Page 91 of How to Seduce a Duke this Autumn
She blinked at him. “What? What are you talking about?”
“My brother. What are you talking about?”
“The duel!”
“What bloody duel? I don’t know of this! Who told you there would be a duel? Wait, who am I dueling with?”
Her eyes went wide before a small furrow appeared between her brow. “Mr. Grafton… You’re not dueling with him?”
There had been one terrible misunderstanding. “No.”
“Wait, then you thought I was talking about your brother?”
Adam nodded. “He won’t be in London much longer once I set things in motion. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that he was back, or that there were rumors he might be returning.”
She let out a shaky breath. “I wish you had.”
“I know. I didn’t want to ruin things by talking about him, but not talking ruins things, too, it seems.”
Her shoulders sagged, the fight in her deflating. “Oh.” A breath. Then another, sharper. “I should challenge you to a duel for that, you know.”
He chuckled. “If I’d known a duel would have you hunting me down, I’d have pretended a challenge much sooner.”
“Rogue!” But then she smiled.
“No one saw you, right? You were careful?”
She nodded. “In any event, my reputation is a mask.” A snort. “Just like your face.”
He took her hand in his, squeezing. “Don’t even jest about that, Charlene.”
She squeezed back. “I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner,” she said, stepping up to him. “That I didn’t listen when you wanted to explain. You’re not David. Not even close. You never were.”
He couldn’t speak. Could barely breathe. Those words alone could be the fuel his heart beat from for the rest of his life. He wore the same face as his brother. He couldn’t change that. And while he hadn’t thought about it much, couldn’t for his sanity’ssake, a part, a deeply buried part, had always feared she’d only see his brother, his brother’s sins, when she looked at him.
But she didn’t.
And that was the most precious thing in existence.
She came closer. “I see you. Not the mask. Not the name. You.”
He grinned at her. “And you don’t want me to die in a duel. That means you care.”
“I care. More than I ever let on.”
It was all so unexpected, Adam didn’t know how to feel. Didn’t know how to suddenly express himself. “Come with me somewhere. Please.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The rooftop ofthe Duchy Hotel was cast in a golden haze, the last rays of sunlight brushing against the silver trim of Charlene’s gown. The soft hum of the gathering crowd below was distant now, like the murmur of ocean waves too far away to reach her. Vauxhall Gardens stretched out in a lush, glowing expanse, lanterns glittering among the trees. She could smell the faint sweetness of honeysuckle carried up on the evening breeze, but her focus was entirely elsewhere. All the trees had turned in their glorious hues of oranges, reds, and yellows. A painter’s palette couldn’t have captured the beauty of the colors at this time of the day.
She couldn’t believe what had happened. The misunderstanding… it was almost laughable. Try as she might, no matter how she recalled the previous conversation she’d overheard, it still sounded as if there would be a duel!
But there would be no duel.
David would be leaving London again.
And now she was alone with Adam. On a roof.
