Page 67 of A Viscount's Bet of Seduction

Chapter 40

Silas went to dine at the Miss Wildses. As they ate, Miss Joan Wilds kept up the conversation. Lucy was very quiet. She seemed downcast, and he wondered what the matter could be. He knew it couldn’t be the supper. It was a very fine chicken, roasted with root vegetables. A simple meal, but a delicious one.

“How are the renovations to your home going, Lord Thornbridge?” Miss Wilds asked him.

“Very well,” he said. “They are almost complete. Since we had the time and the money, my brother and I decided to update the entirety of the house.”

“What a good idea.”

“Indeed. We are often in London, so it was a reasonable expense. It hasn’t been updated since my father’s childhood.”

“I know that Amelia was the one to redo the wallpaper, back when she was a young bride. I remember that she was so nervous about the cost!”

“Indeed,” he agreed. “My mother’s tastes were very expensive. However, my father wouldn’t have denied her for the world.” His father’s love for his mother had known no bounds.

“Oh, indeed,” Miss Wilds agreed.

Silas glanced at Lucy, whose eyes were on her plate. She was studiously avoiding his gaze, and he wondered what was the matter. She was often quiet, but rarely this quiet.

When her aunt ran to go and fetch the dessert, he placed his fingers beneath her chin, raising her face until her eyes met his.

“What’s the matter, my love?” he asked.

“I’m nervous.”

“What for?”

“I… I only just realized that I’m to be Lady Thornbridge,” she admitted mournfully.

“What’s wrong with that?” His heart beat nervously in his chest—had she changed her mind? Was she telling him that she no longer wanted to be with him? His whole life hung in the balance.

“If I can barely stand to be in company as a guest, then how am I supposed to throw balls and fancy parties?” she pointed out.

“That is a serious concern,” he said, wondering how to remedy it. He knew, immediately. “We can get you used to it, slowly. Dinah will be there to introduce you into Society. And, you know, we don’t have to always throw balls and fancy parties, if you don’t want to.”

“But youdohave to,” she pointed out, tears forming in her eyes.

He leaned in, pressing his lips to hers. When he pulled away, he wiped away her tears with his thumbs.

“I didn’t know that it was possible to love you even more than I already do,” he said, smiling at her.

“Why?” She was searching his face. Clearly, she had expected something else. She had expected him to give her up!

“If you were overjoyed, then you wouldn’t have been true to yourself,” he said. “Being a Lady requires finding a way that you can make it your own. It’s up to you how you want it to be done….” He trailed off. “And, worst case, you can be like Lady Duncan, who is a hermit and never throws any parties at all.”

He took her by the hand. “I’ll let Dinah know,” he said. “She’ll introduce you to her set. I think you’ll like them. They’re very much like you.”

She shot him a suspicious look. “What do you mean?”

“Dinah told me all about that painting.” He flashed her a wicked grin, and she laughed. “I need to see it, now that you’ve almost finished.” His voice came out in a lustful growl. How he wanted desperately to be alone with her, with no chance of anyone coming upon them.

“So you shall,” she promised, a small smile coming to her lips.

“Now, no panicking,” he said, his eyes on her lips. “We will figure everything out. Together.”

“Together,” she agreed. Silas felt relieved that they had had this discussion. They should have had it much sooner, though it had never occurred to him. He would speak with Dinah the moment he returned home.

“Do you love me?” he asked.

“You know that I do.”

“Then there will be no problems,” he declared. For how could there be any problems at all if Miss Lucy Wilds was in love with him? He had never before been in love. It felt like the whole world was opening at his feet. He had only to step forward, and it would belong to him

---