Page 29 of The Best-Kept Secrets
He tore off a piece of his slice and handed it to her. “I certainly hope you aren’t ashamed of this, Eve. It is something far too impressive for you to be anything but excessively proud of.”
She took a bite. “Itisgood.”
“Very good.”
She smelled her bit of bread, looking entirely pleased. “Outside of my family, there are only two people who have any idea that I bake.”
“I am honored to be one of those two.” Honored. Touched.
“If I had to choose someone to be trapped at an abandoned inn in the midst of a torrential downpour with, I’d put you at the very top of my list, Dubhán Seymour.”
Duke turned a bit so he leaned a little against the work top and faced her more directly. “What other lists do you have that I can work my way to the top of?”
She thought about it a moment. “I could form a list of people who have Irish names but use interesting English substitutes.”
“InterestingEnglish substitutes?” He shook his head. “I would say Scuff ought to be at the top of that list.”
Eve reached for his hand again, excitement in her expressive face. “You would adore Scuff. He reminds me so much of Charlie and Toss. Both of my brothers do.”
“I’d like to meet your brothers.” He adjusted his hand so his fingers threaded through hers, just as he’d hoped to. “You said they are still in school?”
She nodded. “They attend Shrewsbury. I realize that isn’t as prestigious a school as Eton or Harrow.” There was a hint of embarrassment in her tone.
“My father was educated at Shrewsbury.”
Her eyes pulled a bit wide. “Truly?”
He nodded. “But even if he hadn’t been”—Duke bent a little closer to her—“I hope you know that you need never worry that I will think less of you or your family over something as inconsequential as what school your siblings attend or the size of your house or the depth of your family coffers. Society may set great store by those things, but I don’t. I never have.”
She smiled once more but this time softly. “Thank you for being so kind to my father when you spoke with him on the docks. Not everyone in thetonis.”
“Are they unkind to you as well?”
Her shrug wasn’t as nonchalant as he suspected she’d intended it to be. “I am poor and Irish. What do you think?”
Duke pressed their entwined hands to his heart. “Tell me if anyone is ever making you unhappy. I’ll be in London instead of at Cambridge now. I can actually do something about their unkindness.”
“You are very thoughtful. I suspect you don’t fully realize that about yourself.” Eve had a way of making him feel one hundred feet tall.
“I stand by my offer,” he said. And knowing she had worried about being a burden the way his family often was, he added, “And that offer is being made eagerly and willingly.”
“And kindly,” she said. “But I won’t be in London for the Season, for any Season. The Huntresses and the Pack will be. My parents and sister will be. My brothers will be at Shrewsbury. And I—” She blinked a few times, clearly attempting to hold back her emotions. “I’ll be left behind by everyone.”
A tear slipped from her eye, and without a thought, Duke pulled her into an embrace.
Eve buried her head against him and took a shaky breath. “I don’t know why I’m suddenly so overset by this. I understand why it needs to happen, and I’m grateful that some of my family’s burdens will be lightened.”
“Butyourburdens have been added to.” His heart ached for her. “You love your family, and you don’t want them to suffer or be unhappy, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t permitted to be overwhelmed by all that has been placed on your shoulders or to grieve what it is costing you.”
Another of her breaths shook with emotion. “I feel as though my entire future was snatched away without warning, and I don’t even have anyone to talk to about it. My mother was so clearly heartbroken, and my father looked crushingly guilt-ridden. And I’m not supposed to tell Nia. ’Tis as if I’ve been abandoned already.”
“I’mhere,” he said softly. “I know what you’re facing, and I know what it is to feel very alone in carrying a family burden.” She was the one who had spotted in his eyes the loneliness he’d not ever acknowledged, even to himself.
“When Nia eventually learns about all this, promise me you won’t tell her I cried.”
“I won’t tell her.” He hoped he was offering Eve some comfort and reassurance.
“And if London is unkind, will you look out for her?”
