That was a lie. He had no intention of showing Barber the glove. Just as he had no intention of sharing the list he would add the glove to as evidence. The one in his journal that organized every tiny shred of evidence that could possibly proveSelinawas the Faceless Fox, not some bored nobleman or angry footman.
Selina.HisSelina.
“Was that all, Your Grace?” He heard the tension in his voice, but hoped the duchess didn’t know him well enough to hear it too.
She shifted and her smile grew a little tighter. “I suppose it isn’t, especially since Mr. Barber isn’t here.”
His heart dropped. God, had the duchess guessed the glove was Selina’s too? Was she suspecting her sister-in-law, as well? What would that do to their family? To the fragile bonds he could see Selina creating with her brother and his wife?
“You have been spending a great deal of time with my sister-in-law, Mr. Huntington,” she said at last. “I would be remiss as a friend to her and a guardian of sorts if I didn’t speak to you about it.”
He blinked as those words sank in. This wasn’t about the Fox at all. The duchess was inquiring about intentions. And that was just as fraught a conversation, wasn’t it? What were his bloody intentions beyond merely stripping Selina naked and pleasuring her until they were both sated? That was as far as he’d ever taken it in his mind, never allowing for more, no matter how she captivated or tormented or matched him.
And now he had to take into account his suspicions, as well. His poor mind was more of a jumble than ever.
“Mr. Huntington?” Her tone was more concerned.
He shook his head. “I apologize, Your Grace,” he said. “I suppose I should have been expecting this line of questioning. I just assumed it would come from the duke.”
The duchess laughed. “Robert is observant about a great many things, but with relationships it’s sometimes impossible for him to see what is right in front of him.”
“And you haven’t pointed this out to him,” he said.
She inclined her head. “Not yet. If I do, he’ll decide to become protective, and that might not be the best course of action. I’m trying to determine what that is myself.”
“Well…” Derrick shifted. “I think I would be a fool to deny that Miss Oliver and I have become friends since my arrival here.” He drew a long breath to calm his heart and make himself use his skills to read her. “Do you disapprove?”
There was a hint of a smile that tilted the corner of her lips, a brighter quality to her expression. Happiness, joy. She liked the idea of Selina having someone show an interest. She liked the idea that it was him.
And his heart, regardless of everything else, warmed. The expression said a future with Selina could be accepted by her family. Immediately he regretted the feeling. What future could they have?
“I don’t,” she said softly. Her mouth twisted. “I wonder how much she’s told you about…” She trailed off. “Selina hasn’t always had the…the easiest life.”
Derrick caught his breath as he thought of Selina’s offhand comment that she had been alone for a long time. Her similar suggestion that in her world loyalty was hard to come by. Both those statements were on his list of reasons to suspect her, but they also sat heavy in his heart.
What had happened to her to make her think and feel those things?
It was as if the duchess read his mind. She shook her head slightly. “That is her story to tell, not mine, but the crux of it is that she shouldn’t have had to endure what she did. Perhaps she hasn’t always made good choices because of it. But I think she deserves happiness and joy and love more than anyone I’ve ever known. She deserves a future.”
Derrick stared at his hands, clenched before him. “A future,” he repeated. “I cannot tell you that I know the future, Your Grace.” He waved around the room at the piles of paperwork, evidence. “Obviously, I have a complicated life.”
“Everyone has a complicated life, Mr. Huntington,” the duchess said with a soft smile. “If I’ve learned anything in the past few years, it’s that. Even the duke and I had a rather fraught past.”
“You did?” He could not hide his surprise at such a notion. The two always seemed in such perfect accord, it was hard to imagine them otherwise.
She laughed. “Oh yes. Before we married, IdespisedRobert. I might have even wanted a little revenge on him.”
His eyes went wide and he stared at her. “What?” He shook his head. “I beg your pardon, that was rude of me.”
She shrugged. “I brought it up. And it’s true. I thought him the devil. And he is, as he’ll proudly tell you if you ask him. But he’s not the devil I once thought him to be.” Her expression softened. “And he is my heart.”
Derrick shifted. He’d heard other friends in love describe their objects of affection as being their heart. It had never rung true to him before. The heart had always been a muscle to him, an organ. It was only poetry that labeled it as more.
But something had shifted in him. When the duchess said it, it felt more real to him, both because he had observed her with her husband and also because he was beginning to understand the concept. Selina was making him a convert.
And he suspected her of being a thief.
He rubbed his eyes, wishing he could scrub away his doubts as easily.
