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Lucas sat across from Abigail during dinner. He hadn’t been able to convince Aunt Susanna to sit him next to Abigail for the meal. However, sitting across from her was the next best thing. It gave him a chance to see her since she avoided him at all costs. And now that he understood why, he didn’t blame her in the slightest. He only hoped she would allow him to redeem himself.
Hopefully, for the rest of their lives together.
Worthington had mentioned for him to humble himself, but Lucas realized he would have to grovel at Abigail’s feet for an ounce of forgiveness.
He watched her as she conversed with Duncan and Ralston. Although both gentlemen were happily married, it still didn’t stop the jealousy coursing through him whenever she smiled at them. When her twinkling laughter drifted across to him, he scowled in annoyance.
“Careful, cousin, one would think Abigail meant more to you than a mistake needing to be rectified,” Charlie baited him.
Lucas’s scowl deepened. “She has never been a mistake.”
“Mmm. Your marriage proposal spoke otherwise.”
Lucas shot Charlie a glare. “I thought I told you to mind your own business. Why are you always placed next to me?”
“Yes, I seem to recall that order. However, I cannot. Also, I requested for Aunt Susanna to sit me next to you.” Charlie smirked.
“Why?”
Charlie waggled her eyebrows. “You will see,” she answered before turning back to Worthington.
Before he could question her further, Charlie started drilling Worthington about the horse she had gifted him as a wedding present. Once Charlie started talking about horses, no one would get a word in edgewise. When Abigail giggled, his head swiveled to discover what amused her, Charlie’s comment already forgotten.
Abigail’s cheeks warmed at Duncan’s compliment. “You, sir, are an incorrigible flirt.”
Duncan winked. “And you, lass, are as bonny as the blush that graces your cheeks.”
Abigail couldn’t stop giggling. Duncan’s flirting had lifted her spirits. “Did Selina put you up to this?”
Duncan clutched at his heart. “What? A gentleman cannot compliment his lovely dinner companion?”
Abigail glanced across the table at Selina and saw her amusement at her husband’s antics. Selina shrugged. “He is your trouble for this evening.”
Abigail nodded her acceptance. Her friends’ attempts to lighten her mood warmed her heart. Ever since Lucas proposed as if she were a burden, Abigail had sunk into a depression. When Lucas never attempted to apologize or offer for her hand again, Abigail had resigned herself to accepting the path fate laid out for her.
When Abigail looked away from Selina, her gaze clashed with Lucas. The smile slipped from her face at the emotions she saw gathered in the depths of his gaze. They conflicted with every word he spoke to her. She must be mistaken.
She glanced away, but her curiosity won out. When she glanced back at him, a permanent scowl had settled on his face. Abigail thought Lucas directed his irritation at her, but his eyes shot daggers at Duncan instead.
Duncan chuckled next to her and raised his glass toward Lucas in a silent toast. “I love ruffling the ole boy’s feathers.”
“And here I thought I was a captivating dinner companion,” Abigail mumbled.
“You are at that, lass. But the English stick must suffer for his callous disregard.”
Abigail took a sip of her wine. “It is of no use.”
“I disagree. Forrester has caused Gray to blow smoke,” Ralston interjected.
Forrester chuckled. “A most becoming sight, if I say so myself.”
“My compliments.” Ralston focused his gaze on Abigail. “If Forrester has not mentioned it this evening, please allow me to do so. The lovely shade of your dress brings out the gold flecks in your eyes. You absolutely sparkle this evening.”
Abigail felt her cheeks warm again. “You are too kind.”
“Nonsense. I only speak the truth.”
Abigail smoothed a hand down her sleeve. “I had hoped Lord Ross would have arrived by now. I wanted to impress him.”
Ralston nodded. “And you will.”
Gray stilled when Abigail spoke of Lord Ross. In his mess of asking Abigail to marry him, he had forgotten to send her a missive withdrawing his offer. Now Abigail and his family waited for the earl to join them.
“You were supposed to write an explanation to Abigail,” Selina hissed.
“I forgot,” Gray whispered back.
“How could you forget something so simple?” Selina demanded.
Gray looked at Selina in exasperation. “Nothing concerning Abigail Cason is simple.”
What Gray didn’t realize was how loud his voice rose when he answered Selina. The table grew eerily quiet, making Lucas aware that everyone had heard him. His gaze swung to Abigail, and he watched her bright red cheeks pale, highlighting the light dusting of freckles.
