“They were.” She hesitated. “Is there anything I can do?”
His smile faded. “No one can help. It’s only been eight hours since I received the news, and already I feel like I’m drowning.”
“Have you told your mother?”
“Not yet. But I will soon. We’ll go into mourning… as we ought.”
He sighed heavily and looked as if he might leave, but then Finnegan jumped up onto the bench, barking twice before collapsing in a fluffy heap.
Evander blinked at the small dog. “When did you acquire a creature like this?”
“Shortly after I married,” she replied. “My mother insisted I needed something to focus on.”
He bent down to pet the puppy’s head. “I read in the newssheets that your marriage was annulled.”
“It was,” she confirmed. “Given that I was deceived into marrying a woman, the courts found in my favor rather quickly.”
“Was your dowry returned?”
“Yes. Lucinda has been… oddly obliging. Likely trying to curry favor with the judge before sentencing.”
Evander straightened. “She must have been quite convincing for you not to suspect.”
Olivia huffed. “I was a fool.”
He looked at her seriously. “Don’t be too harsh with yourself. You’re not the first, nor will you be the last. The world is full of masks and misdirection. Entire novels have been penned on the subject.”
She scooped Finnegan back into her arms. “Your literary references are not helping.”
“I never claimed to be good at this,” he said with a faint smile. “Grief has dulled my wit.”
“Well, we’re a fine pair, then,” she replied.
Evander extended his arm. “Shall we walk a bit?”
“I suppose we ought,” she agreed, looping her arm through his as they returned to the path. “My poor puppy is good for only the shortest of walks.”
“He does have rather dainty feet,” he said dryly.
She laughed. “When my sister-in-law, Dosia, first saw him scurry across the room, she shrieked and said she thought he was a rat.”
Evander chuckled. “A very well-groomed rat, at least.”
As they continued down the path, side by side, neither of them felt inclined to speak. The silence, though heavy with grief and regrets, was not uncomfortable—but rather the silence of old friends, grieving together.
By the time they reached the south exit of Hyde Park, the late afternoon light had begun to soften, casting long shadows across the path. Olivia slowed her steps and turned to face Evander.
“I wish you the very best, Evander,” she said, sincerity woven through each syllable.
He tilted his head slightly, a somber echo of his usual charm. “And I, you.”
There was a moment of hesitance as she searched for words that might bring him comfort. “If there’s anything I can do during this time—truly, anything at all?—”
“I know.” He offered her a faint smile, one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Thank you, Livy. You’ve always been a true friend to me.”
Finnegan squirmed in her arms, restless and eager for attention. Olivia lifted the small dog with a playful lift of her brow. “Would you care for a dog? He is in desperate need of a more disciplined household.”
Evander’s eyes held amusement. “I must agree with Lady Wilton. That is not a dog. That is… something else entirely.”
