Page 95 of The Duke of Seduction
FuckingFelixhad gone behind his back? Beck worried he was going to break a second guitar when they were finished. No, he wouldn’t do that.
“Can you provide testimony detailing what Lord Haywood said?”
“Yes.” The thought of having to relive what that beast had done to Helen hollowed him from the inside. “When?”
“Now, if you’re able.”
“Fine.” He finally sat, taking a chair near the hearth and sitting ramrod straight while he repeated precisely what Haywood had said. He finished by saying, “He should hang.”
“And he may.” The Runner had sat on the settee and now stood. “Thank you for your time, my lord. You’ll hear from me very soon.”
He strode from the room, and Beck collapsed back against the chair.
A few moments later, Gage came in, his gait halting, his stature a bit…slumped. He stopped near the settee and looked over at Beck.
“I’m incredibly sorry for what happened to your sister.”
Beck wasn’t surprised to hear Gage had listened. He did that sometimes, and in every single case, it was something Beck hadn’t wanted to repeat but didn’t mind Gage knowing. “You’ve a gift for being exactly where I need you, when I need you.”
“I do try.”
“Sit.” Beck inclined his head toward the settee. “If you want.”
Gage lowered himself—slowly—onto the cushion. “I perceived you were in a particular state. Yesterday and then today with the guitar. It’s strange enough that you became engaged without a hint of it, and then all this with your sister.”
Beck pressed his lips together, thinking about Gage’s perceptions. “You think my betrothal is somehow related to…this?”
“Not directly. But your emotions, which run very deep, as we know, are perhaps at an all-time fervor. High and low—your betrothal made you happy, did it not?”
“More than I’ve ever been. I love her beyond anything, Gage.” As angry as he was at her right now, as betrayed as he felt, he loved her.
Gage’s expression softened. “I suspected as much. And yet learning what happened to Miss Beckett has sent you to the opposite end of the spectrum.”
“Yes.” he barely croaked the word out, his mind tumbling into a ravine where sunlight spilled over the tangle of vines and branches that sought to pin him down. He looked up at the light. Hewantedthe light. Lavinia was his light.
“Perhaps there is a way for you to move to the other end. The end where Lady Lavinia resides. Rather, your feelings for her.”
“I was just thinking that.” Words formed and joined in his head. The shadows gave way to a warm glow, but not completely. It wasn’t ever that easy.
Beck stood. “I need to write.”
“Of course.” Gage rose. “Shall I begin the transformation of this room into her ladyship’s office?”
“Yes, and have the door cut,” Beck said. He went toward the door and paused at the threshold, turning. “Thank you, Gage. I never say it enough, but without you, I fear I would have drowned in the abyss long ago.”
“It is my pleasure to provide assistance. Of any kind. And may I say how pleased the staff is to hear of your engagement. If you are amenable, we should like to raise a toast to you this evening.”
“I should like that very much, thank you.” Beck turned and went to his office with a far lighter step than when he’d left.
Once again, he tore away his outer clothing, then he sat down and began to write.
* * *
This had beenone of the longest days of Lavinia’s life. She felt utterly drained and could barely make the effort to brush her hair. But since she’d sent Carrin off to bed, she supposed she must.
She picked up her brush and went to sit in front of the windows. The candlelight from the table next to her bed cast a warm glow, and she was soon lulled into a semidazed state. It was the most serene she’d felt all day.
Except for those few moments in church when she’d sat beside Beck, his body lightly touching hers, his scent filling the air around her, her love for him filling her with joy.
