“Actually, she told me during our afternoon tea that she’d had her heart broken. It made me feel sympathetic toward her. I don’t think she had any idea that Mr. Murphy still meant to seek her hand in marriage. Theirs was not a sanctioned match because of the difference in their social positions.” He shrugged. “I’m happy for her, in a way.”

“That’s magnanimous of you.”

“It’s a victory for true love, with a capital L. Aren’t you thrilled, Miss Beaton?”

She remembered her first reaction. The bells chiming in her mind. “I’m sorry that it came at your expense. And that of your sisters. I’m no stranger to disappointed dreams, Your Grace. I know how much they sting.”

“Have you been disappointed in love?” he asked, his gaze intent on her face in the low light of the carriage lamps.

“Not in love . . . in life.”

She’d never meant to be sidelined, to feel like a supporting character instead of the star of her own life. It had just happened.

“You want more than being your father’s caretaker, and music instructor to a duke’s sisters.”

“As I’ve said before, there was a time when I wanted a family of my own, yes.” She spoke carefully, unwilling to betray the very real pain and longing behind her simple words. “But I resolved never to marry without love. And my chance for that is past now,” she said brightly. “I’m quite content with my life. I’m happy to be of assistance.”

“With your talent you could be playing the pianoforte onstage. Why not perform at the musicale I’m hosting? It may inspire a clamoring throng of suitors to beg for your hand.”

“I told you that I don’t perform in public.”

“Why not?”

“I wouldn’t want to outshine your sisters. It’s their moment, not mine. Look, we’re already home. Why don’t I have a chat with Blanche and Belinda, while you speak with Bernadette and Betsy.”

“That sounds sensible. You’ll know what to say to Blanche better than I would. When you’re finished come and give me a report. And bring me that list of duchess candidates.”

“Very well.”

“We’ll come through this together.”

“I’m sure you will.”

“We, Viola. You and me, and the girls. We’ll weather this storm together.”

He helped her alight from the carriage and this time, when he placed her feet on the ground, he held on to her waist for another fraction of a second. Enough to make her breathless.

He couldn’t know that his touch and those words utterly destroyed her resolve to remain dispassionate. He was paying her a princely salary to be his sisters’ companion and teacher. It didn’t make her part of the family.

And she’d do well to remember it.

Chapter Fourteen