“I am merely gathering information,” she said, annoyed that he would think otherwise. “Unless you have reason to be defensive?”
“I do not,” he said in a curt tone. “I am merely concerned that a scandal should come of this. It could put the dukedom in peril. There could be political repercussions, not to mention what it would do to my family name. I have a sister to think about.”
“Ah yes, Lady Thalia. I quite enjoy her.”
She saw surprise light in his eyes that she knew his sister. There was so much this duke was not aware of.
“Do not think I have nothing to lose, your grace,” she said, tucking a strand of wayward hair back into her bonnet. She noticed him watching the movement of her fingers. “My father has an academic reputation, as well as financial vulnerability. We cannot risk becoming the center of society’s gossip.”
He was silent for a moment, staring at her, assessing. “So, we both have much to lose.”
“That we do.”
For the first time, the look they exchanged was not one of distrust, but understanding.
“Someone wants us to feel isolated. To panic. To behave irrationally,” she said.
“Which is precisely why we must do nothing for now.”
“Or why doing nothing is exactly what they expect,” Evelyn countered. While they might share motives, clearly they thought about things differently from one another.
What she did appreciate was that the Duke of Ravenscar seemed to respect her intelligence, if nothing else.
Footsteps sounded beyond the door of the solicitor’s office, and the duke stepped closer to her.
“There is one thing the solicitor was right about. We must keep in touch and share information.”
“So would you call us allies now?”
He hesitated, staring down at her, and when his lips quirked, she wondered if that dimple in his cheek might deepen if he ever fully smiled.
“Reluctantly,” he finally agreed.
“Good. Reluctant allies tend to be the least sentimental and the most effective.”
He almost smiled. Almost.
3
“Asher, would you come for a stroll with me?”
Asher looked up from the newspaper as he sipped his coffee at breakfast, which he usually shared with his sister, for their mother was a late riser.
“This morning?” he asked Thalia, who sat across from him in the middle of the table. He refused to sit at the head, for in his mind, it still belonged to someone else.
“After breakfast,” she clarified. “The weather is beautiful, and I should like to go before Hyde Park becomes too crowded.”
He really didn’t have time for this, but then, he also knew that his sister had been just as affected as the rest of them by all they had lost and he had promised himself to always make her a priority.
“For a brief promenade, Thalia, I can do that.”
“Wonderful,” she said with a small smile.
Which was why, but an hour later, he found himself on the footpath near the Serpentine, trying his best to ignore the many gazes that were sent his way – more than usual, he considered.
Thalia received her fair share of greetings from some of her friends, and Asher grimly wondered how many were true friendsand how many wanted to get closer to him — a thought he would never share with Thalia.
“Are you doing well, Thalia?”
