Amelia lowered her hand from the door handle, cautiously looking back at him.
He simply shrugged. “Or perhaps he won’t. I can never quite understand what that man is thinking lately.”
“Who are you?” she asked, her voice just a breath above a whisper.
Miraculously, he heard her. “Ah, forgive me. Where are my manners? I am Lord Lewis Rowley, Earl of Janesbury. Andif I’m not mistaken, you must be the newly titled Duchess of Stanhope.”
“Yes,” she responded in a hushed tone.
“I presumed as much.” Lord Janesbury strolled over to the hearth. “Are you hiding from someone, Amelia?”
Amelia’s brows furrowed at his casual use of her name.
“Ah. You’ll have to forgive me again. I tend to over-familiarize myself with others too quickly. A friend of Gideon is a friend of mine, after all.”
“The Duke and I are not friends,” Amelia couldn’t help but say.
“Of course not, you are married—” Lewis stopped as he seemed to read Amelia’s solemn expression from across the room and tilted his head to the side, eyes glittering with interest. Amelia wondered fearfully if she should have just held her tongue instead. “…Is that so? Then, if you will forgive me for asking, why had you been so eager to marry him?”
Amelia bit the inside of her cheek, not taking her eyes off him.
Lewis chuckled. “Ah, it is not my place to pry. Well, I must say that it was nice to finally make your acquaintance, Your Grace.”
“It is nice meeting you as well.”
“Tell me, Amelia,” Lewis ventured closer still, resting his hip against the billiards table, “can you keep a secret?”
“When I need to.”
His laughter rang out, warm and genuine. “I like that answer. I require your help with a matter that’s been troubling me lately, something I’ve been attempting to resolve on my own but cannot make any headway.”
“I’m afraid I—”
His face suddenly grew serious. “It concerns the Masked Rogue.”
Amelia frowned. “The Masked Rogue?”
“You know as well as I that Gideon is the man behind the infamous Masked Rogue. And if he continues along that path of revenge, I fear he will never recover.”
“Revenge?”
Lewis nodded grimly. “He has ruined the lives of several Dukes and Earls under this persona and he will not stop until he’s gotten what he wants.”
“Wh—what do you mean?” Amelia blinked and quickly corrected herself, “What does he want?”
“Retribution for the wrongs inflicted upon him in his past.” Lewis sighed heavily, setting down his untouched glass. “I understand why he does the things he does but, I fear if he persists, he may cross a point of no return. If he hasn’t already. And there would be no going back after that. Especially after what transpired with the Earl of Marlowe…”
Amelia’s body suddenly tensed up, her heart thundering in her ears. She worked to keep herself steady, but the mention of her father sent her thoughts spiraling and her nerves on edge. Lewis didn’t know about her relation to the Earl of Marlowe, she realized. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have mentioned him so casually in front of her like that. That likely meant that Gideon didn’t either…
Amelia struggled to find her words, quelling the anger that rose in her. “W-what happened with the Earl of Marlowe?”
Lewis gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Far be it from me to say.”
“And—and these Earls and Dukes were targeted specifically by the Duke? It wasn’t a coincidence?” she managed to sputter.
“Regrettably, yes. The Serpents. He bears grudges against each and every one of them.”
But what could my father have done to warrant his entire life falling apart?And my life. And Dorothy’s…
