Of course not. Pride was one of Geoffrey’s biggest downfalls. “And so he assaulted you in anger and to make you pay him.” The words burned his throat as he said them. The idea of that blighter laying hands on Diana was the only reason he’d come out of hiding.
Diana did not deny it, which made him see red. But he kept it under control even as she tried to turn the tables on him. “I have answered your questions, now answer mine. Who are you to Elliott that he would put you in my household?”
He swallowed, still hurt by her blindness. “Do you not recognize me, Diana? I thought you of all people would remember me.”
He watched her eyes widen at his softer tone. Did she recognize his voice? Or perhaps the way he said her name. But just in case, he made it clear.
“I came back,” he said. “On the day you married. I came back—”
“Stop!” She turned her head away, but not before he’d seen the glisten of tears on her lashes. “Stop,” she repeated again. “That day is long gone. I have ceased thinking of it.”
“I haven’t,” he said. “I joined the army that very day. I couldn’t face that I had failed you.”
Her hand jerked sideways as if she were shooing away his words. “It was an impossible task. Three thousand pounds in a single night. No one could—”
“I did.”
Her head jerked upward at that, but she didn’t speak.
“I got all the money, but only by turning everyone I met into an enemy. I played deep and well, but it was not enough. I tricked friends and enemies alike to get the rest. I lost my honor that night, but I counted you worth the cost.”
“Lucas,” she whispered, his name voiced with anguish, but it still warmed him to hear her say his name aloud.
“So much money, but I could not have done it again. And three thousand was not enough to support you for the rest of our lives. I certainly couldn’t have protected you when those who lost everything to me came looking for my hide.”
Her breath caught. “You were beaten?”
“I would have been if I’d remained in London.”
“So, you joined the army.” She sounded as if she couldn’t credit the thought.
“I did,” he said firmly. “I had to flee. And you…” He swallowed and ducked his head.
“I was married.”
He forced himself to meet her gaze and say the one thing he’d been waiting to voice for twelve long years. “I’m sorry, Diana. I failed you.”
Her expression softened, and her voice came out with a resigned note. “It is done, Lucas. We were both fools to think it possible.”
He couldn’t disagree. Indeed, he looked back and wondered at his own idiocy. He’d believed that love would make it possible. Only a fool believed that love was enough. “I regret so much about that night.”
She snorted. “Might as well regret the rain. Only children believe that prayers will change the weather.” She pushed to her feet. “Nevertheless, I thank you. It is good to see you again, Lucas.” She extended her hand for his kiss. “Next time you visit, I shall greet you in the front parlor. A man of your station should not be down here among the servants.”
His station? It was below hers. He had yet to inherit his title, and she was already Lady Dunnamore. In fact, at the moment, he was presumed dead, so he had no station at all. He meant to ignore her outstretched hand. Whether she knew it or not, he wasn’t going anywhere. But he couldn’t resist touching her again, even in so small a way.
He took her hand, but instead of lifting it to his lips, he held her fast in his good hand while his bad one stroked across her skin. He felt her delicate bones and gloried in the warmth of her fingers. He felt her soft skin and wished for the millionth time that things had been different for them both.
And he had the pleasure of seeing her flustered, as if she were a girl of sixteen again, touched so innocently by her beau. Her cheeks heated, and she tried to tug her hand free. He didn’t release it, and she wouldn’t be so unseemly as to tussle with him.
“Lucas—” she said in a low undertone. “Release me!”
He didn’t. “Geoffrey will come back. Surely you see that. He is deep in debt, and his creditors are not kind men.”
“How do you know this?”
“I have been working at a place where such things are easily known.” He saw her eyes widen again and rushed to reassure her. “It’s not a brothel,” he said, though, in truth, there were girls, and what they did abovestairs was exactly what one would guess. “I work in a gambling den. That’s where Gus is from as well as a few others. They’re trustworthy and will protect you well.”
She shook her head. “I am in no danger. There is nothing Geoffrey can do to force my hand. Once he realizes that, he will mend his ways. He will have no choice.”
