we would be here three days at least for me to adequately address any tenant needs. Would you like to come along when I call on them?”
“I—” She tipped her head to the side and studied him. “Are you certain you’re a duke?”
Although her question was asked in jest, it cut to his heart. He knew he was different from other noblemen in his position. If she only knew to what extent, she would no longer think his differences were an asset.
He flashed a false smile. “What’s the matter, Vivian? Am I not stuffy enough for you?”
“You’re the perfect amount of stuffy to suit me, Your Grace. Not one ounce.”
Her response sent a wave of warmth flowing over him and a real smile pushed its way out.
Fourteen
Luke studied the chessboard, intent upon annihilating his brother. Drew was clever and had a head for games, but chess was like war and Luke had always had a taste for battle. Unfortunately, his birthright meant he could only engage in battles of wit rather than on the field.
His brother had been accommodating, agreeing to keep him company when the ladies retired a few hours earlier, but the game was doing nothing for Luke’s restlessness. His leg bounced up and down as if it had a mind of its own, and he fought against another wave of jitteriness that made him want to run. He hated being at Twinspur Cottage again.
He plopped his knight into position and tried to focus on his victory. In two more plays, Drew’s king would be trapped.
His brother leaned back in his chair, sipped his scotch, and made no attempt at a move.
“It’s your turn,” Luke snapped.
With a smirk, Drew pushed his king into the line of fire.
“You can’t move there. The game will be over.”
Drew shrugged and hauled himself from the chair. “I’m running low on scotch.”
As his brother sauntered to the sideboard, Luke snatched up the king. “I hate it when you stop trying.”
“But you like winning, and I’ve grown bored. Now we are both satisfied.” He turned his back as he pulled the stopper from the bottle of liquor. “I’m more interested in uncovering what happened between you and Lady Vivian today.”
Luke’s shoulders tensed. “I don’t know your meaning.”
His brother shot a chiding look over his shoulder before returning to his task. The silence in the library crackled. The glug, glug of scotch as Drew poured was as loud as gunshots.
Luke bolted from his seat and took his glass with him to the opened window. A weak breeze barely stirred the sticky air. Fall would be upon them shortly; it shouldn’t be this blasted hot after sundown. Captain Pendry was waiting to hear if Luke still wanted to be part of the expedition, but Luke didn’t know what to tell him. Vivian had him tangled in knots.
He drained his drink, trying to grasp hold of his thoughts as they whipped around in his head. A lone frog croaked somewhere close, his voice deep and mournful.
“Have you ever thought you knew where you were going only to feel completely lost moments later?” Luke asked without shifting his gaze from the darkness beyond the window.
Drew snorted. “Is that a rhetorical question? I’m married. I have children.”
“Point taken.” A few years earlier, if anyone had predicted his rakehell brother would be married and blessed with children, Luke would have called the person a fool.
Drew joined him in gazing into the nothingness outside. “Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Lana and the girls are my life, but I never thought this would be my future.” His brother nodded toward the window. “Do you see something out there?”
Luke shook his head. Maybe there was nothing for him out there beyond England as he had believed, but how could his destiny be here? He was damaged and a lousy stand-in for his father.
“I should have died that day,” he muttered.
“You didn’t.”
“But I should have. Did they ever tell you I wasn’t breathing?”
He glanced at his brother. Drew was leaning against the window frame and frowning. “Our parents said it was a miracle.”
Or a mistake.
It seemed Luke had been outmaneuvering fate for the last decade. He had the scars to prove it. What if fate had been waiting for him to care about something again so it could be snatched away?
Someone to care about.
Luke turned from the window with a heavy sigh. It wasn’t like him to engage in fatalistic thinking. He lived each moment and tried not