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“I’ve made up my mind, Pierce. True, it is a year too late, but that’s how it is. I want this.”
“Dorothy is going to think you’re messing her around again,” Pierce warned. “You are more than likely going to end up alone.”
“I’ll do whatever she wants until she realises I’m not going anywhere.”
“That might end up with you getting into trouble, though.”
Lucas was aware of that, but he was prepared to do whatever he could. Dorothy had captured his attention, and now she had truly grabbed on without realising it. She was not letting go.
Lucas didn’t want to let go on his side.
When he went to the Marquess of Derbyshire’s home to spend a holiday there with other guests and have some fun, he never expected to encounter the woman he had been forced into an engagement with. Nor did he expect to actually fall in love with her.
Yes, he was actually in love. Lucas had tried to tell himself that it was lust and merely a passing fancy. Initially, he intended to woo her into bed, scratch that itch, and then move on. But the more time he spent with Dorothy, the more Lucas discovered this wasn’t just lust. Something more was between them.
It wasn’t until he was lying in bed the night before, trying to get to sleep, that Lucas connected everything inside him and knew it was love. That was shocking to him; how could he have managed to fall for the woman his parents had wanted him to marry? Someone had to be finding this whole situation amusing.
His parents, certainly, were going to wonder what on earth he was doing. But Lucas hoped his father would be pleased. They had wanted him to get married and produce some children, and now he intended to do that with the young lady they had picked out for him. His father would be delighted.
Now all Lucas had to do was get Dorothy to say yes.
“Right. I think I’m ready.” Lucas adjusted his jacket and headed towards the door. “I’ll see you later.”
“Don’t you want me to come with you?”
“I don’t think I need you at my side this time, Pierce.” Lucas shot him a sly look over his shoulder. “Unless you just want an excuse to sneak Lady Frederica into a secluded corner?”
“That’s not fair!” Pierce protested, although his cheeks went a dark red.
Lucas laughed.
“Come on, then. You can keep Frederica distracted while I’m talking to Dorothy. I might want a moment alone with her, anyway.”
“You’re pushing it a little, aren’t you? You were toeing the line yesterday when you took her to your bedchamber in daylight.”
“I’m not going to be stripping her naked in the garden, Pierce.”
“From how you were smiling at her yesterday, I wouldn’t be surprised if you did that.” Pierce shook his head as he followed Lucas out of the room. “You like to live dangerously, don’t you?”
“You could say that.”
But not anymore. Not when he had the promise of something with Dorothy. Lucas could only hope this went well.
He was nervous in the carriage, bouncing onto the road enough that his shoulder and back kept bumping off the sides. Lucas gritted his teeth and tried to concentrate on what he would say. When it came to talking to women, it was rather easy. He had perfected the art of charming ladies over the years. But when it came to Dorothy, that went out the window. Lucas felt like he was eighteen again and meeting a young woman for the first time.
How could she keep him off-balance whenever he thought he had found his footing? It was really difficult to understand what was going on in his head.
Lucas jerked out of his thoughts when the carriage arrived at Dorothy’s house, and Lucas jumped out as soon as the door was opened by one of the servants. He turned to face Pierce as his friend started to climb out.
“I’m going to walk around the back. Dorothy says that tea is normally taken on the terrace on a nice day.”
“If you’re sure?” Pierce gestured towards the door. “Shouldn’t we just go through the front door instead?”
“We don’t have a calling card, nor does Dorothy know we’re coming. I don’t want to waste time standing around the foyer only to be told that we can’t see her.”
“Well, what if Burville is here as well?”
Lucas growled. He did not want to think about Burville. The man did not deserve Dorothy at all.
