By the time Leo made his way to Aston Manor that evening, he was feeling a tad weary. He had grown tired of watching Emilia and Will make suggestive faces at each other from across the room. At a certain point, he was relatively confident that they had forgotten he was there altogether, and Leo quickly excused himself.

Stepping through the front door of the palatial mansion that was his family home, Leo instantly flew backward to avoid getting hit.

"Maverick! Wait up!" A tall, blonde-haired boy came careening out of the library and around the corner, nearly hitting Leo as he went. Langdon, the little trouble-maker, did not even apologize to Leo for cutting him off. He merely bounded up the stairs, yelling all the way.

Shrugging, Leo looked for the boy who he was chasing—his little brother, Maverick. But the nine-year-old boy was nowhere to be found. Maverick was not particularly fast, so Leo did not know how he'd left Langdon, who had two years on him, so far in the dust.

But then Leo heard a peal of laughter and knew that the two had found each other again. Smiling, Leo could not help but wander upstairs to see what they were up to.

Upon entering the nursery, Leo noticed that Maverick's tight-laced governess was nowhere to be seen. That was not a good indication. In her absence, it appeared that the boys had stripped nearly all the bedding from the east wing of the house and draped it across Maverick's chamber.

All Leo could see was the cloth-covered shape where he knew some chairs to be, with books balanced precariously on top to hold the bedclothes in place over them.

Those crafty boys had created a massive tent in the middle of Maverick's bedchamber.

Dropping down on all fours, Leo made his way beneath the draped bedclothes and toward the sounds of laughter. It had already begun to grow dark outside, which made it difficult to see beneath the makeshift fort, but Leo soon made out two small figures in the dusky room. Propped on three giant pillows, was his brother Maverick, and beside him sat a cross-legged Langdon.

"Leo!" Maverick exclaimed and began to scoot his way toward him, but Leo put his hand out.

"Careful, there, Mav. We don't want you to topple this whole thing down."

"I believe you'll be the one to topple this down, Lord F," Langdon pointed out, his mischievous smile bright in the lowly lit space.

"I am being careful," Leo protested, his head tilted at an angle so that it wouldn't disrupt the careful balance that was a blanket castle made by children. "Unlike you downstairs, Langdon."

Langdon's eyes grew wide, and he hastily looked away, causing Leo to chuckle.

"Do not tell mother about this, Leo," Maverick interrupted, looking at Leo with his pleading eyes. His words came out a little muffled, getting caught on his tongue like they usually did, but Leo understood what he meant to say.

"I will not tell her," Leo promised. "She is too old for the fright it would give her."

Their mother, Lady Aston, was rather old, which was why everyone was surprised when she grew pregnant with Mav. Some of the doctors reckoned, though, that her late age might have been the cause of Maverick's condition.

"As long as you both promise me that you will be safe?" Leo gave a pointed look at Langdon, the one he was truly directing that question to. Maverick would do anything that Langdon said to.

Langdon nodded quickly.

"Good," Leo said. "I have to go talk to the Marchioness."

Maverick's eyebrows shot up. "I thought you weren't going to tell her."

Leo chuckled. "I shall not talk to her about this. Mother and father have been invited to a ball by my good friends, Will and Emilia."

"I wish I was old enough to go to a ball," Langdon lamented. Leo realized that he was starting to reach that age when boys noticed girls—the awkward period when they did not understand their body and what it told them.

"Me too!" Maverick pipped up.

Leo tried not to frown. "Maybe one day, Mav. Maybe one day."

But as Leo crawled from the tent, he knew that day would likely never come.

Wandering back downstairs, Leo looked for his mother. When she wasn't in her usual spots in the library or the parlor, Leo switched his search, instead knocking on the door to his father's study. He heard the man's faint voice permitting him to enter through the sturdy oak door and pushed his way inside.

