Page 93 of A Viscount's Bet of Seduction

“Not too long, but just long enough,” he replied, even though he had been told that his grand gesture would take nearly two months to complete. And he planned to do it perfectly. “I want to prove my love to you. I’ll do it, I swear to you.”

Lucy stared at him; she was clearly confused. “Do I have any other choice?” she asked miserably.

“You always do. But I beg of you, don’t give up on me,” he said. “Not yet.” He reached out, taking her hand. He raised it to his lips and kissed it tenderly.

“Will you wait for me?” he whispered, searching in her eyes for the answer. He watched as they softened. She loved him, still. That much was clear, though he knew that she wouldn’t say.

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I have to think about it. I’m confused, more than anything.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “That’s about as much as I deserve,” he remarked. “But know this, Miss Lucy Wilds, I do love you. I will prove it to you.” Silas stood up. He had said everything that he had needed. She didn’t seem to have anything more to say in return.

“Now, I shall see myself out.” He bowed to her. As he straightened up, his eyes attempted to meet hers. Her face was turned away from him, and he got the feeling that she was attempting not to start crying again.

It took everything that Silas had within himself to pull himself away from her. He walked straight to the door, letting himself out. It was raining, but he walked all of the way back home. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. Silas felt hopeful. Not all was lost. Lucy was not lost. He merely had to prove to her that she was everything to him.

***

Lucy remained where she was, listening as he left. He had apologized, and he had said that he loved her. She had no idea what he meant to do. Or when. It sounded like it was going to take a long time.

I don’t want to wait a long time. I want to feel well again. She wished that she’d thought to tell him that, when he was there.

She felt like she was stuck in Purgatory, where she was always broken-hearted. She was waiting for Silas to be a different gentleman. Someone who even he couldn’t prove that he was. She was still there when Aunt Joan returned.

“Lucy?” she called out, panic in her voice.

“I’m here, Aunt Joan.” She walked to the top of the stairs. She felt like a ghost in her own home. She was the one who haunted this house. She just existed here. She was no longer flourishing.

“Why is the front door unlocked?” Aunt Joan asked.

“Because Silas let himself out.” She didn’t care that they had been unchaperoned. It didn’t matter. Her reputation could be anything, ruined, sterling—she was going to be a spinster, forever.

“What happened?” Aunt Joan asked, coming up the stairs. She placed a hand on Lucy’s cheek and studied her closely, as if looking for damage.

“He apologized.”

“Did you forgive him?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. She honestly didn’t. Silas’s declaration had confused her.

“Are you courting again?” Aunt Joan’s eyes travelled over Lucy’s features, as if to discern her true thoughts.

“No.” Lucy turned and began to walk to her bedchamber. She paused. “Though, he did say that he loved me,” she told her aunt. “And that he’s going to prove it to me.”

“Are you going to let him?”

“It seems I have no choice,” she remarked, bitterly. “It’s not like I’ve got suitors lining up at the door, begging me to marry them instead.”

She sighed wearily and then went into her room. She sat down at her vanity, looking at her own reflection. Her eyes were puffy and her nose was red, which seemed to be her new normal state.

She reached up and began to unpin her hair, letting it fall out of its bun and down around her shoulders. Her mind was a whirl of thoughts, all of them scattered. It seemed that Mr Stalton’s version was incorrect, aimed to hurt her. Though she didn’t know if she trusted Silas.

Her mind was filled with thoughts of him, starting with the first time she’d seen him back at Thornbridge Manor. She had been falling in love with him. She had been hurt by what Mr Stalton had said. And then, Silas had fled the city, instead of staying and apologizing.

He might have left it off for too long. It’s too little and far too late.

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