“I see.” Leonora could scarcely wrap her head around the idea that the woman she was curious about was equally of interest to Dare. What a strange, strange coincidence.
“What exactly is this information are you looking for?” Dare nearly pressed his lips against her ear as he whispered. “Perhaps I can be of help.”
Leonora shivered, biting her lip. Could he? If she told him, would he put two and two together? No. It was just too unbelievable to guess at. And she had to admit, the weight of trying to discover all these hidden truths, while looking as though she weren’t trying to discover anything, sat heavily on her shoulders.
She could use a friend.
She could use a bit of help.
Her eyes met his. “I want to know if she ever had a daughter.”
*
Daughter?
Dare’s mind raced as he stared at Lady Leonora. So many questions flared at her admission. Why would she want to know if the duchess had a daughter? Could the duchess be connected to the Heart family? Wait... Heart, the rake of old. Did Leonora wish to know if she had a niece? All that her words implied rather stunned him.
Heart, Heart, Heart.
Always acting like he was better than Dare.Just what have you been up to?
Of course, it could be information about another family member that Lady Leonora sought, but somehow—call it instinct—that didn’t ring true.
It was remarkable that he had encountered Leonora on his ride morning ride at all, which he usually took an hour later inthe morning, but now he’d learned possible news that he was perhaps better off not discovering. He should have slept later.
“You have questions, I presume,” she whispered when he remained silent.
Dare scratched his head. “It’s none of my business.” He should never have offered his help in the first place. It moved them beyond shallow flirtations into deeper territory, and Dare didn’t do deeper territory with a woman. Ever.
“Oh? I suppose that is smart of you,” she said a touch teasingly. “So, do you know whether the duchess ever had a daughter?”
“I know she has a stepson, the current duke.”
“Oh, yes, I hadn’t even thought about him.”
Why would you? No, Dare. It is none of your business. Keep it at shallow flirting.“I can ask around.”
Dare, damn it.
To his surprise, she shook her head. “No need. That might just raise questions.”
Ah yes, true enough. “If you require my help, all you have to do is ask.”
“Likewise.” She didn’t smile, but the promise of a one hovered on her lips. “Help from a rake, now wouldn’t that be thrilling?”
“I wouldn’t know,” he said dryly.
She did smile then. “I’m curious. Does it not bother you that people—that I—blatantly call you a rake? I’d imagine most rakes are in denial and don’t care for the term.”
Dare shrugged. What was there to mind when he lived the very definition of the term? “Most are; I am not. And you forgot infamous—I am aninfamousrake.”
“Well, I daresay you shall have to marry one day.”
“A wife is inconvenient.” He lowered his voice even more. “And having me for a husband would be evenmoreinconvenient.”
“But you’ve never been a husband, so how can you know?”
“Trust me, I just know.”
