Page 53 of Enslaved to the Seduction of a Lady
“Thank you, Jenny,” he said, his heart full of gratitude. Jenny didn’t approve of him and Alison, and yet she was willing to give them space.
Jenny nodded at Luke, her eyes full of sadness and love, and then she slipped silently out of the door.
“I’m so sorry to hear about Jack,” Alison said, taking hold of both Luke’s hands.
“Thank you,” he said. “He has been declining in health for such a long time, but I hadn’t realized quite how painful it would be when he finally passed.”
“It must be incredibly difficult,” Alison said.
He looked into her eyes and in them, saw how genuine she was, how full of love and sympathy. He wanted to reach out and stroke her cheek, to brush away a stray strand of blonde hair.
“He was a wonderful man,” he said, returning his attention to Jack instead. “I don’t know what would have become of us, if it weren’t for Jack.”
“And, by all accounts, he was the best groom this estate has ever seen, or so Father says—except you, of course,” Alison added.
He laughed gently, smiling as he watched his thumb rubbing at the back of her hand.
“It’s all right,” he said. “Jack was twice the groom I can ever hope to be, but I was lucky to have him as a teacher.”
Alison squeezed his hand, and he raised his head to look at her, grateful she was there, that she had sought him out.
“Did your Father tell you?” Luke asked, hope thrumming through him. If the Duke was the one who told Alison where to find him, there was hope for them and their potential marriage.
“No,” she replied, “I asked after you at the stables.”
Her tone was cautious, wary, and he knew she was thinking the same as him. That the Duke had neglected to inform Alison as soon as it had happened said more about his opinion on their relationship than his words themselves. Or, at the very least, of how little the Duke thought of the welfare of his servants.
“I see,” he said and, in his heart, he felt his heart weighed down with even further sadness.
“Let’s not talk about my Father now. This is a time for remembering Jack. Tell me about him.”
Luke looked into the distance and smiled, letting the memories of his foster father wash over him.
“He was the kindest man you could ever hope to meet,” he said, soft and far away. “But that doesn’t mean he was easy on us.”
He chuckled, remembering all those times that Jack had chastised them, the way he had chased Luke for stealing the last of his ale. The way he had gently taught Jenny to be prim and proper, always modest and full of honor.
“He could get mad sometimes, you know?” Luke continued, and Alison nodded encouragingly. “But he only ever raised his voice to teach us a lesson—never in anger or revenge.”
“It sounds like he was a wonderful father,” Alison said.
“He was.” Luke snorted with humorless laughter. “He was the only one we ever had though.”
“Did you ever know your real father?” Alison asked, her tone tentative but caring.
“No,” Luke said, shaking his head. “My mother… yes. I have some memories, but not many. But I’m not even suresheknew who my father was.”
Alison gasped, her hand flying to her chest.
“Oh, my,” she said. Luke smiled kindly at her.
Her naivety and sweet, innocent nature were so endearing. She had spent her life wrapped in cotton and protected from the gnarly truth of the world. He loved her for her innocence, and for the way she only ever saw the good in people.
“Jack actually told us a little more, just before he died. It seems he hunted down my birth mother after he adopted us. He told us, in case we decided to find her, find our roots.”
“How do you feel about that?” Alison asked.
“I don’t know. Jack is not even in the ground yet. It seems a betrayal to him to even think of such things right now. But—”
