“Mmm. I certainly hope you’d find another stunning dress. People were talking about you!” Victoria gushed. “In a good way, of course. Everyone was wondering what inspired you to wear something so fashionable. Even Marianne thought you looked so different. Again, she thought it was a good thing.”
Lucy forced a smile. Her fingers curled around the reticule in her hand. Daniel’s note, albeit crushed, remained in it. It reminded her of their tryst at the greenhouse. The whole thing was still stuck in her mind, pulsing like a heartbeat.
A part of her was so tempted to tell Victoria about it.
But what would she say?
That Daniel had kissed her like he was starving?That
his finger had known exactly where to touch her?That
he had made her moan several times to the point that he had to cover her mouth?
No.
There was no way Lucy could tell her friend about that. And knowing Victoria, she would storm into Daniel’s house and demand that he marry her.
No.
Lucy had accepted his rejection. It hurt, yes, but it would be a betrayal to tell Victoria what had happened. She might not fully understand it, but she could not complicate his quest for justice.
“It was just a dress and nothing more,” she murmured, the lie tasting bitter on her tongue.
Her mouth said something, but her mind was back in the middle of the greenhouse, smelling jasmine and crushed herbs. “It was borrowed courage.”
What had happened in the greenhouse would remain their secret. One day, if she did get married, even her husband would not find out about it.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Another ball,” Lucy muttered.
It seemed like the ton was in a frenzy, hosting one ball after the other. Or maybe it had always been the case, and she was finally realizing it.
She used to enjoy balls when there was still the possibility of finding a match. However, Joshua had somehow tainted every interaction. She could no longer see these events as enjoyable.
The chandeliers in the Somersets’ ballroom had become the object of her deep adoration. They were better to focus on than anyone in the ball.
It was becoming more difficult for her to engage in conversation with anyone. So she lingered by the refreshments table, her fingers hovering over the porcelain.
Joshua stood only a few feet away, thankfully talking to some acquaintances. They were more likely talking about investments. Strangely, it was when her brother was focused on such things that he became less overbearing. At least, he was not following her around.
Well, he was still close by.
Lucy’s thoughts were so consumed by her lack of independence that she did not immediately noticehispresence. When she raised her head, it was as if her world had narrowed. She could only seehim.
Daniel did not make a move to come closer, but he was there. So close. He was holding a flute of champagne instead of his usual glass of brandy.
Curious.
He glanced at the iced cakes as if they interested him. But when he met her eyes, all noise died down. They stood too far away from each other to touch or even talk, but the look in his eyes was enough to unravel her.
He was a few feet away, but she could already feel his warmth on her skin. Images of their tryst at the greenhouse flashed before her. She had not truly forgotten, but seeing him there in the flesh made that encounter feel like it had just happened—wasstillhappening.
Their tryst had ended everything. Lucy remembered the ease with which she had agreed to his terms. In a way, she understood. There could be no future for them. At the moment, in the middle of a ball with many people surrounding them, they were in danger of revealing the truth behind the lie.
That was last week. They had not even exchanged words.
At the Richmond ball, Daniel’s pull had become stronger. She did not know if he felt the same, but when she moved to the balcony to escape the throng while her temples throbbed, he was there. He was casually leaning on the balustrade, watching the sky.
