When he came in, Alice’s head flew up. She didn’t say anything, just watched him approach from her seat on the couch.

“Hello,” Miss Delafield said. “You’ve heard the news, I suppose.”

“I have,” Kit confirmed. “Cannot say I’m surprised.”

“Me neither. Harrison must be overjoyed.”

“I would imagine so. I haven’t seen him yet.”

Alice said nothing, merely fingered a button on her jacket. An awkward silence descended, and Katherine pointed to the entryway. “I should find my aunt. Alice, we’ll catch up in the city. Goodbye, Mr. Ward.”

“Goodbye, Miss Delafield.”

She left and Kit walked over to Alice. “How is your ankle?”

“Still hurts.”

He lowered himself to the other end of the sofa. “I sense that you’re upset. Have I done something wrong?”

She looked at him as if he’d grown two heads. “All of this is my fault.”

“Your mother’s fault, from what I hear.”

“I suppose, but everyone will be talking about her. About me.”

“Let them talk. In the end it won’t matter because Harrison and Maddie were destined to end up together. The scandal was bound to happen at some point before she married the duke.”

“She is so embarrassing,” Alice whispered, her expression miserable, and Kit didn’t pretend to misunderstand the person they were discussing.

“I know how that feels,” he said quietly. “My father is a well-dressed confidence man. While he didn’t peddle phony medicinal tonic, he fleeced everyone in sight for years. Spent my mother’s fortune, then drained the trust funds of my brother and sister. He has no moral compass, no conscience and no limit to his depravity.”

“I’m sorry.”

He gave her a rueful smile. “He left my mother when she started to grow ill. Started a new family out West with her money before she was even in the ground. So yes, I know a little about embarrassing parents.”

Her fingers reached for his hand, and she squeezed. “Thank you for sharing that.”

Blowing out a long breath, he shook off those terrible memories. “What I’m trying to say is forget about her. You are not your mother, Alice. No one could ever confuse the two of you. Not in a million years.”

“You are very kind.”

“I am only telling the truth. Remember, I said I’d never lie to you?”

“I remember. Thank you. For everything.”

That sounded ominous. “Listen, Alice. I know you said it would be impossible to continue our bargain in New York, but I have some ideas on how—”

“Kit, no.”

He blinked at her immediate refusal to hear him out. “Just like that? You don’t even wish to hear what I have to say?”

“It’s pointless. There are too many barriers and I think it’s for the best.”

Disappointment sank in his stomach. “Why?”

“We’ll be caught. It’s just too difficult.”