middle of the room after the housekeeper left. The furniture was too fine to spoil with her dirty gown. A young woman entered several moments later, carrying a few dresses.
“Mrs. Aylmer said I am to set you back to rights, milady.”
Lady Phoebe’s maid turned out to be a soft-spoken girl who blushed every time Vivi met her gaze in the looking glass. Once Vivi had approved her handiwork, the maid bolted for the door as quick as a fox with hounds nipping at her hindquarters.
Another maid entered minutes later with a footman and a tea cart. “Mrs. Aylmer thought you might like to read while you await the duke’s return,” the young woman said and placed two leather-bound books on a side table. “There is a library below stairs if you prefer something different.”
“Thank you. I’m sure these will be more than satisfactory.”
The maid beamed, leaving Vivi with the impression she had selected the books. When the servants left her alone again, she admired the lovely array of cold meats, cheeses, and fruit, but she had no appetite. She forced down a few bites to be polite, but her stomach rolled and bobbed until she feared she might toss up her accounts.
Standing, she began pacing the chamber until her feet ached. She plopped down on the bed. It was softer than it had appeared. She wiggled then stretched out on it to further test it for comfort.
Too bad she wasn’t tired or else she could escape her racing thoughts for a while. She had no doubts Luke cared for her; perhaps he even loved her. He had been willing to give up his dream of exploration to please her. He had even embraced an existence that caused him great discomfort. She never should have allowed him to make those sacrifices.
She refused to bring shame upon his family too, any more than she already had. She wouldn’t be a stain upon the pristine reputation the Forests enjoyed. It was unfair to take his sisters with her in her fall from grace, and there was no question she would fall out of favor with the regal women who had welcomed her so warmly last night.
Once word spread of her reckless ride with Mr. Collier, everyone would think her scandalous. A lady of poor Quality. Unfit for polite society. All the things her sister-in-law had predicted.
Luke deserved better than she was able to give him, and if he couldn’t see it, she would have to be the voice of reason for him.
She curled up on her side and closed her eyes to shut out the shame threatening to overwhelm her. Quietly, she lay there until her thoughts began to slow, some evaporating like morning mist before she could comprehend them. Wisps of ideas unrealized until there was blessed nothingness at last.
Something grabbed her from behind. Vivi screamed, flung her elbow in a wide arc, and connected with flesh.
“Devil take it!”
Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears, but she recognized that voice. She flipped over to face her would-be attacker.
Twenty-seven
Luke pressed his palm against his throbbing eye; the hammering shot straight through to the back of his head. “I called your name,” he said lest she think he had intended to frighten her.
“Oh, sweet strawberry jam!” Vivian bolted upright and scooted to the edge of the bed to tug his hand away so she could peer at his eye. “It’s turning purple already. You can’t arrive to dinner with a blackened eye.”
He chuckled. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“This isn’t funny. I have injured a peer of the realm. Is there nothing I can do right?”
“You plant a facer pretty well.”
“Oh, don’t be flippant, Luke.” She touched the injured area around his eye.
It was unlike her not to see the humor in the situation. The encounter with Collier must have shaken her even more than he had suspected. He threaded his fingers with hers and pulled her hand away from probing his injury.
“Everything is fine. Just don’t touch it.” He placed a kiss on her hand to take away any sting his words might have.
She blinked up at him; her hair was mussed again from sleep. “I’m sorry. Did I break anything?”
“You have broken me from ever sneaking up on you again, but that’s all.”
She pulled her hand free of his and sighed, her shoulders sinking until she looked so dejected he thought his heart may rip in half.
“Did you find Mr. Collier?” she asked.
“You have nothing to fear from him now. He’s