“Oh, Lucien,” she whispered. “I did. I assure you, I did.”
He caught his breath. There was something so real in what she said. Like she had truly suffered for her choices, the same way he had suffered for them.
“Elise,” he whispered.
But she looked past him rather than letting him in. She looked toward the house, and he saw her face crumple even further. “I see that Kirkford is looking for me,” she said. “Goodnight, Lucien.”
She pulled from his touch and walked away without a backward glance. He watched her go, incapable of following, incapable of stopping her.
But when she was gone, he at last caught his breath. There was something more going on here. Something more than he had ever understood before. And now he wanted to know what that was. He wanted the answers he’d never dared seek before, ones he thought he’d known all these years.
But he had no idea if that search would send him spiraling out of control…or send him home to the only woman who had ever held his heart.
Elise sat stiffly in Ambrose’s carriage as they made their way home. She had been lucky the new duke had suffered a headache that had forced them from the ball early.
Still, she couldn’t stop thinking of Stenfax on the terrace. He had reached out to her and she had said too much, she had tried to make some kind of excuse for herself. She had told him of her suffering. As if that mattered. She had done what she’d done. The why of it wouldn’t help anyone.
“Well, Elise,” Ambrose said, drawing her attention to him, away from the troubling thoughts of her encounter with Stenfax. “I hope tonight has helped you understand how very alone you are now.”
She pinched her lips and fought the urge to bark out a humorless laugh. Somehow she didn’t think this feckless buffoon would appreciate that. “I already knew that, Ambrose, I assure you.”
He leaned closer, and he was all but looking down her dress as he did so. “You don’t have to be in a precarious position, Elise. You could stay right in your home, you could even find yourself with a bit of pin money again. You just have to givemesomething in return.”
Elise’s stomach turned. And there it was, spoken out loud at last. Ambrose wanted her to be his mistress. And wasn’t that what she was looking for herself, a powerful protector? Except the very idea of bedding her hated husband’s equally hated cousin was disgusting beyond measure. The street itself was more appealing.
The carriage pulled into her drive and Elise edged toward the door. “Let me make this clear to you, Ambrose. No. Never. I wouldnevertrade myself for your house and your protection. Good night.”
She fled the carriage before he could react, but she heard his salty curse, hurtled at her as the carriage pulled away into the darkness.
For a moment, she stood in her drive, trying to calm herself, trying to catch her breath. But it was impossible. Ambrose was right that tonight had proven just how alone she was in the world.
And it had also shown her that being alone was more dangerous now than ever. She had to move forward with her plan to escape this man, this house, and to escape the tangled feelings that Stenfax inspired in her.
Ones that would lead to nothing but more pain and more ruin for them both.
Chapter Eight
Stenfax swung off his horse and looked up at his mother’s London home as a groom came rushing down to take his mount. He let out a long sigh. He wasn’t looking forward to this. But it had to be done.
Her butler opened the door as Lucien came up the steps two by two. “Good afternoon, my lord,” he said, taking Stenfax’s hat and gloves.
“Hello Riley,” he said. “Are my mother and sister in residence?”
“They’re taking tea in the west parlor, my lord. Shall I announce you?”
“No need,” Stenfax said, smiling at the man before he moved down the hall.
He heard their voices as he approached. Their mother, soft and slightly silly, Felicity’s voice bright and intelligent. As he entered the chamber, both of them turned, and there were two reactions. His mother’s face lit up with pleasure, Felicity’s tightened with pain and caution.
“Good afternoon,” Stenfax said as his mother hurried over. He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Oh, it looks like I’ve come just at the end of tea.”
Lady Stenfax shook her head. “I’ll call for more. We’d love to have you, wouldn’t we Felicity?”
Felicity got to her feet and faced Stenfax fully, her hands folded in front of her. “If that is what the earl desires. It seems he does whatever he’d like anyway.”
Their mother jerked her face toward Felicity. “What are you talking about?”
Stenfax glared at Felicity and then patted his mother’s arm reassuringly. “We had a little disagreement last night, Mama, nothing more. I came to talk to Felicity, actually. Perhaps we could go to the music room and chat?”
