Page 49 of The Duke’s Wager

She was not going to allow her father ruin her mood. For the first time in years, she had felt understood, and that understanding brought her more peace than she ever thought possible.

She was not going to let anyone take that peace from her – least of all her father.

She would go back to the cemetery, Lucy decided, and she hoped more than anything that Edward would be there again.

A funny feeling settled in her stomach at the thought.

Edward Lockhart.

She never would have expected him of all people to be the one to make her feel calm and peaceful.

He was kinder, gentler, more vulnerable than she had expected and she liked him.

A blush rose to her cheeks.

She truly hoped that she would see Edward again – and soon. She’d go to the cemetery the very next day, she decided. Perhaps he would be there too.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“Again? Are you certain that it is a good idea?”

Maria looked hesitant, and Lucy folded her hands together in a pleading gesture. “Please, Maria. I beg of you.”

Both women knew, of course, that the pleading was not truly necessary – if Lucy insisted on Maria accompanying her, the older woman would have no choice. Yet, both of them also knew that Lucy was not one who would insist on something if Maria really did not want to do it.

“Lucy, you’ve been…” Maria started speaking, but hesitated. For a short while, the women merely looked at each other rather uncomfortably. Maria reached for Lucy’s hand gently before continuing. “You’ve been meeting Lord Edward at the graveyard quite a lot lately.”

There it was.

Lucy let out a deep breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, and her hand moved to take Maria’s hand in hers.

“I realize I have…”

Both women glanced around nervously. No one could be privy to this conversation. Lucy continued softly. “I cannot fully explain it to you Maria, and I know that it must look terribly odd, but Edward… Lord Edward… he is different there.”

Maria looked at Lucy with furrowed brows. “At the cemetery?”

Lucy nodded. “Yes. He understands me, and that… Oh, Maria, that is something I am not quite used to.”

Maria sighed and squeezed the hand holding onto hers. “Then we will go, Lucy. If it is something that helps you, that makes you feel better… of course, we will go.”

“Thank you, Maria.”

Only when in the carriage, the reality of what she had chosen to do hit her.

She was actively going to the cemetery to see Edward Lockhart – again. This was probably a mistake, she mused. She couldn’t forget who he truly was. He was still the man who had insulted her so gravely at the soirée; the man who had the reputation of being a ladies’ man in London; the man who used women like playthings. Yet, despite the perfectly sound reasoning of her mind, her heart guided her feet and decided for her.

He was different there, as she had told Maria. Before his parents’ graves, she saw a side of him she did not believe many people were privy to. It was her heart that begged her to give this different, strange version of Edward a chance – her heart that pleaded with her to get to know him better.

She did not have much time to muse over this as they arrived. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him.

Edward.

He turned when she approached him, and she could swear that she saw his eyes light up. “My lady! You are here.”

A happy grin broke out over his face, and Lucy returned his smile, hastening her steps as she moved in his direction.

“Indeed, I am. How have you been, my lord?”