Page 23 of The Duke’s Wager

What was he doing here? What in the world could he possibly want?

She stared at him, wide-eyed. For his part, Edward grinned at her brightly, seemingly unperturbed by their close contact.

Quickly remembering her manners – and protocol – she rose to her feet.

“Lord Edward. Good evening.”

Her heart beat wildly against her chest. He was far too handsome for her good senses to prevail. She held a trembling hand out to him, and her breath hitched in her throat when he touched her skin with his lips.

She could still not find any possible motivation for his presence. What was it that he wanted from her? Why was he here?

“My lady. It is lovely to see you.”

He broke through her thoughts and Lucy blinked blankly.

His voice had changed. It was deep, and full, with a hoarse note to it. The timbre of his voice sent a warm feeling through her chest.

“Is it?”

There she was – the Ice Queen. Coldness seeped through her voice, and she looked at him with a small smile. Edward, to his credit, did not seem intimidated by it at all. Instead, his grin widened, and he nodded.

“You look rather lovely tonight, my lady.”

She was not quite certain how to respond to this. It was the last thing she had expected to hear from him.

“I… thank you, my lord. You do look rather dashing yourself.”

She surprised herself with the admission. Edward grinned brightly and sat down.

He looked at her expectantly and she narrowed her eyes.

“What is it, my lord?”

He patted on the seat next to him with an innocent smile. “Sit down, Lucy. You don’t have to be so tense.”

She sat down hesitantly, still eyeing him with distrust. “I’m not tense, my lord. I’m simply… proper.”

For a minute, it seemed as though he was going to say something – and Lucy was certain it was going to be something about their time at the cemetery.

Edward seemed to reconsider his words, however, and he ended up looking down with a smile that almost seemed shy.

“You don’t have to be proper all the time, you know. It gets… exhausting.”

She sat down at the utterance of this admission, her eyes wide. Never had she expected Edward Lockhart of all people to find the protocols of these events to be exhausting. He seemed like the type to enjoy every minute of it – especially the attention he would no doubt garner from every available woman.

“You… you find it exhausting?” she asked.

She hated the edge of vulnerability in her voice. She hated feeling vulnerable, and she hated showing it even more – especially in front of someone like Edward Lockhart.

Edward, however, either did not notice the vulnerability, or pretended not to. Whichever one it was, he allowed her to look at him with wide eyes.

Edward nodded, glancing down at his hands.

“Don’t you?” He continued speaking before she could respond, his voice sounding heavy. “Everyone wants to best the person next to them. We make fake pleasantries, whilst hoping that we’re doing better than everyone else. We dance with people we have no interest in pursuing, talk to those who can make our family name sound better, and jeer at those we find less than perfect.”

He shook his head with a scowl. “We scream all hail the king, while gossiping about his health, and we sing about a war that was won, whilst ignoring the things that truly matter. In all honestly, I wish the season was over already.”

She had no idea anyone else felt this way – and she did not know why he had chosen to share it with her, of all people. Yet, she was rather grateful for it. Somehow, it made her feel a little less alone.