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Frederica shrugged.
“Suit yourself. Although it would certainly help you, especially if a certain gentleman is around and grabbing your attention.”
This time, Dorothy could not catch herself on the last step. She tripped and ended up falling to her knees. Getting up quickly and looking around to ensure nobody had seen her fall over – thankfully, nobody had except for her friend – she stared at Frederica.
“What do … he hasn’t grabbed my attention?”
“Oh, really? I saw you glancing over at him during breakfast.” Frederica folded her arms. “You might not want anything to do with him, but you certainly can’t stop looking at him.”
“I do not!” Dorothy protested, aware that her face was going warm as she argued.
“That’s not what I saw. And I saw him looking at you as well.”
Dorothy blinked.
“I beg your pardon?”
“He was looking over at you as well. I don’t know if he finds you attractive, or he’s nervous around you, but you two were trading looks without even realising it.” Frederica pursed her lips. “If you want nothing to do with him, it would be best if you find something else to occupy your time here. Or someone else.”
“So you think pushing me onto Gabriel will be a good distraction?”
“I wouldn’t say push. More like see how it goes and make up your mind about him. After all, I don’t think you can get any worse than him.”
Dorothy could. She had been engaged to one. The cold was seeping into her body now, and the dress felt like a second skin. She could feel goosebumps coming up her arms and a shiver going down her spine. This dress needed to come off as soon as possible.
“I’ll see you downstairs later,” she mumbled, turning away with her head down. “I won’t be long.”
“I’ll wait for you in the library.”
Dorothy barely acknowledged her friend before she ducked into her bedchamber, leaning on it heavily and closing her eyes. Teresa was putting the laundry away, and she stopped when she saw Dorothy.
“My Lady, what happened? Did you get caught in the rain?”
“Pretty much.” Dorothy realised she was shivering. “I need to get dry, Teresa. And a new dress.”
“Would you like me to call for a bath, My Lady?”
“No, just a dress, and I want to dry off. Maybe this evening if I’m still unable to get warm.”
Although from the way she was shivering, Dorothy didn’t think she was going to get warm anytime soon.
Chapter 5
Lucas was in his bedchamber when he heard the thunder. Putting his book down, he went to the window and looked out. It was looking darker than it had been a moment before. He had forgotten how quickly the clouds came in when it was about to rain.
When storms came around in the Peak District, things got very cold incredibly quickly, and the valley could turn into a small river or a quagmire. Lucas had been caught out in it when he was a child, and it was certainly not fun. He didn’t like the feel of wet clothes stuck to his body.
He was glad he had decided to stay in the house instead of going out. Lady Marcia had suggested they travel by carriage up to Matlock and look around the shops, but Lucas had politely turned her down. Flirting with a woman was fine but walking around looking in shop windows was not something he was keen on. Especially if the woman he was accompanying was expecting him to buy her something.
Lady Marcia would certainly expect him to purchase something. And Lucas found he didn’t really want to spend time with her. It was a little surprising; Lady Marcia was beautiful and was certainly not afraid to be outspoken, albeit to him. Normally, Lucas would be happy to be in the company of such a person.
But he couldn’t. He just didn’t find her appealing anymore other than harmless flirting, although from how Lady Marcia was looking at him, she wanted more than that.
It wouldn’t be fair on her if Lucas tried to throw his attention towards her when all he could think about was Dorothy Napier. The woman had only spent a few moments in his company, and she had snared his attention so suddenly and entirely that it was scary. That had never happened before.
Why did it have to be her, of all people? Lucas could still not understand it. He had been trying to get his thoughts around why she would be drawing him in when nobody else could, but Lucas was coming up empty. It was really giving him a headache.
When he had been told that he was now engaged to Dorothy, Lucas had been furious. He hadn’t wanted it at all. Now he had seen her, heard her talk, and saw how her mouth twitched when she was bantering with him, and Lucas was beginning to regret not marrying her. He felt like a fool for making such a fuss to break it off.
