Elise stopped and looked at Deena, dumbstruck. “Haven’t you heard, Lady Deena?”
“Please enlighten me,” Deena answered her indifferently.
“Today…” the maid smiled playfully. “His Grace, the Duke of Windemere, chooses his lady for a private dinner.”
Deena’s stomach flipped so violently that she pressed a hand to it.
The Duke of Windemere. Austin.
The name alone was enough to make her knees unsteady. Her body instantly craved his touch. Austin had left his marks all over her as if she belonged to him and only him.
And she had let him and begged him. Now the clock was ticking, and time was up.
Elise was still talking, oblivious to Deena’s shame. “They say Lady Amelia has purchased two gowns, just in case. And Lady Ann’s mama is trying to convince her daughter not to fall for the Duke. But I think…” She leaned in, conspiratorially. “I think he has eyes only for one lady this week.”
Deena’s throat closed.
She managed a thin smile. “I hope all goes well for the Duke of Windemere.”
Elise’s face fell.
“I’m sure he’ll choose wisely,” Deena continued, but the words left a bitter taste in her mouth.
“Yes, Lady Deena,” Elise agreed, although she was clearly disappointed by her lack of enthusiasm.
She continued to pin and braid Deena’s hair in silence. Deena was grateful for the silence, but her thoughts began to unravel slowly. She was not ready to face him after last night. She felt too weak, too seen by a man who was blind when it came to the hearts of women.
“You’re all ready for breakfast, then.” Elise interrupted her thoughts, and Deena pretended to admire the elaborate hairstyle.
“Thank you, Elise. It’s beautiful.”
“Do you require any changes, Lady Deena?” Elise asked her gently.
“No, that is all.”
Deena waited until the door clicked shut behind Elise before she got up and sank onto the edge of her bed with trembling hands.
I am truly a scandalous woman.
This time it was worse than before because she had done something that she ought not to have done.
Before, she had been innocent, caught in a library with nothing more than a book and bad timing. But now she had chosen it. Chosen Austin. Chosen every gasp, every touch, every moment she’d arched into his hand and whispered his name fervently.
Dominic would be devastated if he found out. Deena groaned.
She could picture her brother’s face. He would show quiet disappointment first, then the slow burn of anger and protective resolve that had sent her to Paris the first time would surface.
“What were you thinking, Dee?” he would say in that terribly low voice. “After everything we went through to keep you safe? After I sent you away so you wouldn’t be torn apart by thetonagain?”
She pressed her palms to her eyes.
I can’t face him.
I can’t face anyone.
But she had to. She had come so far and lied so much just to protect everyone from the hurtful truth. She had to do it for herself and for Penelope.
She had to find Austin.
