to contemplate the future anymore. It was too uncertain and subject to change without warning. Yet Vivian had triggered something inside him that hadn’t been alive since his accident. Hope. A part of him couldn’t stop wondering what life might be like with someone sharing it with him.
No, not someone. Her.
“You always were abysmal at chess,” Luke accused his brother, ready to shift his focus.
“But I excel at the things that matter.” Drew tapped his finger against his glass. “My bride is tucked in bed by now and I would like to join her, but if you need me to stay…”
“No, you go. I am not long for bed myself.” But the thought of climbing the stairs where his former prison lay made his stomach roil.
Drew hesitated a moment before he nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line. He placed his glass on a side table then quit the study.
Luke should get some sleep, too. Tomorrow he would call on his steward, and he wanted to be well rested. His headaches were always worse when he was tired. Still, he lingered in the library.
Reaching the opened double glass doors, he walked out into the night. Moonlight shimmered off the lake, visible through the trees in the distance. He breathed in the fresh air, so unlike the heaviness that hung inside the house.
The lake called to him. Perhaps if he sat on the bank for a while, his mind and heart would settle. Even if he could come to a decision about the expedition, he might be able to rest tonight.
***
Vivi had given up sleep an hour earlier and moved to the window seat in her chambers. She had lain in bed as long as she could, trying to push thoughts of Luke from her head without success. She had relived their kiss many times over after she had climbed under the sheets. Yet it was his troubled gaze as he had looked down at Twinspur Cottage that kept her awake.
A somber mood had descended over him when they stopped on the hill. He had tried to hide behind his smiles, but they had been hollow. Vivi had known him long enough now to tell the difference.
Since she had no right to intrude on his privacy, she hadn’t questioned him further about what had happened to him here, but she was concerned. Luke seemed to be wrestling with past demons, and she wanted to be his champion. Perhaps she would muddle being his champion as badly as she was at courting him, but her desire was sincere.
Vivi tucked her knees up under her nightrail and leaned her forehead against the smooth window glass and wished it were cooler. The air was exceptionally hot this evening. If she were home, she might steal away for a swim.
A patch of white entered her line of sight, standing out against the black backdrop. It appeared to be a gentleman, and he moved with purpose toward the lake. She sat up straight and watched, curious. He disappeared among a clump of trees and did not reemerge.
It had to be Luke. He had been edgy at dinner—distracted and irritable—as if he couldn’t tolerate being enclosed by the walls of the cottage. Vivi twined a strand of hair around her finger and debated the wisdom of going to him. She knew she should stay in her chambers and respect his need for solitude. Besides, it would be unseemly for a young lady to seek out a gentleman without a chaperone, or even with a chaperone at this hour.
But what if he was alone because there was no one he could confide in? Her heart ached at the thought.
Swinging her legs over the side of the window seat, she grabbed the folded blanket at the other end of the padded bench and headed for the corridor. She listened at the door before easing it open. Finding no one stirring, she hurried toward the stairs and descended as quietly as possible before winding through the house. She found a set of doors facing the lakeside and slipped outside.
A breeze lifted loose strands of hair around her face and cooled her damp skin. She gingerly picked her way across a wide veranda, mentally scolding herself for forgetting her slippers.
The night sounds surrounded her as she stepped onto the grass. She paused, her stomach unsettled as if a tumultuous storm brewed inside her.
This is a bad idea. Turn around. Her body refused to obey, and she continued toward her ruin.
He