Her gaze left his and her lips pursed. “Nothing at all.”
He pivoted them and shook his head. “I think I know you better than that, Diana. I can see something has happened—did someone say something to you to hurt your feelings? Or is it something else? I understand that you could have been reminded of your father or your…your daughter…”
She did not answer, though her green eyes, now dark with emotion, flashed over his face. But it was like she was seeing him for the first time. Like she didn’t know him, despite all they’d shared.
That disconnected expression hit him in the gut like a knife blade and made him want to claw her close and fix whatever had changed her expression.
“I want to go home,” she said softly.
He pressed his lips together. That was not an answer to his question. Nor did it explain why she seemed to hold him responsible. But itwasa request he could honor. “I admit, I am not particularly comfortable either, and my body is punishing me for all this activity. We could depart early. I’m certain Abernathe won’t mind, as I’ve completed the mission I came here to fulfill.”
Her brow arched and she said, “I’m sure you have.”
He turned her a few more times, concern growing in him with every moment. At last the song ended and he executed a bow. She curtseyed with the barest of politeness and then turned on her heel as if to abandon him on the dance floor entirely.
“Diana,” he managed through gritted teeth as he caught her arm and guided her from the floor instead. “What is wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said, perhaps a bit too loudly, for the eyes of some in the crowd shifted to them. She blushed in the moment she realized that, and tugged her arm from his. “Just a headache, Your Grace. Nothing for you to be concerned about.”
He shook his head slowly. She was correct, of course. If she did not wish to include him in her troubles, he was owed no explanations. He was not her family, he was not her husband. And yet when she said it, he realized how untrue it was. Her wellbeing was his concern. Her happinesses and her heartbreaks, her laughter and her tears—in the weeks they had spent together, they had all become so very important to him.
In that moment, when she would barely look at him, when she had pulled away from him in body and soul, he recognized why. He recognized, suddenly and powerfully and deeply, that he loved her. He loved Diana Oakford with a power that nearly dropped him to the floor and made everything else around him fade.
“Is everything all right here?” Simon asked as he and Meg approached.
Diana’s cheeks darkened with embarrassment. “Yes. I am just…weary.”
“I have finished my business,” Lucas said, somehow managing to find words when his mind was still reeling from the recognition of his heart. “I’ll take Diana home.”
She jerked, as if that wasn’t what she wanted, but she didn’t argue.
Simon wrinkled his brow. “I’ll go have your carriage sent around so you can say your goodnights,” he said softly, sending Meg a meaningful look.
Meg returned it, but her expression was bright and kind as she looped her arm through Diana’s and said, “I know everyone will be very sad to see you go. But I will expect you to join the group of us for tea in a few days.”
Diana cleared her throat and said, “Of course. I will want to return your gown.”
Meg pursed her lips, but maneuvered Diana to the group of friends, who were standing together on the edge of the dancefloor. Lucas managed to say his goodnights, ignoring the questions in the eyes of his friends. He had no answers, so it was impossible to address what he didn’t understand.
He was more focused on Diana, who was quiet and stiff as she said her farewells and embraced each duchess in turn. Meg was last, and Lucas heard her whisper, “Is there anything I can do?”
Diana looked at her evenly. “No. You’ve been lovely. Thank you for that.” Then she turned and speared Lucas with a long look. “Your Grace.”
He flinched. She had always switched back and forth between calling him by his given name and addressing him more formally. In fact, she was the only person he knew that could “Your Grace” him and not make his stomach turn.
But now when she said it, it was not a playful tease or a formal acknowledgment. It was a way to distance herself. Until he could talk to her, until he could be alone with her and really understand what had happened to change her feelings toward him, he wasn’t going to be able to cross that distance.
He took her arm and led her from the ballroom and into the foyer. Simon stood at the door, and Lucas could see that his carriage was waiting outside.
“Good night,” Diana said to his friend, then detached herself from Lucas’s touch and slipped out to the carriage to be helped in by his footman.
Simon stared at him. “What changed?”
“I have no idea,” Lucas said softly. “But I’m going to find out.”
He moved to join her, but Simon caught his arm, holding him steady. Lucas looked into his friend’s eyes. Normally Simon was playful, light, nothing but kindness, but now his expression was intense and focused.
“I almost lost Meg,” he said quietly, “because I was not willing to speak my heart. I feared the consequences so much that I almost created far more dire ones. I make up for it every day, but I will never truly be able to erase those months and years that I was not brave. Don’t do the same. If you love this woman, don’t lose that chance at happiness out of fear for the consequences.”