Lord Aston sat behind his desk, the size of which took up most of the room. The piece of furniture was his lordship's favorite, with wooden inlets creating intricate patterns across the top of the desk and golden fleur-de-lis detailing on the sides. The rest of the study was considerably less impressive, with rows of books placed on plain-faced wooden shelves and simple mahogany-colored leather chairs scattered about.

Leo's father looked up from whatever piece of parchment he was studying, moving his spectacles from the bridge of his long nose. The marquess appeared as tired as Leo felt. Though his clothes were as immaculate as ever, his cerulean eyes were bloodshot.

"Ah, Leo. I was not expecting you to come by today."

Although Leo had his own townhome on the other side of Hyde Park, he visited Aston Manor at least several times a week. He was not, however, often very good at announcing his visits ahead of time.

"I have an invitation for you and mother. Emilia, Lady Trotten, is hosting her first ball."

His father nodded. "You know, there are people who will deliver such things."

Leo shrugged. "I wished to see Mav. Where is mother?"

"Resting," his father said. "Maverick and Langdon wore her out today."

"Where is the governess?" Leo wondered.

His father sighed deeply, rubbing his eyes before answering Leo. "She quit. She decided she was not comfortable working with a child like..."

His voice wavered, and Leo finished the sentence, his voice sounding wooden. "A child like Maverick."

His father nodded, and Leo shook his head. "Was it something Mav did?"

A small, sad smile formed on the face of his father. "You know as well as I that it is because of what Maverick is. Not anything that he did."

Leo swore, striding across the room toward his father and dropping into one of the armchairs facing his desk. The leather squeaked beneath him as he sat, and Leo let the soft cushions envelop him. "I can stay here for a while," he said. "Help Maverick with his lessons."

"The governess said that she taught him the same lesson for one whole month, and he barely learned the concept. I am not sure what you will do to help, Leo."

Tilting his head to the side, Leo replied, "Maybe she did not go about it the right way."

Lord Aston leaned back into his chair as he ran his fingers through his silver-blonde hair. "I suppose it would not hurt. But I do not want for you to move in and take all your time on your brother. Parliament sessions are approaching, and you need to find a wife."

"Maverick is more important than both of those things," Leo scoffed. He knew how crucial it was to his father that they continued with an appearance that nothing was wrong and attended to their duties, but Leo had never cared much for that.

"You need an heir, Leo," his father replied with a pointed look. "We cannot let our titles go to that blasted cousin of mine."

Leo could not help but laugh a little at that, even though he knew his father was dead serious. "If all you want is for me to have a son, I do not need a wife to make that happen," Leo said.

He shot the pointed look back at his father, who subsequently appeared unamused.

"You know that will not work, son."

"Yes, fine," Leo agreed. "But I do not wish for a wife yet. Why does everyone believe I need a wife?"

Leo's father crossed his arms over his chest, drawling. "I do not care who the damn woman is, I merely wish for you to marry her and produce a son."

Leo paused. "You do not care who she is?"

His father unfolded his arms again. He glanced back down at the parchment on his desk, shaking his head as he did so. "Couldn't care less," he muttered.

"So, you'd be content if I married someone untitled?"

A shrug. "Sure. You have your own title, do you not?"

"A poor country maiden?"

"Yes, fine. You have your own money."

"A scandalous actress?"

"As long as she isn't barren."

"What about a scullery maid?"

His father glanced upward. "Scullery maids are often quite young. So no, I do not think that would be the best choice."

Leo laughed. "You really dislike that cousin of yours, don't you?" he asked.

"More than anything. You know the things he has said about Maverick."

Leo sobered, the smile falling from his face.

"So it is a good thing that Lady Trotten is hosting this ball. You can find your wife," his father went on. A sly smirk appeared on the man's face as he looked at Leo. "I am not certain if there will be any country maidens there, but I am quite confident we can find someone who will tolerate you."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Tolerate me? The women love me, father."

"Good. So my request should not be too difficult. I know you might think this a game, but it isn't to me, Leo."

Leo nodded, not knowing what to say. He did not wish to let down his father. But he also absolutely did not want a wife.