Page 35 of The Tempting of a Devilish Lord

She leaned in, her voice low. “He has fled London because he does not wish to claim the child.”

Lucinda rose swiftly as the heat drained from her face. Gone were the memories of kisses, replaced with the darker ones of that fateful night—the one that had almost ruined her life forever.

“Lucinda?”

“I—”

Mary-Anne strode into the room and glanced between them. “What is happening?”

“I feel the need for a walk. Come, Mary-Anne, let us get some fresh air. It will do us some good.” Lucinda snatched her sister’s arm.

“My bones say it is going to rain,” Mama protested.

“We will not be long,” Lucinda assured her, practically dragging Mary-Anne from the room and only pausing long enough to snatch both their bonnets and gloves. She thrust the bonnet on top of her sister’s head and handed her the gloves.

“But I only just returned from being with Mrs. Beaton and Miss Eleanor.” Mary-Anne fumbled with putting her gloves on while Lucinda kept hold of her arm, stuffing her fingers into the wrong holes. “They made me walk practically around the whole lake.”

“I thought you liked walking.” Lucinda did not release her sister’s arm until they were some distance from their lodgings and headed down the dirt road toward the lakeside.

“I like walking when there is something to walk toward. Aimless walking is such a bore.”

“Well, we shall walk somewhere. Like...that hill there.” Lucinda pointed to a random spot at least halfway around the lake.

“That would take us at least two days!”

“Oh.”

“What of the edge of Alex’s estate? We could walk there.”

Lucinda shook her head. “Certainly not.”

“He called for you again yesterday, did he not? Mrs. Barker said as much.” Her sister looked up at her. “Why do you avoid him after he so heroically rescued you?”

“I am grateful to him, though it would not have been necessary if someone had not decided to go adventuring.”

“I would not have gone if you were not such a bore.” Mary-Anne thrust out her tongue.

“I am not a bore.”

“You are,” Mary-Anne insisted. “You used to be so much fun when I was little. What happened to you? Why will you not even visit a castle for goodness’ sakes?”

“Perhaps because I might fall into wells,” she muttered. “And I can be fun when I want to be.”

“When?” her sister demanded. “The only time I see you smile is when you are with Alex.”

“His name is Lord Kirbeck.”

“Well,LordKirbeck made you smile several times, and I do not think I have seen you smile like that in forever.” Mary-Anne gave a dramatic smile. “I miss my fun, happy sister.”

Lucinda didn’t respond. She could not. Her throat hurt too much because as cutting as her sister’s words were, they were not wrong, and if she was honest, she missed how she used to be too.

She just did not know what she could do about it.

Chapter Eleven

Alex had this horrible feeling he should be counselling his brother Leo. Or whatever it was brothers did. Apparently Adam had learned such skills and who knew where from. The return of Leo’s only love would surely impact their younger brother. Alex still recalled how devastated Leo had been when Rebecca had left.

The trouble was, he had his own problems. Like the fact a certain young lady was seen in the kitchen gardens and was most certainly not escorted or invited here. He strode past the rows of neatly planted vegetables toward the generous orangery at the back and spied her through the tall glass windows, currently hidden behind a towering plant.

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