Erik’s permanently serious brow was sullen and his black eyes swam. I breathed in the scent of charcoal and tea leaves on his chest as he gently embraced me. He rested his chin on the top of my head one final time and his low voicesurrounded me.
“The Duke’s heir should marry you and take care of you. Youwill survive.”
The memory of Erik faded back into the fog as Mother placed her hand on my back. The Duke left Lord Hyton in the foyer while he raided Father’s wine stores and talked ofRavenwood’s affairs.
Lord Hyton politely stepped toward us at Mother’s behest. As soon as he was within arms reach of me, he inhaled and his eyes widened. My heart pounded against my ribs—he had smelled the rose oil on my chest. He threw his gaze back to the floor and I did the same, but Mother’s hand imperiously pushed on my spine as she led us into thesitting room.
Her touch conveyed everything her smiling mouth of lies couldnot—charm him.
As I struggled through the mental fog to form a plan, Mother twittered at Lord Hyton about the upcoming school year, failing to coax him to speak. She sat Lord Hyton and I in wooden chairs across from each other and made up a flimsy excuse aboutprocuring refreshments.
Charm him,what a joke. I was as charming as a nettle in a stocking. Mother, on the other hand, could sprinkle sugar onto a demand and serve it like dessert. I had neither her allure nor her beauty, and she somehow wanted me to charm the next Dukeof Lycaster?
The fire popped in the stone fireplace and punctuated the heavy silence. I tugged at a loose thread on my sleeve as I tried to begin a flattering conversation, but Father’s harsh words kept repeating inmy head.
Ravenwood lost half its sons. Our heirs were gone. The provincewould starve.
And I could do nothingabout it.
My heart jumped as Lord Hyton cleared his throat. He slowly took his eyes off his polished leather shoes and looked me inthe face.
“I am…terribly sorry for your loss, Miss Ravenwood,” he stuttered quietly. “I…I miss my sisters very much. I understand howyou feel.”
An earthquake in my chest rocked me out of the numbness and fury spiked through my throat. “No, youcannot understand!”
Lord Hyton froze. My chest went tight. My whole life of preparation to allure the heir was wasted with one burst of stupid emotion. Damnit all!
Lord Hyton’s eyes darted to the wooden floor and his cheeks turned red. “My…mysincerest apologies.”
I had to salvage the situation. I placed my hands delicately in my lap and leaned forward. “No, myLord, I—”
“No, you are right,” he interjected as he closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. “My elder sisters are about to be married in foreign kingdoms. That is not the sameas…as being…”
“Dead,” I finished. The word was heavy as a boulder as it leftmy lips.
He swallowed and looked back up at me. His freckled cheeks were still scarlet and he trembled like a leaf in autumn. I could not believe it, he was terrifiedof me.
I ran my thumb over the embroidery on the hem of my sleeve. Lord Hyton was everything and I was nothing, and yet he was scaredofme?
“You need not apologize, my Lord,” I said quietly, like I was trying not to startle a lark on a branch. “You have donenothing wrong.”
Lord Hyton let out a relieved breath and slumped over to lean on his knees. He reminded me of how Erik used to stoop when he was deep in thought, but I shoved the memory away and locked it behindiron bars.
I could not think about my brothers—not with the heir in front of me and the fate of Ravenwood onmy shoulders.
I added up everything I had learned about Lord Hyton—the flinch at his father’s touch, his stutter, and his refusal to look anyone in the eye—and realized I had nothing to fear with him. The famed heir to Lycaster was not a miniature version of his bombastic father like I had imagined, but rather a big-eyed bunny rabbit, skittish andneeding reassurance.
I bit my tongue as a thought sparkled in my mind like the first evening star—if someone could give the heir the reassurance he needed, what would he give herin return?
Lord Hyton would inherit Ravenwood when he became the Duke, could I use the Duchess’s position to ensure Ravenwood had everything it needed? If I became the Duchess, Ravenwood could have food, security, safety fromthe giants…
Imaginary threads like puppet strings appeared around Lord Hyton’s wrists. I pictured myself wearing the Duchess’s crown and whispering into those dark curls, cajoling him to fulfill myevery demand.
My heart pumped with a startling amount of strength. The numbing fog dissolved and a clear path to the crown appeared. My feet pressed into the wooden floor, my shoulders steadied, and I finally tasted a morsel of something I neverhad before…control.
And Icraved more.
A cool smile spread across my lips. My heart pounded heavier and heavier, as if I were encasing it in granite. I would not simply bat my eyelashes and hope the heir would marry me, I would go for his throat to save Ravenwood. I had to be the best option—no, the only option—when he chose his bride in seven years.
