Page 91 of The Duke's Impossible Deal
Tobias was still not looking at her. Despite the fire, his face was cast in shadow. She wished he would look at her. She touched fingers to her lips; she could still feel him.
“I do not know,” he repeated. “But there is only one way to find out.”
He pulled the door open and stepped out, leaving her alone in his room. She turned and made her way back to her own rooms.
The night was not turning out the way she had hoped.
Twenty-Six
“This cannot be happening.” Tobias ran a hand through his hair as he strode towards his study.
How could James be alive? And what was he doing in his study? Was this some kind of sick joke? Was it perhaps an imposter?
But Mr. Tanner would know if that was the case.
Tobias thought of the moments before his butler had knocked on his bedroom door. The scent of violets filled his senses, and he touched a hand to his lips. He could still taste Rowen, still feel her against him.
No, do not think of that now.
James was alive. That was the important thing.
Tobias swallowed and pushed open the door to his study. The fire blazed in the hearth, and a man stood warming his hands by it. He was tall, dressed in commoners’ clothes that had seen better days. His hair was long and disheveled, and he sported a beard. His face was gaunt, as though he had lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time.
“Jenkins?” Tobias took a step towards him.
The man turned to face him. His skin was sun-kissed, and he was thinner than Tobias had ever seen him. But his eyes, so like his sister’s, were as lively as ever.
James Jenkins, the Marquess of Ewelme, stood before him.
“You are alive,” Tobias breathed. “It really is you.”
“Of course it is!” James strode towards him, clapped him on the shoulder, and then pulled him into a hug. “It is so good to see you, old chap.”
“And you,” Tobias returned.
He is alive. He is here.
James pulled back, and Tobias noticed several scars that ran across his friend’s neck and hands.Though his smile was broad, there was a frailness about him.
“I hope you do not mind me waking you at such an ungodly hour, but I’ve had a devil of a time getting here, and well… there is no way the gentlemen’s club will let me in looking like this.” James gestured to his clothes and beard. “And I was in rather desperate need of a drink. And after the few months I have had, I just wanted to see a friendly face.”
“Where have you been?” Tobias shook his head, blinking slowly. He was half convinced that James would vanish at any moment.
“Now, that is a tale, and I will gladly tell it. But first, let us toast to my good health. Or rather, my not being dead.” James coughed as he handed him a glass. “Though of course, it was a close call. I am truly sorry for all the trouble it has caused. I hope you have not been too?—”
“James!” Rowen’s voice sounded from behind them, and Tobias turned around in time to see her hurtle into the room and throw her arms around her brother. “You are alive.”
Tobias stepped away from them, not wanting to interrupt the moment.
Rowen wore a thick dressing gown, and from what he glimpsed as it shifted, she had changed into more modest nightclothes.
He swallowed and looked away, his eyes flicking to Eric’s portrait. Something squirmed in his chest.
“Rowen?” James’s voice drew his attention. “What the devil are you doing here?”
“I live here.” Rowen stepped away from her brother.
“What?” James’s jaw dropped. “But what about Irving Manor?”