Lucas’s insult shouldn’t have shocked Abigail. However, it did. It rocked her emotions to the core. Just when she thought she could handle his rejection and she was immune to him, he destroyed her all over again.
She fumbled with her napkin, dropping it to the floor in her haste to flee. Forrester and Ralston rose at the same time and helped her to stand.
Lucas jumped to his feet. “Abigail, you misunderstood what I meant.”
Abigail lifted her chin. “I do not believe I do, Lord Gray. You have made yourself quite clear where I am concerned.”
Colebourne pounded his fist on the table. “Sit down. It is past time we discuss the misconceptions surrounding your courtship.”
Abigail looked at the duke in disbelief. “There is no courtship.”
“Yes, there is,” Lucas and Colebourne spoke at once.
Abigail sank into her chair. “This family is mad.”
“On that we will agree, my girl.” A gentleman spoke from the doorway.
“Father,” Susanna exclaimed, rushing over to hug the Duke of Brockway.
“Susanna, dear.” The gentleman returned her hug. “I see you are continuing your mischief with your sister’s husband.”
Susanna laughed, guiding her father to sit next to her. “Nonsense.”
“Theo.” He nodded at Colebourne but shook his head at Ramsay. “I thought you were wiser than to involve yourself with their mischief.”
“I am only here fer the pastries,” Ramsay answered.
“Oakes, please set a plate for my father,” Susanna directed.
“Shall I also set places for the other visitors?” Oakes inquired.
Susanna looked confused. “Who did you bring along with you?”
“No one. Lord Ross and his daughters arrived when I did. Please show them in, Oakes. I wish to get acquainted with them,” Brockway ordered.
The table grew quiet once again at the duke’s arrival. The ladies exchanged panicked looks while their husbands shook their heads at the disaster ahead of them. Colebourne and Susanna exchanged puzzled expressions at the mention of Lord Ross. They had expected Brockway’s arrival because of the detailed letter Susanna wrote to her father and Colebourne’s plea for the duke to talk some sense into Lucas. However, it would appear there was more amiss than they planned.
Gray tried to get Duncan’s attention, only for his cousin to avoid any eye contact with him. He turned to Selina to have her help make sense of a fictional gentleman’s arrival, but she avoided him too. However, Charlie cackled her delight at his dilemma.
“What are you about?” Gray snarled.
Charlie placed her hand against her chest, aghast at his tone. “Why, nothing, dear cousin. Are you accusing me otherwise?” Her eyes sparkled with mischief.
“I damn well am. Come clean.”
“Gray! You overstep with your tone with my wife,” Sinclair declared from across the table.
Before Lucas could defend his tone, two young girls rushed into the dining room, followed by a distinguished-looking gentleman. His clothing was immaculate, befitting an earl, and his mannerism spoke of class. He smiled at his daughters’ enthusiasm, causing every lady at the table to awe over his loving attitude. When he turned the smile onto them, each lady tittered a welcoming response. They acted like schoolgirls under his charm. Even Abigail fell for him. She rose and wiped her hands along her skirts, like she always did when she was nervous.
Who is this imposter?
If Abigail wasn’t so much in love with the oaf sitting across from her, she could easily fall for Lord Ross. The gentle smile he directed at his daughters caused her heart to flutter. Not to mention the way his breathtaking eyes focused his attention on her. She never imagined the gentleman she had corresponded with all these months to hold this effect on her. While their letters bordered on the cusp of tender emotion, her heart had stubbornly remained devoted to Lucas. A devotion that kept leading to heartache.
“Miss Cason?” His deep voice brought Abigail to attention.
Abigail shook herself from her musings and dropped into a curtsy. “Lord Ross, how kind of you to accept the duke’s invitation.”
His smile deepened. “It was my pleasure. Anna, Rose, come and meet Miss Cason.”
Abigail melted under his kind attention. “It is wonderful to meet you,” she addressed the children.
Each girl grabbed onto one of Abigail’s hands. “You are so beautiful,” the youngest gushed.
Abigail knelt to their level. “Thank you. You girls are lovely too.”
The servants bustled in, making room at the table for the additional guests. Since Colebourne had always allowed the girls and Lucas to eat at the dining room table when they were younger, it was not odd for him to allow Lord Ross’s daughters the same privilege. Abigail helped them to settle next to their father.
