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“You would not have accepted it otherwise.”
A shiver runs down my spine, I feel the blood drain from my face and nausea rise in my throat.
How can she say such a thing?
I brush past her, before I am too far away, I hiss through gritted teeth: “The next time you require something, have me called. It is not necessary for you to come here.”
I step down from the carriage, and a footman with his hair gathered in a low ponytail secured by a violet ribbon approaches.
“Viscount,” he announces, inclining his head slightly.
“Mademoiselle Agnes Fairfax?”
“She is in the garden.”
He gestures toward the grounds with gloved hands.
“I shall wait here. Have her called.”
The servant gives a deep bow and retreats silently.
A few moments later, there comes a rustle of silk and fur. Agnes’s hair bounces against her ermine capelet, her face flushed red from the cold, her blue eyes bright and seeking mine immediately.
“Viscount! You have arrived just in time!”
I blink. “In time for what?”
She approaches with quick, almost dancing steps. I reach for her hand and kiss the back of it.
“To see the future.”
“The future?”
“Venez avec moi.”
She takes my arm, tucking hers beneath it, and draws me toward the gardens.
My gaze lingers on her, she has dressed with care today, her cloak falling perfectly over her shoulders, the fur collar settled with precision, every lock of hair in its place.
The path narrows, the further we venture, the more one hears voices and smothered laughter. A thick hum that grows step by step, like a hive hidden beyond the hedges.
“Are there guests, Mademoiselle?”
Her smile widens without slowing her pace.
“Julian has arranged something... singular, Viscount. I am certain it will suit your taste.”
I bring a hand to my cravat and adjust it with a swift motion.
“I wished to thank you for the thought you had for me.”
“Oh, it was but a trifle.”
“I appreciated it,” I add.
Though I could not enjoy it because of someone.
She slows her pace slightly; her cheeks, already reddened by the frost, flush deeper. She averts her gaze for an instant and tightens her fingers around my arm.
