Page 45 of The Undesirable Duke
She retrieved the letter from her pocket and handed it to Timothy.
“It is addressed to me.”
“I can see that.” Timothy pursed his lips and took the letter from her. He opened it, and immediately, his eyes widened as he read the threatening words. “What is this?”
“It is rather self-explanatory, brother.”
“Where did you get this, Lillian?”
“Please, try to keep your voice down,” Lillian hushed him. “It was delivered to our home late this afternoon.”
“By whom?”
“I am not certain. I only saw him fleetingly, from my window. I did not see his face, but I can assure you it was a man.”
Timothy stared incredulously at Lillian and shook his head.
“You do not think that this is the man who wrote those lies about Yarmouth, do you?”
“I do believe it is, and somehow, he is under the impression that I am assisting the Duke in revealing his identity.”
Timothy stared at Lillian with wide eyes.
“But how on Earth would he know this? No one knows that you offered your assistance to Yarmouth.”
“The writer of this letter does, and he is determined to ruin my reputation if I do not stop.”
Lillian sighed and sat on the edge of Timothy’s bed.
“You did not see his face?”
“No, I did not.”
Timothy’s brow furrowed, and he appeared perplexed.
“How did you see him?”
“I was in my room, sitting at my window. It was nearly dark outside, the street was quiet, and I was planning my escape,” Lillian joked.
“Now is not the time for humor.”
Lillian rolled her eyes and cleared her throat.
“I noticed a man walk directly to our door. He was dressed in black, and I was not able to see his face. Perhaps he wore a cloak. I am not quite certain. It was difficult to see clearly.”
“What did he do?”
“He spoke to our footman outside, and handed something to him. I decided to go downstairs, as I thought…”
Her voice trailed, and she lowered her gaze.
“You thought what?”
“I thought, or rather, I hoped, that it may have been the Duke who wrote me a letter as it would be the only way we could communicate with one another after the ball,” Lillian answered sheepishly. Timothy pursed his lips to suppress a smile, and much to Lillian’s relief, he did not respond. “The butler handed the letter to me, saying that it was for me, and I rushed upstairs to read it.”
“Thinking that it was from the Duke?”
Lillian stared at Timothy, unimpressed by his amused smile.
