specify. Although she enjoyed the company of the Dowager Duchess of Clarence, that was not who she needed at the moment.

“For you, I believe so. Follow me, please.” Paulson turned and led her down the hall to the sitting room at the back of the house, where Tiffany usually sat when she was not officially available. The sound of a feminine laugh trickled out into the hallway, indicating she was not alone. Paulson stepped up to the open doorway. “Your Grace, Miss Hu is here.”

“Oh, lovely! Send her right in, Paulson, thank you.”

Tiffany’s delight at hearing of Mei’s arrival warmed her heart. There were those among the ton who would always look down on Mei and her grandmother for not having been born to the English aristocracy, but Mei had also found true friends. Despite being born the sister to a duke and now a duchess in her own right, Tiffany had always been warm and generous and seemed genuinely delighted to have Mei as a friend.