Page 64 of Bound to the Heartless Duke
Lily turned before he could answer, her skirts swishing as she crossed the room. She didn’t look back, didn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing the storm that crossed her face once the door closed behind her.
Once she was in the hallway, her breath escaped with a rush.
It had become too easy to wear a mask around Magnus, but it cost her something every time.
As she ascended the stairs, she spotted a small stack of letters on the table by the landing. It must have been delivered sometime that morning. She picked up the bundle and leafed through them, eyeing the senders and stopping when she spied a particular one, dread curling in her stomach as she eyed the envelope. She had forgotten all about him since their last encounter but seeing his name again on the letter reminded her of the anger she had seen in his eyes when she had made it clearshe would not be so quick to make a decisison about marrying him.
Ronald Bailey.
She stared at it for a long moment. The script was formal, and the seal was meticulously pressed. Everything about the man had always been damn too neat.
She picked up the letter and sighed, not bothering to open it. Her fingers clenched the paper as she continued down the hallway and into her room, shutting the door behind her with a soft but final click.
Inside, the pale morning light filtered through the lace curtains, and the small fire crackled in the hearth. And yet, it brought her no warmth.
Summer entered only a moment later, her arms loaded with fresh linens and the usual energy she carried like a second skin. But she paused when she saw Lily sitting on the edge of the bed, the unopened letter held lazily in her hands.
“My Lady?” Summer asked carefully. “You look… out of sorts.”
Lily huffed a faint laugh. “That’s generous of you.”
Summer hesitated, then set the linens down before approaching. “Is it your brother again?”
Lily shook her head. “Not this time.”
Summer lowered herself onto the bench near her and folded her hands in her lap. “Then… is it the Duke?”
Lily looked up, startled by that guess. She had expected the maid to mention Mr. Bailey instead.
“What makes you ask that?”
Summer gave her a soft, knowing smile. “I see the way you look at him when you think no one’s watching. And more importantly, how you don’t look at anyone else.”
A faint flush crept into Lily’s cheeks at that, but she didn’t deny it. She couldn’t.
“It’s foolish,” she said after a beat. “I think I may have fallen in love… with the wrong person.”
Summer’s eyes softened. “Then it’s the Duke.”
Lily’s lips parted, a little shocked by how easily she had been read.
“Even you can tell?” she whispered.
Summer reached out and touched her hand gently. “Anyone with eyes can tell. You’re not the same when he’s in the room.You try harder to seem indifferent, and that’s the most telling thing of all.”
Lily turned her head away, blinking hard. “It’s not just Nathan anymore. It’s not even Mr. Bailey. It’s him. I can’t tell what Magnus truly wants, me or just the damned manor. Or maybe neither. Maybe it was just a moment of weakness between us and nothing more.”
Summer was quiet for a moment, before saying, “Perhaps. Or perhaps he’s just as afraid of feeling something as you are.”
Lily gave her a sharp look, but there was no malice behind it. Just pain. Just the hurt of brutal honesty.
“Follow your heart, My Lady,” Summer advised gently. “Or else you’ll spend your whole life wondering what would’ve happened if you did.”
A peaceful silence settled between them.
Suddenly, Summer stood up, her lips curling into a bright smile. “The tenants’ celebration, the one delayed last month due to the storm, is a good time to follow your heart, my Lady. If you dance with him there, perhaps…”
Lily blinked slowly. “You think I can corner him into a confession during a waltz?”
