Lina looked at the Duchess of Westminster with sympathy. "My dear lady, the problem is precisely that you are so wealthy. Think about it. Once you remarry and have a child, that child will inherit your duchy. Marrying you would be like gaining an enormous fortune and an entire duchy without having to fight for either. Do you really think the rest of your family would stand by and allow you to marry whoever you pleased under those circumstances? And would the Duke of Champagne dare to risk the immense pressure that would come with marrying you, only to end up meeting the same mysterious death as your late husband?"
Lina paused, watching the duchess's expression carefully before continuing. "If I'm not mistaken, your relatives have been trying to pressure you into marrying a distant male relative who shares your family name. In fact, if you hadn't left your territory and come to Tours, I suspect you might already have met with an unfortunate accident yourself."
