Free A Little Bit Scandalous by Robyn DeHart Page B

much, though it is a ridiculous notion, since a single woman is not allowed to take in orphans.” It was one more reason why he and Caroline could not be. He had no business raising children. He wasn’t a good example and had no intention of changing that. He’d thought to try it once, and had courted a woman with the intention of marrying her. But he’d let temptation get the better of him and had come face to face with the truth. He was too much like his father. So he’d decided then that Monroe Grisham would not marry, nor would he be a father. The men in his family were terrible at such things.
    “This, I realize. And that’s why the board position puts her in the right place to help the way she wants, too.”
    Roe wasn’t so sure that was a good idea. The people already on that board would be so knowledgeable about how things in London worked. Caroline had such little experience with that. It wasn’t that she was naïve, because she was a rather good judge of a person’s character, she’d have to be to play cards as well as she did. But he knew she’d be eager to help. Perhaps too eager.
    “Of course, I realize this board position should fall to you, as my son, but I didn’t think you would be interested. Am I correct in that assumption?”
    He made no comment. He didn’t have any real interest in things that weren’t monetary. But he could protest the board position, insist he have it so Caroline might then return to the country where she belonged. Then again, that wasn’t fair to her. What he should do was demand she be reintroduced into Society and find herself a husband. He knew, though, that Caroline would never agree to that. He’d tried once and the conversation had not gone well. Perhaps, however, there could be another reason for her to return to Society.
    “She has her first board meeting today. I’ve already sent notice to the rest of the board members to welcome her in my stead,” his mother said.
    “Indeed.” He downed his second cup of coffee. “Mother, you know what Caroline needs to do is find a suitable husband and get married. She needs someone to take care of her, provide for her. Certainly she wants to have her own family, since she obviously cares a great deal for children. And time is not so much on her side.”
    “I will not insist she marry someone she does not wish to marry.”
    And he knew she meant that. If Millicent Grisham, Duchess of Chanceworth, could start a charity that made it possible for women to not have to marry men they didn’t want to marry, she would do it. She’d been miserable in her own marriage and never wanted another woman to be put in a similar situation.
    “You know I love you and Justin, and I wouldn’t change my past simply because of you boys,” she said. “But no woman should have to endure that kind of life. That being said, I do think Caroline would be happier if she found a worthy partner.”
    “She will not agree to such a thing, though. But being out in Society would give her the most access to eligible men,” Roe said.
    His mother was quiet for a moment. She tapped her finger on her lip, something she did when she was formulating an idea. She used to do it when he was a boy and she was trying to think of a new game for him to play in order to avoid one of his father’s particularly foul moods. When she hit on an idea she’d give him one of her impish smiles. And there it was.
    “Well, you know that being on the board of the orphanage is such an important duty and she’ll need better contacts, especially if she is to help raise any necessary funds,” his mother said.
    He bent and kissed his mother’s cheek. “You’re brilliant, you know that.” Then he left her alone in the dining room.
    He suspected the feelings Caroline had claimed to have for him at one time were long gone. She’d been but a girl at the time and had fancied him merely because she saw him as her savior. If she knew the truth about Christopher’s death,