It was the hardest thing she’d ever done. She held firm until he realized his threats would not sway her.
“So be it,” he said.
Then he spit on the ground by her feet before quitting the box. He even whistled as he strode away, the insolent sound scraping against her raw nerves. The man was a spoiled child. Thank God she was numb to his threats. Numb, she repeated to herself. She was not afraid. Except her hands were shaking, and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.
She’d barely gasped twice before her brother appeared at her side, gripping her shoulder as she steadied her breath. Amber joined her a moment later with a glass of sherry in her hand.
“Drink. It will help,” the woman said as she pressed the glass into Diana’s hand. “Lilah and Gwen have gone to find you something to eat. Lilah thought it would settle your stomach.”
It probably would, as did the sherry. But even as she sipped, her gaze went to the place where Lucas had last stood. His dark silhouette was gone. Had he abandoned her?
“He’s following Geoffrey,” her brother said. “Wants to be sure the man leaves.”
She looked at Elliott. “He’s what? But Geoffrey’s furious. He’ll strike out at the nearest target—”
“Lucas can handle him,” he said quietly. “He also prevented me from joining you earlier. Afraid I would punch the blighter right here.”
“And get locked up for it,” Amber said. “Lucas was right. Geoffrey was hoping one of you would punch him because any fight would increase the pressure on her.” Amber gently urged Diana to drink more sherry. “Did you promise him his funds?”
Diana shook her head. “If I crumble to his tactics now, he will never learn that he has to behave better if he wants any kind of money from his father.”
Elliott snorted. “There comes a time when a man is too old to learn.”
Diana shot her brother a sad look. “Surely you don’t believe that.” She swallowed the last of her drink. “He has to learn. He has to.” She could not stand much more of this.
Her brother merely looked grim. It was left to his wife to voice the words everyone was thinking. “You can take a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.”
“He will learn or go to debtor’s prison.” She blew out a breath. “Why will he not simply apply himself to something? Anything! I would release his money if he showed the smallest signs of control.”
At that moment, she saw Lucas return to the main path. His dark figure appeared like an avenging angel as he strode up the way. A few tried to catch his attention, but he moved with too much purpose to stop them. And he headed straight for her.
Damn her traitorous heart. Her spirits rallied with every step that brought him closer to her. But her sister-in-law sat where he might, and her brother hovered over her as if she were a lost child. Neither of them moved as Lucas came near, and she saw a quick flash of frustration tighten his jaw, but it was covered quickly. Instead, he crouched down across from her such that he could speak to her eye to eye. Or rather eye to masked eye. He still wore his costume as Lord Lucifer.
“The blighter has left,” he said softly. “And I have instructed my men to watch for him, but I doubt he’ll come back.”
She shook her head. “No, he’ll go home to threaten Oscar.” Geoffrey had made a habit of catching her husband alone and saying all manner of horrible things until he got the money he wanted. Oscar had always been lost when it came to his son, and it wasn’t until he’d given Diana control of the money that any type of discipline had arrived. But it was a hard thing to put restraints on a dissolute man in his thirties.
“I have men there at the house as well. He will not be allowed in.” His gaze was somber as he looked at her. “I heard what you said to him, Diana. It was the bravest thing I have ever seen.”
She jolted. “You heard? But…” She looked to where he’d been standing. She’d thought he’d been too far away.
“I have very sharp ears, and neither of you took pains to be quiet.” He blew out a breath. “It was very brave—”
“It was foolish,” her brother snapped. “You are under siege, Diana, and it is impossible to stay safe all the time. What does it matter to you if he gets his money now? Come live with Amber and me. We will keep you protected and—”
“And Oscar will be completely vulnerable. Geoffrey will burn through the money, and his tenants will have nothing, and our servants will be terrorized. Oscar will live his last days in misery. Is that what you would have me do?”
“Yes!” her brother huffed. “I would have you safe. The matters between Geoffrey and his father are not of your making.”
Diana closed her eyes, feeling the weight of her responsibilities as never before. She daily fought for her husband and the people he cared for—servants, tenants, and even his grandchildren, who might one day inherit the estate. The last thing she wanted was to fight her brother as well. But before she could voice any of that, Lucas rose up in her defense.
“Don’t you think she already knows that?” he said. “That she hasn’t considered minute to minute that she could ditch everything and run to your home? The fact that she stays and fights is a credit to her strength. That she is a woman and has little responsibility beyond vows forced upon her make her the bravest, truest person I have ever known. You belittle her by suggesting otherwise.”
Her breath caught at his words. How was it that Lucas saw what even her own brother did not? It melted her. From inside to out, her rigid muscles gave way until she heaved a breath as if for the first time in ages. It was embarrassing, the sounds she made as her body shuddered in reaction.
Lucas dropped down before her. His hands grabbed hers, and he merely waited while she found some control. And since he did not demand anything from her—no words, no answers, just his solid presence—she found the strength to weather the storm. In time, her shoulders relaxed, and a shudder rolled through her entire body. She disentangled one of her hands and swiped at the tears that were drying on cheeks. And where she wiped one side, she felt his thumb caress the other. Then she took a deep breath that brought her heartbeat back to its usual steady rhythm.
“Diana,” he said softly, “tell me what you would like. Do you want to go home? Do you want food, drink? Name it, and it shall be yours.”
She wanted things that could never be. She wanted to step back in time, never marry Oscar, and have the Season that she had been denied. She wanted her father to have lived so she and Lucas could have courted in the normal way of things. She wanted children with a father who would care for them and not allow them to become spoiled, angry boys that grew into men who threatened those around him. But most of all, she wanted someone to walk with her and perhaps ease her burden for a time.
She lifted her chin and looked Lucas in the eyes. “I should like you to take off that ridiculous mask and perhaps take a turn with me through the pathways here.”
Amber shifted uncomfortably. “Are you sure you want to stay? There’s Gwen and Lilah with plates for everyone. They’ll be here in a moment. Or we can all go home—”
“Pray do not shorten their fun on my account,” Diana said. “Or my fun.” She smiled at her sister-in-law as she tried to explain. “This is the first night I have gotten away in…” She couldn’t remember how long it had been. “Don’t force me back into the sickroom just yet.”