Page 3 of A Duke's Lustful Riddle
It seemed as if Felicity was flustered by Hugh’s sudden appearance. The pink hue to her face was still very present. Gemma took note of the changing shades on her sweet friend’s face.
Gemma herself was suddenly struck by an idea of such genius that she could not keep it to herself. She hoped later that she was not going to speak out of turn, but the words made their way out of her mouth and to the two people standing with her. She spotted a very particular moment between her friend and the solicitor, and she was going to present an invitation.
Her voice gained a slight bit of volume as she forwardly stated, “I simply must tell you that I plan on hosting a grand dinner party. I will be in need of esteemed guests, and naturally, you both hold a very close place in my heart. I would be pleased if you would promise to be in attendance. Can I count on you to be there?”
Hugh glanced between Felicity and Gemma before agreeing. “Sounds like a perfectly ideal invitation, my Lady, and I thank you. I would be very honored to accept your invitation and look forward to seeing you lovely ladies there. I must excuse myself from your company. I merely had a short time to share my greetings. I will see you tomorrow evening. Thank you for sharing this time with me, Ladies.”
After Hugh took his leave of the women, Felicity playfully admonished her friend with a laugh.
“Gemma! Why would you do that?” Felicity asked, her face reddening to a deeper pink at the thought of spending more time in Hugh’s presence.
“I suppose there simply isn’t much that I can say now, is there?” Gemma smirked.
Felicity continued woefully, ringing her hands together. “It would seem you mischievously got me into something I wish to avoid.” Felicity shook her head and laughed. “I do hope that the meal will be so exquisite that Lord Anderson will be most enthralled! Do not overlook any detail for the evening, Gemma!”
Felicity walked briskly away and made her way to the front of the manor. It appeared as though Gemma’s sudden dinner invitation had struck a nerve in her otherwise good-natured friend.
As the carriage drove off, Felicity presented a playful glare, and Gemma knew that all was right between them. She tried to ignore the worry she felt about the safety of the carriage that carried her friend home. She understood that carriages were relatively safe. She had ridden in them countless times since her parents’ tragic accident but they still made her uneasy. She hoped as time passed; her unease would lessen.
Once Felicity’s carriage was out of sight, Gemma turned and made her way back inside, intent on putting together the most enjoyable dinner party. Maybe the spark she saw would grow into a flame between the guests of honor.
***
Felicity had no idea what to make of Lord Anderson. This was not her first time seeing the gentleman, but it was her first time interacting with him. His voice and demeanor were rather pleasing, and his unassuming countenance put one at ease.
She admired him from afar, but up close he was even more handsome. With his thick blonde hair and golden eyes, he was everything that Felicity had dreamed for herself. However, there was that small matter of her response to his appearance in the garden. Why could she have not behaved a bit more elegantly?
Did she imagine that eye contact? No, she thought. Felicity knew that something had been exchanged between herself and this delightful man.
As the carriage rumbled along the road back to her home, Felicity wondered how she might bring up the subject with her mother. Her mother was a warm and engaging listener who was never put out to walk her daughter through the proper steps on how to conduct herself.
The scenery passed quickly as the carriage traveled at a steady clip. As the carriage jostled her about in the seat, Felicity continued to ponder how her mother could best advise her on the matter of her heart and Lord Anderson. She hoped that her mother would have the most useful of advice when it came to winning the man as a suitor.
These matters required such delicate handling and Felicity found herself thinking through how lucky she was to still have her family. Gemma grappled with that loss every day since the untimely death of her parents. What a tragic way to lose one’s family, Felicity thought.
Her mind was moving back and forth from her embarrassment with Lord Anderson and the matter of her friend who was a woman in need of a suitor herself. Between the two of them, Felicity was more receptive to the idea of a suitor as this was the way of life in the Ton. She could not wait upon just any man, and Lord Anderson was delightfully urbane, and qualified to be her suitor. If only she could settle upon a proper suitor for Gemma, then they could live their lives in the Ton as close couples as they settled in and had children and estates of their own.
Felicity understood one thing: Gemma was her own woman. Life in the Ton might dictate a particular manner of making decisions, especially when it comes to suitors, but Gemma was not one to be swayed by other peoples’ opinions, not even Felicity’s thoughts on this matter could change her mind. Patience would be the best approach for the present time. She will trust that when the ideal man presented himself, her friend would be amenable.
Chapter 2
Gabriel docked in London, the sight of the city welcoming after the arduous trip. Halfway through, Gabriel had started getting seasick from the bumpy seas, aided by the act of reading the letters that Hugh Anderson had sent to him since his father had passed.
It wasn’t that Gabriel wasn’t interested in the status of the estate. It was that he wasn’t interested in anything at all. For six months he had been nursing a wounded heart and the loss of his father at the same time, and could not muster enough interest to even run his own small life in France.
He sulked, drank, and slept the months away, with the hope that he would wake up and it would all have been a nightmare. He ignored his studies, his friends, and his tutors. Even now, on the rocky seas, never far from a pail, the ache in his chest continued.
Six months ago, while he was attending his father’s funeral, Lily had packed her belongings and left. He had returned to an empty flat except for the furniture they had acquired together. She didn’t even have the decency to say goodbye to him in person. She left a letter.
It detailed the account of her tryst with a Count who had passed through France. A chance meeting walking along the Seine and after a short conversation, she was smitten and he was too, she’d said. She had been seeing him while they were together.
He had been abandoned by his father and betrayed by his love. He vowed six months ago that he would never allow his heart to hurt this way again.
As the trip had progressed, Gabriel went through one letter after another. The plethora of information conveyed from Hugh had reached grand proportions. He had kept Gabriel informed of key developments impacting his new life upon his return to the estate and, in the earlier letters, harangued him about his new responsibilities.
The new Duke of Ashbourne cared little for his title, but understood that he would not be able to shirk the duties that came with it much longer.
So, he packed up his flat and got on the rickety transport to face his new life; the thought that maybe a change of scenery would do him some good now that the reason he had fled England was gone.
