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Especially after two devastatingly good kisses last night.
“Dorothy?” Frederica nudged her again. “Are you alright?”
“Hmm?”
Frederica gave her a bewildered look. Then Dorothy realised she had been staring into the distance. She shook herself and managed a smile.
“I … I think I need something to eat.”
“And I certainly need my coffee. Let’s get that sorted.” Frederica steered her in Gabriel’s direction. “I’m sure you’ll feel better with food in your belly.”
Dorothy wasn’t sure about that, but she was willing to try it.
#
Lucas stood by the tree and watched Dorothy and Burville standing by the water’s edge. Dorothy was saying something that made Burville smile, making Lucas want to seethe. The man shouldn’t be smiling at Dorothy. He shouldn’t be anywhere near her.
Careful, your jealousy is beginning to show.
I’m not jealous.
Are you sure about that? You’ve been glaring at Burville since Dorothy entered the dining room. You’re jealous.
Lucas slumped against the tree, closing his eyes as he thumped his head against the trunk. God, he was behaving like a lovesick fool. That had never happened before, and it was unnerving. Lucas had women coming to him: it was never the other way around. And yet Dorothy seemed to be in charge when she wasn’t really doing anything.
It was his fault, after all. If he had gone through with the arranged marriage and made her his wife, he wouldn’t be hovering in the background watching her with another man and making her happy. That should have been his job.
And he had thrown it away because he was stupid. He hadn’t wanted to marry, certainly not someone he hadn’t chosen. It was Lucas’ mistake, and he had to live with it.
Dorothy was not his. Lucas had made it clear by breaking the engagement. And he wished he hadn’t.
Often he felt like he had made a mistake, but this was probably his biggest mistake. And Lucas was feeling the weight of that mistake.
“Lucas?”
Lucas opened his eyes. Marcia approached him, holding a parasol to keep the sun off her face. She did look splendid in a cream-coloured dress, which hugged her figure. Cream was a nice colour on her, and it set off her complexion beautifully. But Lucas couldn’t appreciate her beauty as much as he should.
“Lady Marcia.” He pushed off the tree trunk. “Are you enjoying yourself?”
“I certainly am. However, I am worried about you.” Marcia peered at him, coquettishly biting her lip. “Is there anything I can do? I’m sure I can think of something to make you smile.”
Lucas was under no illusion about that. If this had been a couple of months ago, he would have taken her up on anything she offered. But not now. That was the farthest thing from his mind. He gave her a small smile.
“I appreciate that you want to help me, Lady Marcia, but I think I’ll be fine without it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am.”
Marcia pouted. Did she think he wouldn’t turn her down when they were out of the house, and there were places to hide? Lucas had been pretty much ignoring her all morning, and she hadn’t appeared to have noticed. But she seemed to recover quickly, turning away with a knowing smile.
“If you want any … assistance, just come and find me. I’d be more than happy to help.”
“I’ll remember that.”
Lucas watched her walk away, noting that she was swaying her hips more than she should. Rolling his eyes, he turned and focused his attention on Dorothy and Burville again. Dorothy was holding onto Burville’s arm as they walked along the water’s edge.
She looked tired, and the dress seemed to have been altered to cover her breasts more. It worked with the dress, and nobody else seemed to have noticed that the style had changed. But covering her breasts up seemed to make Lucas stare at them even more.
