Derek shrugged. “Perhaps, but he taught me the value of being decisive. There were other drills, other tests, but none as memorable as that one. I’ve never hesitated a moment since, despite my father’s unorthodox method.”
Lucy swallowed. That was why Derek was so bent on having Cass. He’d already decided. It all made sense.
She stepped toward him. They were close, barely a hairbreath apart. “The Duke of Decisive,” she said quietly.
He nodded. “Yes. That’s exactly right.”
Lucy looked up at him and blinked. He was so handsome, so handsome and strong. Her heart wrenched at the thought of a little boy who had to choose between his favorite toy and his pet.
Derek reached down and tugged on one of the black curls that had managed to wrangle itself free from her bonnet. “Do you know how pretty you are?”
She inhaled sharply but couldn’t take her eyes off his face. “I’m not pretty. Cass is pretty.”
“You are. So pretty.” He ran the back of his hand lightly over her cheekbone.
Lucy shuddered.
“And your eyes are so…”
“Strange?” she finished for him.
“I was going to say unusual. Mysterious.”
She smiled lightly. “I suppose those are nicer words for it. Someone once told my mother I was a witch.”
“That’s preposterous.” Derek’s jaw clenched. “They said that in front of you?”
“No, but Mother told me.”
He cursed under his breath. “Why would she do that?”
“It was always clear that Mother and Father blamed me for… not being a boy.”
Derek didn’t say a word. He just rubbed his knuckle along her cheek again and traced the outline of her ear with his rough thumb. “I’m glad you’re not a boy.”
Lucy drew in a deep breath.
He leaned down, toward her. She held her breath. He was going to kiss her. She wanted him to. She wanted him to badly. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes.
“Damn it, Lucy. I’m supposed to be decisive in everything.”
She opened her eyes and stared at him, blinking.
“That’s why it’s so difficult for me to know how much I want you.”
Lucy glanced down at the soft green grass. Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes. She’d been mistaken. He wasn’t going to kiss her.
She turned away. That was for the best.
CHAPTER FORTY
Christian sat on the settee across from Lucy, his back ramrod-straight. He sipped his tea and didn’t say a word. Had not said a word, in fact, the entire time they’d been visiting. It was terribly disappointing. After all of his lovely letters and the ones she’d written back, Lucy had been certain things would be different between them now. How could they not? After all the witticisms they’d exchanged, the stories, the opinions, the jests.
She eyed him carefully, expecting that at any moment he would open up and become the clever man she knew from the letters. It was just a matter of time, wasn’t it? Perhaps he needed more tea. Unlike Derek, Christian drank tea. In large quantities.
He certainly was handsome. That much she’d give him. A more beautiful type of handsome than Derek. Derek was all rugged and muscled where Christian looked more like an archangel carved into stone. Oh, why was she comparing him to Derek? Why was she eventhinkingabout Derek?
Derek. Derek hadn’t kissed her yesterday. It was for the best. And if she just kept repeating that to herself, perhaps she’d eventually believe it. Cass was sure to be better any day now. She and Derek would finally begin their courtship. Lucy should be concentrating on her own courtship… with Christian. She glanced at Christian. He was still merely smiling at her from behind his empty teacup.
