As she continued listening and watching, her breath hitched at the sudden realization.
I love him.
She’d had little infatuations, crushed by either her mother or herself without even having left the ballroom. She had not minded those handsome faces fading as soon as they were no longer in front of her.
With Richard, it was different. It was a strong, heady, and frightening feeling because it was getting stronger every day. She loved simple details about him, such as the way he smelled. The way they fit together. The way he looked at her and Melody.
“Victoria?” Richard asked, his brows furrowed as he rested the book of poetry on the table in front of him.
He must have felt the way she was watching him.
“Is there something wrong?” he prodded.
She looked at him, her chest tight from her heart thudding against it. She felt like her face revealed all her emotions, and she was not ready for that yet.
“No. There’s nothing wrong,” she muttered weakly. “Nothing at all.”
Richard saw something else, though. He saw her eyes change while she was listening to him read poetry. Perhaps she was surprised that he liked poems at all.
He chose the poem well. He wanted her to know that he felt something—something more—but he was yet uncertain what it was. To read her love songs would be presumptuous. To read her poems that completely steer the other way was cruel.
Did she know?
Did she feel what he was trying to tell her through the poem? Was that why she looked like she had seen a ghost?
Richard suddenly felt a strong need to ensure Victoria’s safety. It was ironic that he thought he was taking care of her by staying away when he didn’t know her well enough. Now, the urge to protect her was stronger than ever before, but he could no longer imagine being separated from her.
Throughout most of his return to London, he had constantly been communicating with agents who had been tracking Penwike and his allies. He vetted every servant who worked in both his London and country homes, making certain that nobody could come near his family with the intent to harm.
But through his efforts to protect Victoria and Melody, there was one thing that he had forgotten to shield: his heart.
“Are you certain?” he asked.
“Yes, I am, Richard,” she said with a tight smile.
“I will stop reading for now and give you some time with your novel,” he said.
“Oh.”
Something fleeting passed. It was too quick for him to read that expression, but she gave him yet another small smile. They should try to do better at this. In the bedroom, they seemed like they didn’t have to worry about a thing. Their bodies often took over. Of course, he was the one who always held back.
“If you must know, investigations are progressing,” he said, changing the topic. He also changed his tone, from the softer monotone to his businesslike manner. Victoria pressed her lips together.
“All right …”
“We may have narrowed down the location of the seamstress in Soho,” he announced.
He had wanted to tell her about the updates, but he didn’t want to destroy the peace they’d recently found. There was a part of him that didn’t want to remember their troubles.
Victoria looked somber now. It was exactly why he didn’t want to mention the search. “Do you think the seamstress is in danger? Do you think someone is trying to hush anyone who knows about Melody?”
“I believe that someone is trying his best to cover up a scandal that can destroy his reputation,” Richard mused. How he was so certain it was a man might be based on a bias or a hunch. “Therefore, anyone who may be associated with keeping this particular secret might be in danger. If I ever need to go tothe estate to survey it, you may have to go to your brother. Immediately.”
Victoria looked at him, her face softening. She stretched her arm as if trying to reach him. He took it as a cue to stand up and approach her. Why were they sitting so far from each other? Was he protecting her, or was he protecting himself? Her palms rested on his coat, pressing against his stomach when he was near enough.
“I am a heroine of my own story, Richard?—”
“Of that I have no doubt,” he interrupted, closing his eyes to feel her touch more closely. More potently.
