Duke, Actually

by Jenny Holiday

“The one thing about marrying Marie that I was actually looking forward to was helping her with her refugee policy agenda. We’d even talked at one point about starting a foundation.” “Is there not one already?” “There is not.” “Hmm. I always think of the royals as doing good works.” “The royal family is actually in dire financial straits. Their family company, Morneau, makes luxury watches, and the market for those has been declining for a while.” “Leo has told me some of this.” “My family, on the other hand, is obscenely rich, and when I inherit the dukedom, that will be my ‘job.’” He sighed. “You don’t sound thrilled.” “I am not thrilled. I am, in fact, deeply unthrilled. But the point is I don’t need to work. I just need to bide my time until my destiny comes crashing down on me.” “There are reasons to work besides money.” “Right,” he said decisively, as if she’d answered a test question correctly. “What are those reasons?” “You said it yourself a minute ago. To have a purpose. For some people it might be doing something they believe does some good in the world.”