Page 85 of The Duke’s Wager

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

She loved him. She loved him as he loved her, Edward was certain of this. Though she had not said it yet, he could see it in her eyes – those beautiful aquamarine orbs. His hands trembled as he took the box off his nightstand. Once again, he opened it to look at the delicate necklace inside.

It truly was the perfect gift. He knew that Lucy would be touched by it – even more so if he told her where it came from. The necklace had belonged to his mother, and Edward had sworn that no woman would ever be good enough to wear it.

That, however, was before he had gotten to know Lucy.

She would do it justice. He knew that.

“Lucy… you know that I love you. I’ve said this— No!” Edward shook his head at himself. He could not remind her that he’d already admitted his love to her. That would only serve to make her feel pressured to return the sentiment. Of course, he wanted her to return his love, of course, he wanted to hear her say it, but he wanted to hear it because it was true, not because she felt obligated to say it.

“Lucy… This necklace belonged to my mother. Only one other woman is worthy of wearing it, and that is you— No! She’s not my mother. I don’t want her to believe I think of her that way!”

Why was this so impossibly difficult?

“Lucy, I…”

The words froze on his lips when he caught sight of her, making her way towards him through the crowds. He thought that she’d looked beautiful in the blue gown she had worn at the opera or the simple white dress she had worn to their last meeting at the cemetery.

None of these dresses, however, had prepared him for the vision she turned out to be in red. She had dazzled him upon her entrance, but the second glimpse of her was even more powerful than the first. She looked like the mythical phoenix rising from the flames.

She looked fierce and beautiful and strong, as though she could destroy anything in her path. Edward smiled to himself at the thought. Lucy, he knew, was not destructive by nature. However, he hoped that she was willing to destroy all in the path of their love.

His hands trembled as she reached him, and he took her hand gently.

Why did he feel like a young boy talking to a pretty girl for the first time? He knew that Lucy cared for him as he cared for her. They had been honest with each other… for the most part.

“My lady, will you come with me?”

To his surprise, Lucy did not answer. She merely nodded with a small, terse smile. Did something happen while he had gone to fetch the gift?

Edward’s heart dropped to his stomach. It could only be one thing. Her father.

He had left her to fend for herself, and he knew what her father was like, knew what the man thought of him.

Still, despite her visible agitation, she followed him to a small room at the far end of the house. The door had barely closed behind them when Edward pulled Lucy into his embrace, wanting nothing more than to kiss her again, to feel her melt into him as she had done before.

To his surprise, Lucy did not fully reciprocate. Though she allowed his kiss, she did not return it. Instead, she remained rigid in his embrace.

Edward released her and took an uncomfortable step back. What was it that her father had said to her that had this effect on her? He now took his time to truly look at her. She was ghostly pale, and her lips were pursed together angrily.

She looked every bit the Ice Queen that he had come to know she was not.

“Lucy, my darling… Did your father say something to bother you?”

“No. My father said nothing.”

“Then…” Edward was at a complete loss. If not her father, what could it possibly have been that upset her so? She looked like a stranger – not at all like the woman he had come to know so intimately.

“Then what…”

He could not complete the sentence – though he wanted to. Lucy interrupted him, her voice cold.

“Was it all a lie, Edward?”

Edward opened and closed his mouth, uncertain of how to respond. Even if he had a response, however, Lucy seemed by no means inclined to give him an opportunity to make use of it. She continued speaking with that strange, cold tone that sent shivers down his spine.

“Was I merely another girl in your line of conquests? A plaything to show that you, Edward Lockhart, truly are the ladies’ man of London? The man who could seduce and bed the Ice Queen?”