That was the thing about Damien. Like Evander had been, his size and quiet nature had been enough to intimidate most members of theton.He exuded a natural authority over others. Unlike Adrian, who was never expected to step into such a role as Duke. That was always Evander’s destiny. His birthright. It was only because his life was cut short that it was now Adrian’s responsibility, and for the past year, he had been struggling to fill his brother’s shoes.
And it has taken me almost a year to find a single clue about what happened to him. Evander would have probably already solved this.
“You need to go home,” Damien stated as Adrian continued to pace. “It is late. You did well tonight.”
“Not well enough,” Adrian snarled.
“You discovered a thread that even the authorities had not known about,” Damien countered. “Go home. Get some sleep. In the morning, you and I will meet and discuss what to do next.”
Adrian shook his head, ceasing his pacing and heading down the street.
“To the devil with that,” he said with a glare back at Damien. “I have waited long enough. I am speaking with the Earl of Winslow tonight.”
Damien leaned away from the wall and caught up with Adrian with quick, powerful strides.
“That is not wise,” Damien insisted. “You are far too passionate at the moment. You need to center your anger and approach this calmly.”
Adrian shook his head, doubting he would ever be calm again. The loss of his older brother had taken away a little more of his sense of peace with the passing of every day. Now, all he ever felt was rage. Even when he appeared calm, he felt it vibrate through his very bloodstream in a constant hum. Most of all, he felt guilt for letting Evander down even in death.
“Your brother would have wanted you to handle this properly,” Damien insisted.
Pain shot through Adrian’s chest, and for a moment his determined footsteps faltered. He stopped and turned to his friend.
“My brother is dead, Damien,” Adrian stated, feeling another sharp pain in his chest as he said the words aloud. “He will never want anything from me ever again. He cannot. All because someone killed him and threw his body in a ditch. But how can he rest in peace if I do not find justice for him?”
A rare look of pity glittered briefly in Damien’s eyes before their sharp intensity returned. It was so quick that Adrian would have missed it if he had blinked, but it was there, and it made him feel worse.
“What do you want me to do?” Damien asked quietly.
Adrian turned and continued walking down the street.
“Go home,” he said over his shoulder. “And let me handle this my way.”
Chapter 2
“Ihave an exciting announcement to make, my dear friends!”
A hush settled over the room as Bridget Carter, the Countess of Winslow, turned away from the polite conversation she was having with the other young ladies at the party and focused on her best friend, Katie Harland, Marchioness of Harris.
Katie’s smile was infectious as she looked back at everyone and raised her glass into the air.
“I am thrilled to announce that my husband and I are expecting our first child!” Katie exclaimed.
Bridget’s honey-brown eyes went wide as her heart skipped a beat. Pain began to ebb into her jaw as she clenched her teeth together, trading her emotional pain for a physical one. It was better to do so than to show her envy. She had to be polite. She had toalwaysbe polite. Even when her heart ached.
Another friend, another woman two years younger than her—and married for less time—was pregnant. At three-and-twenty, now married for five years, Bridget had nothing to show for it.Nor did she believe she ever would, seeing as her husband had not touched her since their wedding night. It was not bitterness that consumed her, though. It was a sense of emptiness, of nothingness. It was the realization that, unlike her friends who had found love with their husbands, she had not.
Bridget pushed such thoughts away and gathered herself quickly. Now was not the time to dawdle on that. She raised her glass with everyone else’s, as she knew she was supposed to, and forced that smile she had learned to perfect so very long ago. She joined the others in the shouted chorus of congratulations, and as she brought her glass to her lips, she tilted her head back and drained the last of the spirit completely.
“What joyous news!” Lady Petra crowed.
“Oh, happy day!” Lady Lydia Cornwall added.
One by one, the young ladies who had gathered at Katie’s for dinner and parlor games offered their praises, and by the time it was Bridget’s turn, she was struggling not to cry. How long had she wanted a child? How long had she patiently waited for her husband to look at her and see a woman worthy of his love? Five. Long. Years.
I should be glad. He could have been cruel to me. Ignoring me is much better.
“Katie, darling,” Bridget rasped out, forcing a smile despite her misting eyes. “This is wonderful news. I am so very happy for you.”
