Will simply stared. “It’s nothing.”
“Did you see Rose?” John asked suddenly, and Will's eyes flew to his before he could hide the flash of emotion that raced through them. Pain? Betrayal? Longing? Will never let anyone behind his carefully crafted facade, but John had come closer than any otherin the last decade.
“It was not intentional,” Will bit out.
“So you did see her.” John did not hide his amazement. “And she’s a widow now!”
“I am very well aware of that.”
“You didn’t go to see her then, to talk to her,” John probed.
“Why on earth would I?”
John just stared back at him.
“You will be aware she never contacted me either when it happened,” Will said. “It has been nearly a year.”
“Maybe it is harder for her.”
“Because she’s a duchess,” Will spat back. John was already shaking his head.
“No, because she is a woman!”
Will didn’t reply.
“Although imagining Rose—our Rose—that wild spirit— as a senior member of the nobility has always made me laugh.”
“I am glad it has served to amuse you.” Will’s tone was scathing.
John stopped smiling.
“How did you see her then?”
“I came across her by the river, in the rain.”
John didn’t say anything. He didn’t ask how or when, but Will knew he was waiting for an explanation. Normally he would have said nothing, thrown him out, and got on with work, but he found himself recalling his vision of her in his mind and then out loud.
“She was dancing, just like we used to. For a moment, it was as if the last nine years had never happened.”
Will turned to stare out the window, remembering everything that had followed, though certainly not willing to explain every detail to his closest friend.
In the end, John broke the silence.
“Well, she is nobody’s wife now!”
“It doesn’t make any difference. I am not interested in another man’s leftovers.”
“She was yours before his,” John chided.
“Obviously not! No matter, it’s over now.”
“Are you going to let that Browning pride keep you from the only woman you ever loved, even when she is available?”
“She isn’t available,” Will snapped.
John looked confused.
“She will marry the brother.”