“Rose and Anna? Hmm,” Brockway stated.
“Yes. Their mother named them,” Lord Ross explained.
“Where might Lady Ross be?” Brockway inquired.
Lord Ross frowned. “She passed away years ago.”
Brockway nodded in understanding. “My condolences. Might I ask your late wife’s name?”
Lord Ross, clueless to the heightened tension surrounding the room, answered, “Julia.”
Silence awaited Brockway’s reply. When he burst into laughter, it surprised everyone. “I am unsure who is behind this madness, but I must say, it is most brilliant. Now that I’ve played along, I must insist for this game to end. Although I am eager to hear your confessions.”
When no one spoke up to explain, Abigail cleared her throat. “I am sorry, Your Grace. What is it you wish explained?”
Brockway pointed at Lord Ross. “Who this imposter might be?”
Abigail sat up straighter in her chair and explained Lord Ross’s presence. “Lord Ross is no imposter. I have been corresponding with him for a few months. He is an earl who has offered me a governess position for his two daughters. Colebourne invited him to become better acquainted before I left to join Lord Ross’s household.”
Brockway tapped his fingers on the table as his shrewd gaze swept the table and eventually landed on Lucas. “Do you have something you wish to tell the girl?”
Lucas shook his head, refusing to answer his grandfather. He didn’t want to make his confession in a room filled with his family members. He preferred to explain his deceit to Abigail alone.
Lucas rose. “Abigail, may I speak with you in private?”
“No.” Her firm answer surprised not only him, but everyone else, too. “It is obvious everyone holds a secret I am oblivious to. If someone would be so kind as to explain why the duke is under the impression Lord Ross is an imposter.”
“I can explain part of the deception if you will give me a chance,” Lucas pleaded.
Abigail folded her hands in her lap. “I prefer not to be alone with you.”
A thunderous expression crossed Lucas’s face at Abigail’s rejection. He had hoped to apologize for his deception and plead her forgiveness, but her stubbornness injured his pride. “I have no clue who this gentleman is because Lord Ross does not exist.”
Brockway cleared his throat. “I beg to differ.”
“Excuse me.” He swept his arm toward his grandfather. “Abigail, allow me to introduce you to Lord Ross. It is a title my grandfather holds that will pass onto Duncan.”
Abigail glanced between the gentleman posing as Lord Ross and the duke. “If you are not Lord Ross, then who are you?”
Sinclair winced. “My cousin, Benjamin, and the two young girls are his daughters, Victoria and Chloe.”
“I am confused now more than ever.”
Abigail’s bewilderment caused everyone to cringe at their deceit. While some of them meant to teach Lucas a lesson, they never understood how deeply they would hurt Abigail in their ploy.
“I am the one who wrote you the letters, pretending to be Lord Ross,” Lucas confessed.
Abigail went deadly still. “Why?”
“Because you were slipping away. I had hoped you would never follow through with accepting the false position. But over time, I grew envious of the connection we shared through our letters. I wished for you to share your thoughts with me, not Lord Ross. After Father had taken ill, we grew closer. I was under the impression you would refuse Lord Ross’s offer, but you never did. I grew desperate,” Lucas explained.
Abigail pointed at Sinclair’s cousin. “And this gentleman?”
“We wanted to teach Lucas, Uncle Theo, and Aunt Susanna a lesson,” Charlie confessed.
“I am such a fool,” Abigail cried.
“No!” Everyone around the table tried to reassure her.
Abigail stumbled to her feet and fled the room. She didn’t wish to hear any more of the deception. She had thought these people were her family and they loved her. But their actions proved otherwise. She never belonged and she never would.
With tears clouding her vision, she ran deeper into the garden, hiding away from their prying eyes. Once out of breath, she looked around and noticed she arrived at the very spot where Lucas proposed to her.
Abigail’s breath hitched with a tear-wrenched sob that racked her body with shudders. She sank to the ground and laid her head on the bench and poured out her soul. Every tear she cried expressed the anguish tearing her soul apart.
Every single one of them had deceived her. With their determination to become the victor of a game out of control, they never stopped to realize how their ploys would hurt her. Even though she knew they meant well, it didn’t lessen the pain any. She wished to run away but had nowhere to run to.
She had so many questions, but she didn’t trust anyone to answer them truthfully. Which only left her to wonder . . .
Why does the act of love leave one feeling so raw?