Diana nodded as she eased into her seat. Oscar often talked about her father. She had heard his stories about their schoolroom antics a thousand times. It seemed to calm him, and she could let her mind wander as he spoke. Usually, that was a happy time for her, but tonight she flashed back to the attack. She heard in her head the smack of Lucas’s fist as he slapped the knife away and his grunt as he was punched in return.
Those memories returned with every breath, and the more she tried to focus on something else, the more insistent the details became. She couldn’t inhale without smelling her attacker again, and she scratched at where the man’s hand had gripped her arm.
“Are you listening, Diana?”
“What?” She jerked her attention back to her husband. “I am so sorry. I’m afraid it’s been a long day for me.”
“A happy one, I should think. You’ve been looking forward to that masquerade for weeks now.”
“Um, yes.” No point in telling him the truth. It would only upset them both. “Are you feeling all right, Oscar? You seem a little pale.”
“My stomach seems a bit tetchy. Whatever your mother put in my tea, no doubt. I think I’ll have some laudanum tonight. Enough to get me back to sleep.” His eyes already appeared somewhat unfocused, but that could be her own exhaustion.
“If you’d like,” she said as she poured him a full measure. If nothing else, she needed a night’s rest. She needed to make a decision about Geoffrey, especially if he intended to visit in the morning. Did she bar the door to him? Did she tell her husband about her suspicions? He wouldn’t believe that his own son would try to murder her, but didn’t he deserve to know the truth? Not tonight, obviously. She was too unsettled to speak rationally, and he needed his rest. But she had to tell him in the morning. He had to know that he could be in danger from his own son.
“There,” he said as he swallowed down the laudanum. “Now go get cleaned up. There’s dirt on your chin that makes you look like a naughty child.”
Her hand went to her face, and he chuckled as he pulled his covers up. She waited a moment until his eyes had closed, then she slipped out of his bedroom to head for her own toilet. Both her mother and husband delighted in treating her as if she were still in leading-strings when that was so far from the truth as to be laughable. But every time she tried to assert her independence, they chuckled and referred to any of a dozen tiny infractions.
She could hear their conversation now. “Remember when you appeared before company with mud on your skirts and face? Why that was just yesterday!” It was irritating, and she was furious that she had appeared so before them. Never mind that no one had asked why she looked as such. Likely they’d not believe there had been a knife at her throat, a ruffian choking off her breath, and Lucas the one who kept her alive through it all.
She stepped into the hallway only to be met by her entire family, hovering outside Oscar’s room. It was mortifying to see them all there, each looking awkward or anxious or furious, depending on their wont. Fortunately, Lilah came forward first.
“We came as soon as we could. What do you need from us?”
“Nothing,” she said. She wanted silence, not hovering.
“You cannot want us to leave at a time like this,” her mother huffed. “I am your mother—”
“Stop, Mama. Please go home.” Her words came out as an agonized whisper. Thankfully, Lilah understood exactly what she wanted.
“We’ll take Mama home,” Lilah said. “Try to get some rest, if you can, and send a messenger if you need anything.”
“Thank you,” Diana answered, truly grateful. The only person she wanted to see was Lucas, and he wasn’t currently in the hallway staring anxiously at her.
Lilah began chiding her family back down the hall. Her brother hung back, though, his expression dark. “I’ll speak with Lucas before I go.”
Diana wanted to speak with Lucas, not have her brother acting on her behalf. But she had no wish to have that argument now, so she held her tongue.
“I need to get Amber home, but then I’ll—”
“You’ll stay with her, Elliott. Keep her safe.”
His eyes shot wide. “You don’t think there’s any danger to—”
“No, no!” she rushed to say. “I just…” She wanted someone big and strong to rush to her side tonight, to hold her steady when she thought she might shatter. “Be with your wife. I’ll be with…Oscar.” Her husband’s name felt heavy in her mouth. He had never been a comfort to her.
“Very well,” Elliott said, his voice crisp. “If you need anything—”
“I’ll send a messenger,” she agreed. Then she watched as he reluctantly left her side.
Finally, she slipped into her bedroom, where her maid waited. She was quick to clean her face, then strip out of her gown. “Give it away,” she said when the woman tsked over the state of her skirt. “Burn it if no one wants it.”
She knew that someone would take it. The fabric was still good. It only wanted a thorough cleaning, but she could not see it without remembering. She would have it gone from her sight. She had just changed into her dressing gown when the knock came. She already knew it was Lucas. No one else would come to her now. Fortunately, her attire was respectable enough, serviceable for sleep but also enough coverage in case she spent the night in the chair by her husband’s side.
“Enter,” she said.
He opened the door but did not come in beyond a single step. It was because her maid was still in the room as she brushed out Diana’s hair. Lucas was no doubt maintaining his respectful distance as her servant. It was logical, but that did not stop the wave of yearning that buried her the moment she set eyes on him. He’d discarded his Lucifer costume in favor of simple black pants and shirt, and somehow that made him look even more dashing. There was a shadow on his face, whether from a bruise or the beginnings of his beard, she couldn’t tell. But she saw the hard cut of his jaw, the barely leashed fury in his expression, and—most seductive of all—the way his gaze took in every aspect of her appearance as if reassuring himself that she was whole.
