Page 66 of Duke of Diamonds
His fingers curled slightly against the armrest. Fiona was no longer a hypothetical solution. She was his wife. His responsibility. Whether she sought it or not, she had been drawn into the sphere of his protection.
And what if he failed again?
The fear crawled up like it always did. Slow and methodical, never loud but never gone.
He had thought himself prepared. Assumed his control was enough. Yet the silence in the halls, the distance between their rooms, had begun to wear at the edges of that assumption.
He was giving her space. That was what he told himself. They had agreed on boundaries, on freedom, on leading separate lives beneath the same roof. It was sensible. Logical.
And yet, every time he heard footsteps that did not pause at his door, or laughter from another room that faded too soon, a strange unease crept in. He missed her.
Not just the image of her. The presence. The way she made conversation feel like something he wanted, rather than endured. The way she saw straight through pretense, and didn’t bother to indulge it.
He dipped the quill again and tried to focus. The letter to Colin was simple enough—trade matters, shipping schedules, nothingdemanding subtlety. But the ink had barely dried on the second paragraph when a knock came.
He set the quill aside. “Enter.”
The door creaked open and familiar steps crossed the threshold.
He blinked. “Elaine.”
He had half expected it to be Fiona.
The knock had stirred something just beneath his ribs, some quiet part of him too willing to hope. He hadn’t seen her all day. Hadn’t meant to avoid her, not really. But habit was a difficult thing to unmake.
Instead, it was Elaine who stepped through the door with that knowing smile she wore far too often.
“You look as though you’ve seen a ghost. Or do you mistake me for someone more welcome?” she said, lifting one brow with theatrical offense.
He leaned back slightly, forcing a half-smile. “Suffice it to say I was not expecting a caller.”
“How fortunate for you that I have impeccable timing,” she said, making herself comfortable without invitation. “I’ve cometo ensure you haven’t suffocated your new bride with your delightful company.”
He arched a brow. “I acquire a sister-in-law and suddenly I’m cast as the villain?”
Elaine tapped her chin in mock consideration. “Are you jealous?”
“Of what, exactly?”
“Of me, naturally. She already calls me by my Christian name.”
He gave a dry sound of amusement and settled back into the chair behind his desk. “Such trivial sentiments are beneath me.”
“I was unaware humility was among your many qualities,” she replied, folding her hands with exaggerated decorum.
He allowed a real chuckle then. It loosened something in his chest. Briefly.
“So? Have you satisfied your inquiry into your sister-in-law’s well-being, or shall I send for evidence?”
Elaine looked toward the door. “As a matter of fact, she was unaware of my arrival. The butler went to fetch her when I asked after her. I presumed you might be here, hiding as usual.”
A moment later, the sound of footsteps approached. The kind he always recognized but pretended not to.
The door opened again, and there she was.
“What a lovely surprise,” Fiona said as she crossed the room with ease. She embraced Elaine like an old friend, arms looping without hesitation.
He watched, unable to tear his eyes away, though he told himself it was only politeness. Fiona greeted his sister with such warmth, such ease, it made something inside him tighten and stretch at once.
