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“Devastating, isn’t it?” Annalise asked softly.
“Heartbreaking. I know how she loved her uncle. He was her only family.”
Annalise uncomfortably cleared her throat.
“Who will be taking over the title? Do you know?” Lady Lavinia asked.
“No. As they said in the paper, the solicitor will be looking for an heir, a distant relative. But Caroline doesn’t know who that might be.” She paused. “But it shouldn’t matter anymore. Not to Caroline… She will soon become the Duchess of Kensington.”
A tense silence hung in the carriage. Lady Lavinia turned and looked out the window, her brows furrowed.
“I am so sorry, darling,” Annalise said softly.
Lady Lavinia sniffed, and Blake fished out a handkerchief from his coat pocket.
“Here,” he said and extended the piece of cloth.
She took it and wiped her face. “I suppose it wasn’t meant to be,” she said with a sad smile.
* * *
By the time Blake, Annalise, and Lady Lavinia reached their reserved box, their friends were already inside. Blake used the term “friends” loosely. He’d invited Jarvis, knowing full well he would bring his long-time friend Miss Olivia Manning and her parents, the Viscount and the Viscountess of Landen. Annalise and Lady Lavinia were happy to see Miss Olivia. Apparently, the three were friends.
Townsend also arrived at the box. He didn’t bring company, and Blake assumed he was only there to show his support for Blake.
After they exchanged pleasantries, Blake led Annalise to the seat in the front and settled next to her. Townsend escorted Lady Lavinia and sat to the right of Annalise. The Landens and Jarvis took the second row.
Conversation flowed around Blake as people exchanged gossip and discussed frivolous details of their days, but he was interested in none of that. His complete attention was absorbed by his wife, sitting demurely next to him, smiling at everyone and occasionally contributing a word or two to the conversation. With people busy conversing, he could finally sit and ogle his wife as much as he wanted.
Annalise wore a dark blue gown with silver embroidering on the bodice and sleeves. Her decolletage revealed just enough flesh to make his gaze constantly return to that part of her body. Her beautiful golden hair was swept up in an intricate coiffure.
As much as he loved to see her with her hair down, at the moment, he was glad he could see her milky white neck and the perfect shape of her ear. He wanted to lean in close and suckle on her earlobe. He’d dip his tongue into her ear and—
Annalise turned to him and raised a brow. Had he done something without realizing it? Perhaps he’d verbalized his thoughts? Blake’s neck heated.
Then he raised his head to see everyone looking at him quizzically.
Jarvis cleared his throat behind him. “Forgive my friend,” he said, with humor lining his voice. “I believe he was distracted by the vision that is his wife. Not that anyone can blame him.”
Ah, so he had been asked the question. Well, Jarvis—although not subtle—wasn’t wrong.
“Completely understandable,” Landen chimed in and patted his wife on the hand. “If I hadn’t seen my Edith in over a year, I wouldn’t be able to take my eyes off her either. I am surprised you are here at all, sharing her attention with us. Wouldn’t have faulted you if you locked yourselves in your townhouse for a month or two,” he added with a laugh.
Blake glanced toward Annalise as she blushed pretty pink.
“Can’t deprive the world of this beauty,” Blake said, not taking his eyes off his wife’s heated cheeks. He took her hand and gently brought it to his lips, placing a soft, slow kiss on her knuckles.
“I was saying,” Lord Landen said after clearing his throat. “When are you planning on joining us in Parliament?”
Blake raised his head and reluctantly peeled his eyes away from his enticing wife to regard the older man. “As a matter of fact, Townsend has been bringing me up to speed for the last several days. I think I am almost caught up with all the issues and am ready to take my seat by the end of the week. I just need to shear my hair and powder my wigs,” he said with a grin.
“Good, good, we sure can use your help. I believe Townsend is a perfect person to bring you up to speed on these matters. It wasn’t long ago that he was plucked from another country and seated at the House of Lords.”
“From another country?” Blake turned to his cousin with a frown.
He looked at Townsend intently. The man had dark circles around his eyes. He looked tired, and he had a fresh, thin scar that disappeared behind his ear. What was that about?
“Yes, I was in France.” He cleared his throat. “Painting, collecting art, auctioning it off. That sort of thing. You know about it. When I received the letter informing me of your… disappearance, I had to leave it all behind. Took me some time to get here. And even more time for me to get reacquainted with English shores before I felt comfortable enough to show my face in the House of Lords.”
