Page 13 of Her Rogue of a Duke
Joshua could tell that it was not Francesca.
Not wishing for an encounter with the approaching duo, Joshua looked around in search of a place to hide. There was an open door next to him and he slipped inside the room, pressing his back against the doorframe to stay out of sight. The two came closer and closer, until he could hear precisely what they were saying.
“I simply cannot fathom why you are so upset,” the lady declared. “I never thought you seriously intended to marry her. Besides, who would believe her anyway? She’s as silent as a church mouse.”
“Of courseI intended to marry her, Elsa,” Hucklow hissed. “I did not squander all my time courting her for my amusement.”
“Well, I suspect she’s not too fond of you now. I doubt very much she would take you—”
“By Jove, would you just stay quiet!” Hucklow growled. “I did not ask for your opinion on the matter. Had I known she would be here tonight, I would not have dared to sneak off with you.”
“You speak as if it ismyfault,” the lady scoffed. “It has never stopped you before. You pursued me, my lord, or have you forgotten?”
The two continued to bicker as they passed Joshua’s hiding place, but he did not need to hear anything more to grasp the situation.
Clearly, Francesca had caught the two in a compromising position… not unlike his experience with his own Francesca. His stomach twisted as he remembered the humiliation and heartache seeing her with another man had caused him. He imagined Francesca was experiencing a similar mix of emotions at that moment.
The urge to find her only grew stronger.
He waited until Hucklow and the lady moved past him and their voices faded into the distance, before slipping out of his hiding spot. Joshua glanced around to ensure he was alone beforeproceeding down the corridor, his mind focused on finding Francesca.
With each empty room he passed, his concern for her grew. Where could she be? He hoped that the pain and shock of what she had witnessed hadn't driven her to do anything foolish.
It was not until he reached the end of the corridor that he finally saw her figure. Ahead of him, large glass doors opened onto a balcony overlooking the estate’s gardens. There, Francesca stood, leaning on the railing, gazing contemplatively at the night sky. Unsure of her state of mind or her next move, he approached her with caution and gentleness, careful not to startle her and accidentally send her toppling over the edge.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Joshua eased out onto the balcony, his voice as gentle as he could make it. “Lady Francesca? Are you all right?”
She spun to him with a look of surprise crossing her expression, but then released a breath and shrugged her shoulders.
“I just needed some fresh air,” she explained. “It was getting rather stuffy in there.”
Joshua came to a stop beside her and racked his brain for something comforting to say. But nothing immediately came to mind. He did not know how to comfort a woman. In fact, he had not spent enough time with any one woman to have honed the skill. The last woman he ever offered comfort to had been Lady Francesca… but that was before she had betrayed him and ripped his heart out from his chest.
Since Francesca had not brought up Hucklow’s indiscretion, Joshua decided not to either. He did not want to embarrass her,or himself, by admitting that he knew about Lord Terrell and his other lady. Still, he wanted to try and help her feel better, but his mind remained blank in that regard.
As he stood beside her, trying desperately to think of something to say, she broke the silence first, her voice tinged with barely-masked sadness.
“Why do gentlemen seem to find me unappealing?” she asked in a soft voice.
“What?” he replied, taken aback by her question. “What in the world do you mean?”
She sighed and gazed out over the gardens again. “There must be something about me that makes it difficult for gentlemen to like me. Is it my family’s station? My father’s wealth? My visage? What is it?”
Joshua frowned and shook his head. “None of that is true. I am sure gentlemen do like you. People in general like you.”
She scoffed. “That is rather ironic coming from you, Your Grace, considering you happen to be one such gentleman who has always disliked me. It is hard to take such assurances coming from your lips seriously.”
Joshua opened his mouth to reply, but then stopped and said nothing, pressing his lips back together in silence. She was right, after all. Guilt twisted his gut at that realization. It really was nother fault that he had always harbored such feelings of animosity toward her. Her name was the main source of his angst.Francesca. If only she did not share a name with the woman who had shattered him.
It is rather unfair of me. Illogical… yet I cannot seem to help myself.
He released a breath and shook his head. “I am sorry for that, but you do have many positive qualities that draw others to you.”
She looked up at him with a sad but adorable frown. “Oh? And what might they be?”
They turned to face each other fully. Joshua gazed down at her. She truly was beautiful. Her blonde hair was smooth and silky, and elegantly styled into a chignon at the back of her head. Her blue eyes were bright and her gaze, direct. She really was not intimidated by him, and that was strangely refreshing.