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Julian held her gaze for a final, charged moment, offered a single nod, and departed.

The heavy oak door closed with a quiet click. Adelaide remained standing in the quiet room, listening to the crunch of his horse's hooves retreating down the drive.

Beneath her lingering apprehension, a new and steady feeling took root—a quiet conviction that, for the first time in thirty years, she was stepping into her own life.

CHAPTER 6

Julian's boot struck the marble step for the fourteenth time. He stopped, counted to three, and resumed his pacing.

You are the Duke of Ravensmere. You have navigated mountain passes in blizzards. You have crossed deserts with nothing but a compass and a half-dead mule. You can stand still on your own front steps for five minutes without looking like a fool.

His boot struck the marble again.

The morning was bright over Grosvenor Square, stretching in orderly Georgian symmetry while garden railings caught the sun and carriages rolled past with leisurely indifference.

A week had passed since she agreed to come, and in that time Julian had reorganized the library twice, dismissed Mr. Aldwick, engaged a new secretary who lasted precisely one day before his cataloging methods proved intolerable, and consumed enough coffee to make his fingers tremble.

He checked his pocket watch. It was ten minutes past the hour.

She is not late. You simply named the wrong time, the wrong day, or perhaps you have forgotten how to read a watch face after thirteen years of navigating by the stars.

The sound of iron-rimmed wheels grinding against gravel reached him before the carriage rounded the corner. He drew himself up, smoothed his coat, and clasped his hands behind his back.

The Ashbourne carriage pulled up before the portico, and Julian descended two steps before checking his pace and coming to a halt.

The carriage door opened, and his oldest and dearest friend, Cassian Ashbourne emerged first, tall and composed in a dark coat, wearing an amused smile. Turning back, he offered his hand to assist Adelaide.

She stepped down from the carriage with an unhurried grace, dressed in a soft gray dress suitable for the morning with her chestnut hair secured beneath a simple bonnet. She looked up at the house, at the portico, and finally at him.

Julian felt his breath catch in his throat.

"Ravensmere." Cassian released Adelaide's hand and turned fully toward him, a slow grin appearing on his face. "You look as anxious as a green cadet on his first voyage. Shall I inspect your boots for seasickness?"

"I am not anxious," Julian replied, keeping his hands clasped firmly behind his back. "I am merely expectant."

"The distinction is entirely in your mind." Cassian turned to Adelaide. "He has been pacing those steps for the better part of an hour. I observed him from the corner of the square, tapping away like a metronome."

"You could not have observed me from the corner of the square," Julian countered. "That is a quarter of a mile away."

"My sight is exceptional."

"Your imagination is unchecked."

Adelaide let out a low, warm laugh that settled pleasantly in Julian's chest. She removed her gloves, tucking them into her reticule with quiet ease.

"Cassian, you are terrible," she remarked.

"I am merely observant," Cassian replied, adjusting his cuffs. "Though I did caution you, cousin. I warned you that consenting to organize a duke's dusty archives would lead to precisely this sort of display."

"I was not coerced," Adelaide corrected with a faint smile. "I was persuaded."

Julian raised his eyebrows. "That is precisely my own assessment."

"Yes, but applying it to yourself renders it self-delusion rather than wit." Cassian stepped back from the carriage door. "I shall leave you to your labors. I have calls to make and a wager at White's requiring my attention."

"You are abandoning her," Julian noted.

"I am delivering her," Cassian corrected, inclining his head toward Adelaide. "Do endeavor not to intimidate her, Ravensmere. She is the only person in the kingdom capable of deciphering your script, and should you drive her away, I shall hold you entirely accountable."