Page 46 of The Duke's Stolen Heart
Antonia felt eyes skim down her body, assessing the fit and quality as if she were a horse at auction. A smirk tugged at her mouth. All they saw was that the pretty foreigner had transformed overnight into the most fashionable lady in London, not the viper they had welcomed into their midst. Antonia let her lips curl up the corners while Margaret waved happily to a red-haired lady in a green silk gown.
“Annabelle. Congratulations on your recent nuptials.”
“Thank you. Miss Lowry.”
Antonia leaned in to embrace the woman she had briefly befriended. Several feet away stood her new husband, Lord Castlereagh. This was the moment of judgment. He bowed and introduced her around. Six days from now, Antonia Lowry would disappear in a noxious cloud of scandal. Her name would be cursed and then forgotten. No one in the room knew that yet, though. Antonia ought to feel triumphant. Her schemes had succeeded in spite of her impulsive, reactionary lack of plans. But all she felt was loss.
Running meant leaving Malcolm and Margaret behind.
The thought of betraying Margaret’s easily bruised feelings made her heart thump dully in her ears. Their parting must be decisive, to protect her friend’s reputation. Margaret had been nothing but patient, generous and kind. She deserved to know why Antonia was leaving. A warning buzz tickled the base of Antonia’s skull.
Stop looking at me.The very air between her and Malcolm vibrated with connection.You're threatening everything we've planned.Yet she couldn't break the spell, either. For three long heartbeats, their gazes met and held.
“Is that your beau, Lady Margaret?” asked a woman in a purple gown with a knowing grin.
“So it is,” chirped Margaret. She waved, wiggling her satin-clad fingers across the room. Antonia barely registered the visible stiffening of the fancy lady’s jaw. Margaret's overly friendly welcome had been noted and judged deficient. Antonia briefly wrestled with the peculiar urge to strangle the woman.
This was what she got for giving people names. First her protectiveness of Malcolm, now Maggie. But Antonia had no time to reflect further before Havencrest resumed his forward march in their direction. He bowed over Margaret’s gloved hand. Her friend giggled.
What if…what if she stopped running? Antonia mulled the idea as he murmured greetings to their circle. But when Malcolm greeted a dark-haired woman in a blue-and-silver tissue gown and said, “Mrs. Cartwright,” all thoughts of remaining fled.
A few months ago, Antonia’s actions had nearly caused this woman’s death.
No, she could not stay, because she could never outrun the past she had built upon an eroding foundation of lies. Antonia was caught in a trap of her own making, with no way out but through. Breath cut through her lungs. Her eyes stung. She blinked.
Damned, uselessfeelings.
