Cedric’s gaze turned to her, and she didn’t know how to respond. Her heart still ached for him and for his pain, and yet all her darker emotions remained.
‘She’s not vindictive,’ Cedric said in an undertone.
‘Lucky for you.’ Then the Duke squeezed his cousin’s arm. ‘If you don’t want this, just say so. I mean it to be a help, not a punishment.’
The two men’s eyes met and held. And then Cedric grimaced.
‘I cannot leave my sisters without help. I found them a banker and a new steward. Men who will treat them well and not be so easy on my father, but—’
‘I’ll see to their care while you’re gone. I swear it.’
‘They’re damned independent.’
‘It’s a family trait,’ the Duke said with dry amusement. ‘They’ll be safe. Even the new babe.’
Lucy jolted. One of his sisters was pregnant? She hadn’t known.
‘Simon was born last week,’ Cedric said, a pleased flushed to his expression. ‘A healthy boy.’
The Duke grinned. ‘Congratulations, Uncle.’ Then he turned to Captain Banakos. ‘I trust you will treat my cousin as he deserves?’
‘That I will, your grace. That I will.’
Then the Duke grabbed Grace’s hand and pulled her off the boat. Apparently, he had other plans for his wife, and theypertained to the sleek pleasure craft docked alongside. On the side of it,The Duchesswas written in bold letters.
While the three of them stood gaping, the Duke swung his wife up into his arms and carried her up the gangplank. And once aboard, they paused long enough to wave a cheery goodbye.
‘They’re sailing on the evening tide,’ Captain Banakos said.
‘What?’ Lucy asked. She was still trying to understand what the Duke had asked her to do. Manage the entire cargo? By herself!
‘Yes, sirree,’ the captain said with a grin. ‘He asked me to see you got home safe. But for the moment,’ he cast a sidelong glance at Cedric. ‘I expect the two of you have things you want to discuss.’
Then with a broad grin and a very loud chuckle, the man tipped his hat and withdrew. Leaving her face-to-face with the one man she’d never wanted to see again.