Once again, there was the issue of the mysterious lady. Lydia could not help but wonder about her identity and what she meant to the man. He must have loved her dearly. The thought panged her. She doubted that such deep, passionate love was destined for her. For her younger sisters, certainly. She had made sure to teach them all about what they needed to look for in a man who would prove to be a good husband. As for herself and her own husband, she had no time to ponder on that topic. It was not a priority.
Even now, she believed that she had been deemed by all eligible men in town as someone who was focused on her sisters and not her own life. No man wanted a wife who valued the happiness of her siblings more than her own happiness. Yet, that was something that came naturally to Lydia. No one forced her to become a second mother to Anna and Selina. It was a role she stepped into, almost like second nature. Then that second nature became first, and she slowly realized that she was living for her sisters with her own life blending into the backdrop.
“I won’t ask you again,” the man snarled.
At this point, Lydia believed that the two men would fight each other. That was the only way she could see this ending.
“You were the one who accosted me in the garden of this ball!” the other man replied. “I should call the constables to have you removed!”
“Call them. I shall gladly share with them what I know regarding your involvement in all this!”
“My involvement!” the man screeched. “How dare you accuse me of anything! Why someone might overhear you and – ”
At that moment, a dry branch snapped underneath Lydia’s foot. She didn’t immediately realize that she had made that sound. Only after the two men turned in her direction, staring at her in shock and disbelief, did she realize that she had made her presence known.
The first man, the one with the questions, had his eyes blue and wide like the oceans. It took her only a single moment to realize that she knew that man. She knew who he was which made this situation even more awkward. She wanted to run away without saying a word, but something forced her to remain there, to stay put and endure their shocked gazes of incredulity.
Her eyes traversed the distance from the first man to the second, the one who refused to reveal what he knew regarding the mysterious lady. She had no idea who he was. Besides, she only managed to take a single look at him, not long enough for any of his features to awaken the memory of someone she knew. Realizing that someone was eavesdropping on their conversation, the other man instantly ran away, disappearing in the garden. His footsteps reverberated for a few seconds then everything was enshrouded in silence once more.
The only thing Lydia could hear was the frantic beating of her own heart, palpitating in her throat, making it increasingly more difficult to breathe. She still had to endure the scornful gaze of the man who refused to take his eyes off of her. When he spoke, it was cold and without any affection.
“I had him right where I wanted him,” he told her, his nostrils flaring with anger that things obviously did not end the way he had hoped they would. “Are you pleased now?”
CHAPTER2
“I… I… I’m sorry, I…” the lady who ruined the one chance he had of finding his sister kept stuttering her apology which, at this point, served very little purpose if any.
Edwin Carter, the Duke of Combston, did not know this woman. In fact, he believed that he had never seen her in his life prior to this moment. She was a stunning vision of strawberry blonde hair and green eyes, standing in her curve-hugging gown. Her rosy cheeks were flushed into a poppy red, most probably the result of having been caught eavesdropping on a conversation that had nothing to do with her.
He tried not to allow her beauty to distract him from his purpose which was more important to his own existence. He could not believe that he was so close to finding out what he needed to know. He had that man right where he wanted him. It was a chance that would only occur once in a lifetime, and this was it. He would be getting no second chances. He sighed heavily at the thought, blinking hard as if his own eyelids threatened to close on him.
“I…” she said again, her lower lip quivering, then she turned to go without being able to finish her thought.
“You know, the least you can do right now is introduce yourself,” he shouted after her.
His words stopped her mid-step. Her gown fluttered around her feet in the night breeze. Despite all his conscious effort not to pay attention to that, he still could not stop seeing her as a stunning vision in lilac, a light emanating from somewhere deep inside of her. The light of curiosity? It seemed he would need to remind her that curiosity killed the cat.
She hesitated for a moment. He thought she would not dare turn to face him. She would run back inside, hoping he would not follow her. To be quite honest, he had no intention of following her. He had other people he needed to follow, other people he needed to speak urgently to. This lady, beautiful though she may be, was a distraction.
Then, she turned around. Her eyes were fierce, unyielding, although everything about her body assured him that she was one step away from running back inside. That was her first instinct. Yet, he seemed to intrigue her as much as she intrigued him, no matter how reluctant he was to admit this.
“I am Lady Lydia Lambert,” she announced, her voice trembling, but she managed to push on. “I am the daughter of the Earl of Russton.”
Edwin knew the Earl only superficially. He had been introduced to him on one occasion and exchanged a few pleasantries with him, but other than that, the man was a stranger. His daughter was even more so.
“I am–”
“I know who you are,” she interrupted him. For some inexplicable reason, it pleased him that she knew him. “You are Edwin Carter, the Duke of Combston.”
He expected her to curtsy in front of him, but she did no such thing. That amused him even more. He reached into his pocket, well aware of the fact that she was not taking her eyes off of him for even a second. He took out a cigar then proceeded to light it.
“Well, if that is all–” she started, but this time, he decided to interrupt her back.
“No,” he cut her off, inhaling deeply, enjoying the smoke filling his being. He knew it was a horrible habit. He was supposed to have quit it a long time ago. In fact, he managed to quit then this whole madness happened, and it was now the only thing that provided some solace in this tempest of troubles. “The least you can do now is keep me company for a little while,” he added nonchalantly.
He had spent so much time chasing ghosts for the past two years that he had already forgotten what it was like to be in the company of a lovely young lady. Perhaps he could be a normal gentleman just for a few precious minutes and just enjoy her company.
He thought she would refuse his request. After all, they were outside in the garden, alone. Unchaperoned. Her reputation might be at risk if someone came outside and saw them. Then he remembered what she had already done. She had already risked her reputation by coming out alone then eavesdropping on a conversation that was none of her business. She was obviously unlike any other young lady he had met before. That too intrigued him immensely.