“Joshua, Lucy is your responsibility.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Do you see how delicate she is? How slender?”
“Yes, Father. I understand.”
Lucy could not comprehend why those words still lingered in her mind. She had a feeling something was wrong, but could not quite put her finger on it.
“A husband,” Joshua murmured thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with two fingers. “Of course, Lucy. I will find someone who will cherish you. Treat you as you deserve to be treated. You need someone who will not leave your side when things get tough.”
Lucy flinched at those words. It almost felt like her brother knew about Daniel. But that was impossible, wasn’t it? It was probably her guilty conscience speaking.
“You will?” she squeaked, daring to hope despite her heartbreak.
He smiled. It was a slow and deliberate smile. The satisfied look at the end wasterrifying.
“I believe I have someone in mind for you. He won’t leave you, Lucy. Ever.”
Lucy should be pleased and relieved that her brother had agreed to assist her with her search for a husband.
Instead, she felt hollow and strangely… afraid.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Atomb. Stonewynn House had become a tomb. It was already late morning, and Daniel had not had breakfast yet. Instead, he had unwisely imbibed several glasses of brandy.
His mission to find the arsonist who had killed his relatives had sparked a fire within him. A focus. Usually, he would only sip a drink or two for the rest of the day. He had never aimed for inebriation.
Today was different. Everything felt funereal. His bedchambers stood in suffocating twilight, and everything was in shambles in one place: a tray with ignored food, ledgers and books, and paper strewn on the floor.
Daniel sat at his desk. His shirtsleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His coat and cravat from the day before lay on the rug. His eyes were bloodshot, and his beard had grown thicker.
Everything felt like the nine circles of hell combined.
“Damn property,” he cursed as he read a report about his tenants in Sussex.
Normally, everything was regularly updated. And it was, as far as he could tell. Still, everything swirled like dancing black ink threatening to take over his world.
“I want to get married and have children of my own.”
Try as he might, he could not get Lucy’s words out of his mind. He had calmly and coldly accepted her wishes and even offered to assist her in finding a husband. He had done what he thought was noble.
He would forever be haunted by Moses Gordon and his paymaster. Danger would follow him. In rejecting Lucy, he was leading her to a path of safety.
He had thought they had more time. That they would have more agonizingly brief, clandestine meetings. That even though they were torture, there was still hope.
When he had offered to assist in her search for a husband, the light had died in her eyes. There had been finality in her words and the way she had turned away from him.
No more trysts for mere conversation. No more kisses. Daniel had lost Lucy to his own obsession.
A knock at the door broke the deafening silence in his chambers and rattled the noise in his head.
“Leave!” he commanded.
The bellow he attempted was nothing more than a rasp.
The door opened, and he was not surprised to see Theo. However, he did not expect him to barge in with two hurricanes, Victoria and Daphne.
