Page 51 of The Duke’s Wager

“On one occasion, she allowed me to sit in their chamber as she prepared for a soirée. Her lady’s maid was combing her hair. I remember thinking how beautiful she was, how her hair looked like gold. We did not speak much, but I sat there watching her. She turned around and smiled at me. She looked so beautiful. Her smile was kind and warm…”

She opened her eyes and smiled at Edward. “She wore a beautiful blue gown. It looked just like her eyes, and I remember she told me… she told me that one day, I would attend balls and banquets. She looked happy about it. She enjoyed going out, she said. It was the happiest I’d ever seen her, but then…”

Lucy trailed off and the smile disappeared from her face, making room for unbearable grief.

“My father came home.”

The single sentence said far more than Lucy was comfortable with and she wrapped her arms around herself. Perhaps it was time to leave. Edward had seen far too much of her vulnerability for one day.

“What happened, Lucy?”

Edward’s voice was tender enough to give her pause – to dissuade her from running off like she had wanted to. He made it far too easy to tell him the secrets she had buried in the deepest parts of her heart.

“No. I don’t believe… Oh, what good will it do, Edward? Dredging up the past, walking through the awful memories of my childhood…”

“Lucy.” Edward reached for her hand, taking it in his and holding it tightly. For an odd reason, one she could not fully comprehend, it made her feel safe. “Tell me.”

She sighed before closing her eyes once more as the memories flooded over her.

“He was furious, my father. With my mother. I am not quite sure why. He yelled at her for looking too beautiful, claiming that she enjoyed the attention that would be lavished upon her. Then… he spotted me.”

She winced at the memory. “He became even more enraged. He yanked me up by my arm and dragged me out of the room, yelling at me, yelling at her. It was his house, he screamed, and we would abide by his rules. If we did not believe in his power, he would show it to us.”

She stopped speaking, overcome by emotion – and distantly aware of Edward’s comforting hand rubbing her back.

“I am so sorry for you having that memory, Lucy. That’s not… No child should experience that.”

She laughed wryly and shook her head. If only he knew. The laugh was evidently not as subtle as she had hoped, for he looked at her suspiciously at once.

“Did your father change? After your mother’s death?”

Lucy merely pursed her lips and looked away. Edward, however, would not let it go.

“What is he like now?”

She did not want to admit the truth. She had denied it for far too long to speak about it now, she had built steady walls around herself, and no one had gotten in. She could not let anyone in, she would not—

“Tell me. Please?”

His request was kind and gentle, and for a reason unbeknownst to her, the tears burning in her eyes started spilling over.

“He is awful.” It was a relief to finally admit it, and once she started speaking, she was loath to stop. “He does not want me around anyone he doesn’t approve of. And he barely approves of anyone. He gets so angry sometimes, and then…”

She burst into tears, unable to verbalize it. She did not have to. He seemed to understand her silence as well as he understood her words.

“Does he hurt you, Lucy?”

Edward’s eyes were wide and concerned, and Lucy looked at him earnestly.

“Yes,” she admitted in a broken whisper, her eyes not leaving his. “With his words, with his beatings… He treats me like a prisoner, an object. He treats everyone in the house like we are nothing more than playthings or trophies. I am so tired, Edward. I am so tired of carrying it alone. It is so incredibly heavy.”

Edward leaned forward and wrapped a steady arm around her, pressing his lips against her temple for a mere second. With his arms around her, she felt safe for the first time ever since she could remember.

With his arms around her, she no longer felt so horribly alone.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“You must tell me how things are going with the Ice Queen.”