AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The thought of someone else taking Dorothy to bed left Lucas in a rage. He could not let that happen. As far as he was concerned, Dorothy was his.
He just needed to convince her. But how would he do that if he couldn’t get near her?
When morning came, Lucas, having barely slept, got up and dressed himself. He didn’t put his jacket on or his cravat. Given that it was just himself and Pierce in the house, there was no need to dress completely all the time. Even then, he didn’t really care if anyone frowned on it.
Heading downstairs, Lucas went into the library and looked along the shelves. He had wandered in a few times but hadn’t really thought about what was there. He hadn’t had the time to look. And the book collection was quite extensive.
There was one book that jumped out at him. Paintings by Caravaggio. Dorothy had mentioned that she found his paintings, as well as his life, fascinating. Lucas had been meaning to read about the man for a while, but he had forgotten. Mostly because he was always with Dorothy or thinking about her, that got put to one side.
Picking out the book, Lucas lay on the settee, putting his stockinged feet on the cushions, and began reading. It wasn’t long before he was engrossed.
His former self, who didn’t care much for books, would find this very amusing that he was reading now.
Lucas jumped when someone touched his shoulder and gently shook him. He opened his eyes and looked up at Frederica, leaning over him with a frown.
“Lucas?”
“Frederica?” Lucas blinked up at her and rubbed his eyes. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to visit Pierce. He’s just talking to the cook about what to do for lunch.”
“What?” Lucas began to sit up. “Does that mean Dorothy’s here as well?”
“I’m afraid not. I have a maid chaperoning me today.”
Lucas’ mood deflated even more.
“Oh.”
“What are you doing in here, anyway?” Frederica looked him over. “I was not expecting to see you fast asleep on the settee like this.”
Had he fallen asleep? Lucas hadn’t realised that he had dozed off. The last thing he remembered was opening the book and beginning to read. Now the book was lying on the floor, open and facedown. Yawning, Lucas shifted to sit upright.
“I couldn’t sleep. I thought I’d read to distract myself. It must have worked better than I thought.”
“Oh, Lucas.” Frederica sat on the edge of the settee, her hip brushing his thigh. “You’re really not doing well, are you?”
“Should you be sitting this close to me, Frederica? Pierce wouldn’t like it.”
Frederica scoffed.
“Pierce will not be upset about me sitting with someone I consider a friend.”
“Even in my state of undress?”
“There’s no one around to complain. I am more concerned about you.” Frederica’s expression softened. “You really miss her, don’t you?”
Lucas snorted.
“Am I that obvious?”
“To me, you are. Pierce is concerned about you as well.”
“What do you suggest I do, then? Because I don’t know how to make this right.”
“Well, you could go to Dorothy and propose marriage to her again.” Frederica pointed at him. “And this time, do it properly. No trying to hide any male pride you’ve got. Tell her the reason you want to marry her.”
Lucas didn’t need to ask how Frederica knew he was in love with Dorothy. She was very astute and had probably figured it out long ago. It was no wonder she and Pierce got along well; the two were very much alike.
