She remembered. “Because it is the very same man.”
“Didn’t he perish in a carriage accident with his parents?”
Alyssia grimaced, emptying the contents of the glass and setting it aside. “Apparently not.”
Annabelle gaped, her mouth open long enough for Alyssia towonder if she’d lost the ability to close it.
“So he returned then?” her friend finally asked. “Is he going to claim his title? What happened all those years ago? Wait, no, sorry. You don’t have to answer all that right now. You must still be in shock!”
Yes, well. Her nerves might never recover. “I honestly don’t know what to think.” Except she was marrying the man she’d always meant to. Be that as it may, the circumstances had completely changed. She no longer cared for her heart to be engaged.
“Did you get a chance to speak to him?”
Alyssia nodded. “Yes, but I don’t believe we were in the right state of mind to hold a conversation. He collapsed at the end.”
“And?”
“And what? I left him there.”
“You left him there? Stars, Alyssia! You’re going to marry the man.”
Her lips hitched upward. “You know my terms. Even though we have history, that won’t change.”
“But he’s a duke, isn’t he? A duke requires an heir.”
She couldn’t think about that now. Lawd, not ever! The man, even on the brink of death, was deuced handsome. “Well, there is still his uncle to provide one.”
Annabelle pressed a hand to her chest. “This is beyond...anythingI could ever have imagined.”
“Quite right.”
Her friend filled their glasses again. “How are you feeling about the marriage? I know you are still shocked, and you still wish a marriage of convenience, but this is your formerbetrothed. Betrothed again.”
“It’s hardly a betrothal.”
“Oh?” Annabelle raised her brow, sipping her sherry. “What would you call it?”
“An arrangement.”
“Mmm. The very definition of a betrothal.”
“Except for the word.”
“Which you are avoiding. Got it. Wait, what did he say to you being atthatplace?”
Alyssia scoffed. “What can he say? Both our lives took unexpected turns.”
“Ah, so he wasn’t happy then.”
Alyssia rolled her eyes. “Does that even matter?”
“I suppose not. But thisisa man you were once connected to and will marry now. How do youfeel?Besides shocked and stubborn, that is.”
“Ask me that tomorrow.”
“Very well, then, tell me this: How did he look? Handsome? Rakish? Short? Tall? Stout?”
“Annabelle!” A reluctant laugh escaped Alyssia. Trust her friend to lighten the mood. She hadn’t realized how much it had been oscillating until she’d returned.
