Page 47 of The Duke’s Wager

“Nothing, Maria. We merely talked about grief, about… our lives, who we were…”

Maria shook her head at this. “But this is Lord Edward Lockhart! Something must have happened. First, he asks you to dance, then he visits you at home… now this?”

Lucy couldn’t help but laugh. “Maria, you are too worried. We both just happened to be there.”

Maria looked at Lucy with narrowed eyes and shook her head. “I find that very hard to believe. You say he was visiting his parents’ graves?”

“Yes. He claimed to do so rather often.”

Maria scoffed at this. “Have you ever seen him here before?”

Lucy shook her head. “I have not.”

“You see!” Maria threw her hands in the air, her concern evident. “You have never seen the man at this cemetery before, a place he claims to visit often. Yet you see him there today. After he took such great care to see you in the first place. Lucy, I don’t trust this.”

Lucy sighed and made a vague gesture, as though she could wave Maria’s worries away with it. It had been a mere coincidence that Edward had been there today and it felt good to talk to him.

No… it felt incredible. She’d never seen this side of Edward before. The Edward she had seen today was far more vulnerable, far more authentic. He had been real.

It was as though he was a completely different man. The way he had spoken to her, the soft timbre of his voice, and the authenticity of his words made her feel hot and dizzy. She could feel her face flushing at the memory.

Maria was still speaking, but her voice had become an unintelligible echo.

She subtly glanced at her hand; the hand upon which, not too long ago, Edward’s lips had lingered. The kiss still vividly burned on her skin.

This kiss was far more than a simple peck on the back of her hand. She knew this well.

Edward understood parts of her that no one else did. He too struggled with unspoken grief.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she barely noticed when they arrived home. Only when Maria nudged her gently did she snap back to reality and slowly climb out of the carriage.

“You are positively glowing.”

Maria still sounded concerned, and Lucy laughed. “Oh, Maria. Let’s forget all about Lord Edward. Rather tell me what you heard about Lord Scarborough and Mademoiselle Odette.”

“Oh!” Maria’s face lit up. “I hear they spent quite some time on the dance floor at the banquet and apparently, Lord Scarborough has been visiting the Toussaint home ever since!”

Lucy clapped cheerfully. “Oh, that is darling! I hope he continues to visit her, she is lovely, and he seems like a fine young man.”

Maria lowered her voice. “Apparently, there are some fathers who are rather unhappy with the eligible young Earl visiting the house of a French girl. Especially after the war. They believe him to be a traitor, but he pays them no mind.”

“Good for him!” Gareth Goodwin did not seem like a man who would allow others to make his choices for him, and she was glad that he liked Odette. “Oh, could you imagine if they married!”

The laughter on Lucy’s face froze when she turned the corner to come face to face with her father – arms crossed over his chest and wearing his usual grimace.

“What took you so long?”

Gone was the giddiness, the cheer, the feeling of utter peace and freedom. Lucy had to suppress a sigh and she cast her eyes down, avoiding that of her father.

“I apologize, father. We… the weather was rather lovely, and we lost track of the time.”

She winced apprehensively, afraid that her response would irk him more.

“Don’t let it happen again.”

As far as his reactions went, this was rather benign, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “It will not happen again.”

Henry’s eyes flickered from Lucy to Maria.