Page 34 of A Bride for the Beastly Duke
“Sit.” She pointed to three cushions on the floor, and they all sat. The lady circled the small table, lighting candles as she went. She sat down across from them and closed her eyes, beginning to hum as she swayed from side to side. Ava and Edward exchanged amused glances.
The fortune teller leaned forward. “You are a new family,” she intoned.
Edward almost rolled his eyes. All the villagers knew about them; of course, this woman would know they were recently wed. Lily, however, agreed enthusiastically.
“You are at a crossroads, and your future depends on the choices you will make in the coming days.”
Ava leaned forward. “What do you mean by that?”
Edward cleared his throat loudly, and when she turned to look at him, he flicked his eyes down to Lily. Immediately, she relaxed her shoulders, toning down her intensity. “I mean, crossroads to be happy? Which one should we take?”
The woman turned to look her in the eye. “The choice is yours. To choose happiness or fear.” Her eyes flicked to Edward as well, and he felt as if she’d pushed him hard in the chest.
“I choose happiness,” Lily declared.
The fortune teller looked down at her and smiled. “And so you should. Now, perhaps you will teach your parents to choose happiness too.”
Lily nodded decisively, “Yes, I will.”
“Good.”
Ava and Edward exchanged glances. Edward took a deep breath and extracted a coin from his pocket. “Well,” he said putting it on the table between them, “that was certainly…” He had no words for the tight feeling in his chest or the fact that he felt as if a lot more had been said than he realized.
He got to his feet and helped Lily and Ava to theirs. The fortune teller watched them go, unmoving, and without another word.
“That was strange,” Edward said to Ava as they walked toward the food carts.
“Very strange.” Ava gave him an understanding look.
Lily skipped between them. “Look Mama, they have candied apples.”
With one last look back, both Ava and Edward decided to focus on Lily and make her day enjoyable.
Ava had a good feeling after their day together at the fair and the talk they’d had at breakfast. She had dreaded the day he would ask about Lily’s father, but instead of contempt, she got sympathetic understanding.
Now all I have to do is figure out how to make him kiss me.
There was a knock on the door, and Diana came in to help her dress for dinner. Ava turned to her, an urgent look on her face. “Good, you are here. I need you to make me as beautiful as you possibly can.”
To her credit, Diana only blinked twice before getting to work. She went into the closet and brought out two gowns: a scarlet red silk and a satin bronze gown. The scarlet fit Ava’s body like a glove, hugging her figure all the way to her hips. The bronze gown was more ornate with a low neckline and bell sleeves embroidered with whorls of vines in black along the sleeves and cuff. The skirt had spiraling pleats that made her look as if she was floating as she walked.
“Which one?” Diana asked.
Ava shook her head, with a sigh. “The red, I think.”
Diana nodded, putting the dress on the bed. “All right. But first, a lavender-scented bath?”
Ava grinned. “It’s as if you read my mind.”
For the second night in a row, Aunt Anastasia pleaded tiredness and retired early. Edward could not bring himself to feel too regretful about it. He was sitting opposite the most stunning woman he had ever seen, and she was hiswife.
It filled him with bemusement that not too long ago, he had been heartbroken over Lady Alice Turner, daughter of the Viscount of Wellington. Now, he could barely remember what it was he had felt for her.
“What are you thinking about?” Ava asked, and he gave a rueful smile.
“Well… I do not know if I should tell you.”
She leaned forward, exposing even more of her soft creamy mounds to his eye, and he lost his train of thought. “Please?”
