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“I noticed you were avoiding him. What has happened? Is it to do with him marrying you off? Has he offered you to someone?”

Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose. Though Lizzie knew many of her secrets, she did not know that she had once been infatuated with the marquis once upon a time. It was simply too embarrassing to admit.

“No. He has said nothing as yet, though I still think he wants me gone.” Lucy sighed and stared at her hands. “Even more so now that I’m avoiding him.”

“But why? Surely, you can charm him? Everyone likes you, miss.”

“He does not seem to. I tell you, Lizzie, he never used to be like this. He is so…so serious. And then I caught him shouting at Anna. Who could ever shout at Anna?”

Lizzie bit down on her bottom lip. “I do believe Anna was being silly.”

Lucy frowned. “What do you mean?”

The maid glanced around as though someone might be listening in. “She has been spending time with one of the grooms. She went to the stables while the marquis was there andfeared getting caught, so she ducked into one of the stalls—the one with the stallion in it.”

“Goodness, she could have been killed.”

“Precisely. The marquis found her cornered and rescued her. He put himself at risk to save her.

“Oh.” Lucy twined her fingers together. How awful she must have seemed, shouting at him when he had just risked death or, at the very least, broken ribs for Anna. No wonder he was furious.

“Anna did not much enjoy being scolded, but she knows she was silly. And she will not cease speaking of how heroic he was.” Lizzie rolled her eyes.

“Heroic,” Lucy echoed. “Yes, he was heroic to do such a thing.”

And Lucy had been guilty of completely misjudging him. She was not wrong about his lack of smiles or how serious he was, but he was not a horrible person as this encounter had made her believe. She sighed. She owed him an apology.

Standing, she straightened her gown and quickly checked her reflection. Sure enough, a lump was forming on her forehead and was slowly turning shades of purple. Not even the thickest of makeup could cover such a thing.

“Where are you going?” Lizzie asked.

“I had better go and find the marquis. I owe him an apology, I believe.”

Lizzie grinned. “He will accept it, no doubt. He has a soft spot for you.”

“Really?” Lucy tilted her head. She suspected he just thought her an annoyance and wanted her gone as soon as possible. He wanted to make her another man’s problem, surely?

“Oh yes. I have seen the way he looks at you.”

Lucy didn’t know how to respond to this, so she went downstairs in search of the marquis. A visit to his study and the parlor rooms came up empty until she ran into the butler, who informed her that the marquis had gone for a ride. It was unusual for him to ride in the afternoons, but Lucy did not wish to wait for his return, so she put on a spencer jacket and hat and headed out toward the fields where he liked to ride.

She had anticipated walking for as long as she needed to—be it miles. However, she came across him on the brow of a hill that looked over the house. With the sun beginning to dip low behind him, he was silhouetted by an amber glow that burnished the treetops around him with gold.

Suppressing a sigh, she forced away the thought that he looked rather much like a dramatic hero from a Gothic novel that she would have loved when she was younger. In her Gothic novels, however, they were never guardian and ward, but some star-crossed lovers, and they had never had a petty argument but were faced by some awful drama.

She swallowed hard and straightened her shoulders. His gaze landed upon her, and for some reason, a crooked smile crossed his lips. She had half-expected him to be furious with her or, at the very least, looking a little stern. Her behavior had been foolish, and she would not blame him for being angry with her.

“What are you doing here?”

She craned her neck to look up at him. “I…” She twined her hands together in front of her. “Would you mind dismounting for a moment?”

He hesitated but did as she asked, leaving the horse to graze. He closed the gap between them, and she still had to crane her neck to look up at him, but it was a little less uncomfortable than peering up at him on his horse. She licked her lips. “I did not know you rode this time of day. That is…” She cursed underher breath but caught the twitch of his lips that told her he’d heard the curse. “I came here to… That is…oh bother.”

“Shall we sit? I think this is going to take some time.” He indicated to the brow of the hill, where they could sit and look out over the house. The sunset glinted upon the golden flourishes atop the building and reflected on the glass panes atop, and she could not help but smile. The house never looked so beautiful.

She followed him and sat beside him, curling her arms around her knees. For several moments, they both looked out over the house.

“I think I know—” he started.