"I never knew him by that name," Victoria said. "Perhaps he would have becomePatrickif we had known one another longer, but you must remember—I never had more than a few conversations with him. We exchanged vows, he brought me home and showed me to my room—no, he didn't even do that. He showed me to my lady's maid, and Elizabeth tended to everything from there. I expected him to come to me later that night, but the only person who came was Elizabeth, to tell me he had died. And that was all I ever knew of the duke. He's little more than a stranger to me."
"It must be odd," Allan said. "Knowing that his home and all his possessions are yours, I mean, even though you hardly knew the man."
"It's fortunate," Edwina cut in. "If he had to die, at least something good came of it. At least Victoria sees the benefit of his life."
"Yes, I agree it's a good thing," Allan said. "I'm just saying it's odd."
"It was extremely odd at first," Victoria said. "But now that some time has gone by, I've gotten used to it. I mean, I've been here for two years, so the house does feel as if it belongs to me now. I'm very comfortable here, and very much at home."
Her guests stayed for a few hours longer before eventually going their separate ways and heading for their homes. Cressida lingered as the others got into their carriages.
"I always hate to leave you," she said quietly. "I don't like the idea of you here on your own. Every time I leave your house, I think about how I'm going to be with Matthew, and you're going to be alone. It doesn't seem right."
"Cressida, you know that I'mgratefulto be alone," Victoria assured her sister. "I don't want to have someone with me all the time—especially not someone like my late husband!"
"I know that," Cressida said. "But I wish you could have married someone kind. Someone who makes you feel the way Matthew makes me feel. You deserve that, and it grieves me that you don't have it."
"I don't want you to worry about me," Victoria said firmly. "Please try to believe me when I tell you that I am happy in my home and in my life. There's nothing I would change. It brings me joy to know that you are happy with your husband, and I'd like to think you know that I amjustas happy here, even though it doesn't look the same."
"I'll try to trust that," Cressida said. "But if you ever feel lonely, please don't hesitate to come to Feverton Manor. We would love to have you for as long as you would like to stay."
"Thank you," Victoria said. "Having you as a sister and a friend means the world to me, Cressida, truly."
She hugged Cressida again and watched as her sister reluctantly walked away.
Victoria had been telling the truth—she really did enjoy being alone. She liked the quiet of her big house, the way her footsteps echoed when she walked and the way, when she wasn't making noise, nothing else was either. She like the confidence she felt that the only people within miles of her were her servants, all of whom were as close as family—she had dismissed those she didn't know very well or trust very much, and the household staff she was left with was competent and familiar to her.
She liked the fact that she could go into her private parlor at night and sit by the fire and feel like she was on an island. The lights were off in all the surrounding rooms—no candles or lanterns were lit, no fires blazed. If she wanted to leavethis room, she would light a lantern and venture out into the darkness like an explorer ready to conquer the world.
It had been just a few short years ago that Victoria had lived in near-constant fear, that she had felt helpless to overcome the terrors that plagued her. The fact that she was now able to get by on her own, to feel brave and confident, was a source of great pride to her.
She gazed into the fire, smiling. Cressida couldn't understand this feeling because she had prioritized marriage. And Victoria was happy for her sister, because she knew that Cressida was happy. That was as it should be. But she couldn't imagine wanting the life her sister had. Not when solitude was her greatest joy.
She was about to pick up her book and begin reading when she heard a distant sound.
It was the sound of footsteps.
Victoria frowned. There were the servants, of course, but they weren't commonly in this part of the house so late at night. She tried to think—why might one of them be coming this way? Perhaps there was something she needed to be told?
She set her book down and got to her feet to wait for the arrival of whoever it was.
But the footsteps didn't come to the parlor. As she sat listening, they moved right by her and continued down the hall.
That reallywasodd. Every member of her staff would know that she was in this room—it was where she always was at this time of night. And there really wasn't any reason for them to be in this part of the house if they weren't coming to find her. There were no chores to be done right now.
A tickle of fear began to spread in the pit of her stomach.
She tried her best to squash it. There was nothing to be afraid of, she told herself firmly. So someone was moving around—that was unusual, yes, but surely notfrightening. Hadn't she just told Cressida how comfortable she was with living alone? How could she claim to feel that comfort, and then moments later, express fear at the simple sound of footsteps?
There was only one thing to be done. She would go out and confront whoever was out there. She would find out what was going on, and then her fears would be at rest.
She strode over to the door and threw it open—And found herself face to face with a man she had never seen before in her life.
CHAPTER 3
One moment he'd just been standing there in front of the closed door, wondering whether or not he ought to go in and examine this room, or if he should leave it until morning. The next thing he knew, the door was flying open and a wild woman had launched herself at him.
He felt as if he was being hit by a cyclone. He'd heard that madness could give a lady uncommon strength, but this was beyond anything he could have imagined.
