“Of course, there were plenty of times Peter dragged me outside,” he said. “My parents said I was like a ghost before he came to the manor, and I only came alive after I gained a brother. I don’t know if that’s true or not– I don’t remember a lot before he arrived. But he’s always been my best friend. He always dragged me outside to play with him. Sometimes we would stay outside until past dark and we would get in trouble. I tried to take the blame– it felt like the right thing to do when I’m the older brother– but my parents saw through it and punished us equally anyway.” He chuckled and stopped walking.
She turned to face him. “Is something wrong?”
He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. Perhaps she was getting better at reading him now, because she knew he was more relaxed than usual, even happy. The thought filled her with warmth. “Nothing is wrong, my lady,” he said. “I usually don’t talk so much about my childhood.
She smiled. “Something tells me that you don’t talk a lot in general, Your Grace, unless it is absolutely necessary.”
He linked his fingers in hers and stepped closer to her, until they were almost touching. “It only seems necessary with you, my lady.”
Her mind went blank from having him so close to her all of a sudden. She breathed in his scent and was very aware of his hand on hers. She could easily imagine how his hand would feel warm and gentle on her bare skin if she weren’t wearing her gloves, and the thought sent heat through her body.
He chuckled, and irritation pricked her skin, cutting through the haze of wicked arousal she was feeling from being so close to him. She opened her mouth to tell him to stop toying with her, but before she could do so, she heard him inhale sharply before stepping back.
She turned around to see him staring at the sky, which had gotten considerably darker. A single raindrop hit her arm, and she shivered. Mustering a smile, she said. “I suppose we could not expect the good weather to continue forever. It’s a pity it is raining again.”
The duke didn’t respond. His eyes were wide with a half-panicked look as he looked at the sky. He no longer looked like the self-assured Duke of Ice. He looked like a man being hunted by the devil himself.
Before she could ask what was wrong, Evan stumbled back several steps before turning and breaking out into a run. All Joanna could do was stare in confusion at his rapidly disappearing form as the rain started to soak her to the bone.
CHAPTER 27
Ineed to get out of here.
Evan was in a blind panic as he raced through the park. Every raindrop on his skin felt like liquid fire, trying to burn him alive. He was vaguely aware of finding his grandmother and exchanging a few words with her, but the panic consumed him. He could not breathe as memories rushed through his head.
His parents laughing. His mother’s hand was on his shoulder as he curled up beside her, feeling safe and warm in the carriage…
Oh god, the carriage.
Nausea rolled through his stomach. Small but firm hands pushed him along to an old boathouse along the Serpentine. He was no longer in the downpour, but it still echoed along the roof, filling his mind with a clattering cacophony of sound.
“Evan,” his grandmother said. She grabbed his arms, her nails sinking into his jacket. “Evan, look at me!”
He stared at his grandmother, but it felt like only half of him saw her. The other half of him was far away.
She started to rub his arms comfortingly. “I am so sorry. If I had known it would rain, I definitely would not have brought you here. I would not have left you alone.”
He closed his eyes, trying to focus on his grandmother’s voice instead of the rain, but it was difficult. It took him several moments before he was able to speak. “Miss Thorne,” he rasped. “I need to find Miss Thorne.”
He pushed past his grandmother and went back outside. As soon as he was in the rain again, panic made him seize up, as if his lungs were exploding.
His grandmother pulled him back into the boathouse.
“Find Miss Thorne,” he commanded.
Her brow furrowed. “But… ”
“Please.” He would never forgive himself if something happened to her.
His grandmother nodded. “All right. Right away. Just stay where you are.”
As if there was any chance of him going back in the rain.
The dowager duchess disappeared to find Joanna. Evan started to pace around the abandoned building, feeling agitated. The sound of the rain was much too loud, and if he didn’t do anything, then it would threaten to overwhelm him.
To distract his thoughts, he closed his eyes and thought about Joanna in his arms.
Her body felt so small and fragile against his, and he relished the feeling of it. It was so easy to imagine their accidental embrace ending in a different way. He imagined his hand traveling from the small of her back to the laces of her dress.
