Her smile widened. “It was only three days.”
“It felt significantly longer.” The words slipped out before he could reconsider them.
Something softened briefly in her expression. “Was the town truly that terrible?”
“Far worse.”
“How tragic.”
“I suffered greatly!”
Anne laughed quietly, and the sound hit him with surprising force. She looked different than when he had left, not enough that anyone else would necessarily notice, but he did. There was color in her face and a confidence in the way she carried herself.
She also looked exhausted.
“Have you slept at all?” he asked.
Anne blinked. “That is an odd question.”
“It is a reasonable question.”
A faint flush crept into her cheeks.
Dorian folded his arms. “Anne.”
“I have been busy.”
“You look tired.”
“I am perfectly capable of deciding when to sleep. Besides, I have had company, and she rather likes keeping me awake.”
The exchange felt so natural that neither of them noticed the said company approaching until she spoke.
“Good Lord.”
Both turned to see her standing several feet away, watching them with open amusement.
“Now I understand everything.”
Anne immediately looked horrified. “Eleanor.”
“What?” Eleanor lifted her hands innocently. “I have never witnessed two people flirt so aggressively while pretending not to.”
“We are not flirting.”
“You absolutely are.”
Dorian laughed. Anne looked as though she wanted the ground to open beneath her feet and swallow her whole.
Eleanor turned toward him. “I should properly introduce myself before Anne decides murder is the only solution.”
Dorian bowed politely. “Duchess.”
“Duke.”
Her smile was warm, far warmer than the cautious politeness he had expected. Anne had clearly spoken well about him.
The realization stirred an oddly satisfying feeling. For reasons he could not entirely explain, it felt remarkably good to be home.
