Hart leaned forward. “Lucy, you are a beautiful woman. There are a myriad of things for a man to notice.”
Lucy’s breath caught.Kiss me.But Hart pulled back and dug into the basket again.
“Try this.” He held out a small bite of cheese. “It’s an Italian variety, made from goat’s milk. My chef says it is creamy and a bit tangy.”
Lucy reached out and took the bite. Indeed, the cheese melted in her mouth. “Delicious.” She glanced at him through her lashes as he continued to pull food out from the basket and arrange it on the blanket. “Hart, will you tell me what happened between you and that Seaton fellow?”
Hart plucked a large strawberry from a bowl and offered it to her. “I was told these are perfectly ripe and sweet.”
“Hart,” she warned as she took the berry from him. “I won’t be distracted by food.”
“Are you sure? Mr. Bell makes divine bread. Try a piece with a bit of that cheese.”
She sent him a stern look. “Hart, please tell me what happened. Maybe I can help.”
“Like you helped by threatening him with the end of my cane pressed to his neck?” Hart held up his hands when she huffed. “Alright, I will tell you. But I guess I should start earlier that day. All of it pertains to my father. I went to the Earl of Blackpool’s home. He had been ignoring my invitations to meet, so I stopped by unannounced in the hope of catching him at home.” Hart plucked a berry and popped it into his mouth. After a moment, he continued. “I saw the Knot of Isis on his wall and asked him about it. He said they had a club at Eton, just as you guessed. My father had chosen the symbol to represent it, for protection against their enemies.”
Lucy nodded and tore off a piece of crusty bread from a loaf that had been wrapped in a colorful gingham cloth.
“I asked him what had happened to their friendship, my father and his. They used to be close, but years ago, they ceased socializing.” Hart looked out toward the tall garden wall at the back of the property. “Blackpool said my father had an affair with his wife. That he’d always known my father was a womanizer but that he never thought he would cross that line with a friend.” He blew out a long breath.
“Oh my,” Lucy said, at a loss for the appropriate response. She watched Hart carefully to judge his reaction.
He turned stormy eyes to her. “I know it’s naïve to think that ton marriages aren’t rife with infidelity.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But I suppose I had held my father to a high standard. I guess I always thought he was so upright. He taught me everything I know about being a gentleman.”
“I understand that. I have always held my father up as the ideal husband and father. Of course, a son would look up to his father. And your father was wonderful. I knew him to be kind and magnanimous to a frightened young girl just because of a promise to a friend. So, he wasn’t perfect, but that doesn’t change the good parts of who he was.”
“There’s more.” Hart grimaced. “Let’s have some of this champagne.” He pulled a bottle from the basket and two glasses. Then he uncorked it with a pop and poured the sparkling wine for them.
Lucy sipped her wine and waited for the more.
Hart took a long swallow, draining half the glass. “I was walking a bit, thinking about what I had just learned, when out of nowhere, Seaton appeared. He knew where I had been. He had been following me, I guess. He said that he’d been hired to watch over me. That the person who hired him felt guilty about what happened to me and that they wanted to prevent me from coming to further harm.”
“Who?” she asked.
“He wouldn’t say. Seaton is a cryptic bast… man. But during the course of our conversation, he said something else. He tauntingly called me little brother. He claims to be my half-brother. That his mother was my father’s mistress.”
She gasped. She couldn’t help it. A half-brother?
Hart’s lips lifted in a wry half smile at her gasp. “That’s how I felt as well. What you saw was my denial in the form of anger. I don’t think he would have hurt me despite his threats, but I have no doubt that he is deadly. I don’t know exactly what he does, but somehow, I think protection is not his normal job assignment.”
“Dear Lord. Do you think he is some sort of criminal?”
Hart shrugged and finished his glass of wine in one long gulp.
“I guess it’s better to have him protecting you than the opposite.” Lucy shook her head. This was a lot of scandal to absorb. How had his father kept it all a secret? She frowned. Perhaps it wasn’t. Perhaps many knew. Did it even matter if a duke had affairs or illegitimate children? “Do you think it is well known that your father had sired illegitimate children?”
“I honestly don’t think so. I feel as though I would have known or heard the rumors if that was his reputation. My guess is that he was discreet and preferred to keep a more spotless reputation. Perhaps to protect my mother. I think he did love her or at least respected her enough to not flaunt his affairs.”
Lucy bit down to rip off another piece of bread. Did Hart feel the same about marriage? Would he take a mistress once he had his heir? Their marriage was just one of convenience, a way to protect her from scandal. It wasn’t as though he loved her. But the thought of him finding pleasure in the arms of another woman made her stomach churn.
“Lucy, your expression is pained. What’s the matter?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.” She would not admit how upset she was at the prospect of him taking a mistress.
She was in no position to make demands on his affection. But he had said she belonged to him, and didn’t that mean he belonged to her as well? She would not share. Lucy hurled the last of her bread at him.
“What was that for?” Hart brushed the crumbs off the front of his jacket. Moving quickly, he placed his arms on the ground on either side of her, crowding her back until she lay down staring up at him. “I never can figure out what you are thinking when that clever brain of yours starts churning. Tell me what’s the matter,” he demanded.
