The Day of the Duchess (Scandal & Scoundrel #3)(77)

“They are correct.” Lilith’s nose wrinkled, and he could not blame her. “It was once. I had just discovered that Sera . . .” He trailed off. It was not their business. “I was angry. I have never done it again.”

They were silent for a very long time, and Lilith said, “You know, I think I believe him.”

Felicity nodded. “As do I, strangely.”

Miraculous. Now if only they could convince Seraphina to do the same.

Felicity pressed on. “Shall I tell you what I like about your wife?”

He did not need to hear a list of Sera’s qualities. He knew them well. He had listed them more than once. More than a thousand times. And still, he wanted to hear them. He wanted to speak of her with another, as though invoking her here could summon her close. “I do not imagine I could stop you, my lady.”

She grinned. “That is likely true. I’m terrible at keeping quiet. It’s why my mother was so thrilled to receive your invitation. You are her last great hope.”

“I’ve no interest in being coddled,” he said. “Dukes get too much of that as it is.”

Felicity nodded. “Very well, I shall tell you. I like that Seraphina knows what she wants. And I like that she is not afraid to pursue it. Even when it is most definitely not done.”

Divorce was that. He nodded. “She’s always been that way.”

“Women are not always able to have what we want,” she said, and there was a wistful quality in her tone. “We are too often judged for pursuit.”

The words sent a chill through him. He had done that. He had punished her for pursuit. And then, finally, he had punished her for refusing to pursue him.

“Did she pursue you?” Lilith, this time.

“She did,” he said, hating the fist that caught hold of him at the words. The way it twisted in his gut.

“They say she caught you unawares. Hoodwinked Haven and all that.”

These women lacked fear, and Haven could not help but admire that. “That is what they say.”

“But it couldn’t have been for the title,” Felicity pointed out. “Else why flee? Why not stay and flaunt it?”

How often had he asked himself the same question?

“For all that pursuit, she does not seem to like you very much any longer, Your Grace,” Lilith added.

“No, she does not,” he said. That much was clear to everyone.

“I like that about her,” Felicity said quietly. “I like that when it became clear you did not want her, she did not stay.”

Except he had wanted her.

He still wanted her.

Not that he had ever told her as much. Instead, he’d shamed her for her passion. For standing on her own. For reaching for what she wanted. He’d kept it from her. From them both.

“I like that she knows herself. That she believes in herself. That she did not allow herself to be less than what she deserved,” Felicity added. “I should like to be more like her than not.”

“Then perhaps you ought not marry the Duke of Haven,” Lilith said, all dryness. “History would suggest he is not the most accommodating of men when it comes to helping his wife reach her goals.”

The words were not meant for him at all. And still they stung like nettles. “Mmm,” Felicity said, thoughtfully. “I think that might be the case.”

Christ. Why did it take two unmarried women to teach him what he should have seen years ago?

“And that’s before the other problem,” Lilith continued, returning Mal to the moment.

“What other problem?” he asked, the question more forceful than he planned.

The women continued, as though he was not there. As though they were still discussing the estate. Or the weather. And not his personal flaws. “Oh, certainly, that bit is clear as crystal.”

“What bit?” he demanded.

Lilith turned to him, considering him for a long moment. “As this entire scenario is uncommon in the extreme, Your Grace, I wonder if you might find yourself willing to answer a rather—inappropriate—question?”

He could not help the shock that played across his face. “More inappropriate than the rest of this conversation?”

Both ladies laughed, and Lilith smiled. “Likely not, as a matter of fact.” He waited for her to find the proper words. “Do you wish a new wife?”

And there it was, his exit from this debacle. “I do not, as a matter of fact.”

She nodded and looked to Felicity. “Well, that’s that, then.”

“Indeed.” Felicity hopped down from her seat on the parapet. “Thank you very much, Your Grace. This is a lovely folly. The best I’ve seen.”

“And estate,” Lilith leapt to add, politely. “That statue of Orion in the lake is particularly beautiful.”

Confusion flared, and not a small bit of hope. Were all women everywhere so unsettling? Or was it specific to the women with whom he came into contact?

“Are you leaving?” he asked, fairly agog.

“We are,” Felicity said, dipping a quick curtsy. “I’m sure you understand.”

“I don’t, as a matter of fact,” he pointed out. “I’ve never in my life met women so willing to speak such truth.”

Lilith smirked. “Perhaps you should meet more women. We are not so very uncommon.”