Page 12 of Duke of Wickedness

Helentsked. “I can really only keep one Lightholder secret at once, darling, so I think I will have to gloat about that one extensively, sorry to say.”

“I accept this as my due,” Ariadne said solemnly.

This conversation left Ariadne feeling slightly—slightly—better about things. She had just turned back to Purity and her misadventures when Edwards, the butler, knocked politely at the entrance to the parlor.

“The Duke of Wilds to see Lady Ariadne,” he said somberly.

“The Duke of--?”

It was Helen who yelped in shock, though she quickly cut off the exclamation. And yet Ariadne could not have expressed the panic that surged through her more perfectly if she had tried.

This was bad. This was very bad. This was very, very,verybad.

There weren’t enoughverys in the world, honestly.

What was he doing here? Had someone seen her at his house? Goodness, how could she have been sostupid? Why hadn’t it been in the gossip rags this morning? God help her, her entire plan had been predicated on not being a problem for her family, and now she was adisaster.Acatastrophe.

Given all the noise in her mind, Ariadne was rather pleased with herself when her voice came out levelly.

“Oh?” she asked. “How surprising.”

Helen—whom Ariadne loved, despite her expression in this moment—looked as though Michaelmas had come early.

“Indeed, itissurprising,” she said gleefully. “Do show him in, Edwards.”

“Helen!”

It was too late, however. Edwards’ loyalty hierarchy was very clear, and Helen came in a close second after Catherine. Ariadne was about tied with Xander, which had been a real drop for her, but the butler credited Xander with having the good sense to marry Helen, and Ariadne could hardly argue with the man’s sense of priorities. Helen was a breath of fresh air around this place.

Still, it would have been nice, just this once, to be able to gainsay the duchess. It would have been nice to have a moment to collect herself—or figure out a way to send the duke away without speaking to him while still finding out what he knew and why he was here.

That was probably too much to hope for, even without her beloved sister by marriage’s interference.

“Your Grace, how good to see you.”

To Ariadne’s horror, just the sound of his voice sent a shiver down her spine. The sight of him, alas, did not help matters.

He should have looked less handsome in the daylight. Shadows were forgiving, but the light of day was meant to be harsh.

Yet it seemed to only illuminate all the ways the duke was lovely.

God, it was unfair.

“And you, as well,” Helen said brightly. “Has it been since Catherine’s wedding? That seems ages ago now.”

“And yet time hasn’t touched you in the least,” the Duke of Wilds said, bowing graciously over Helen’s hand. Ariadne struggled not to roll her eyes even as Helen, who was madly in love with her own husband, blushed slightly.

This man’s charm was a weapon. Someone should alert the military; if they could bottle it up and deploy it against the French, they’d never have another war again.

“You are a liar, but a good one,” Helen retorted.

“Ah, well.” The duke did a good impression of being bashful.

Ariadne would wager every penny of her pin money that the Duke of Wilds had never been bashful a day in his life.

“Good enough, you think,” he went on, “to steal a moment with your sister?”

He looked politely over Helen’s shoulder and offered Ariadne an entirely guileless smile. Had he trained for the stage at some point in his life? He was so convincing that evenshewas doubting that anything untoward was going on.