Page 37 of The Big Bad Duke

Leila sat in her sitting room, sipping tea, her fingers trembling slightly as she turned the pages of the newspaper one by one. The black ink blurred before her eyes as she scanned each column, searching for any mention of Gideon’s name.

Surely if he had died, it would be front-page news, she thought. A man of his standing… they would report it immediately, wouldn’t they?

But page after page yielded nothing. No obituary, no mention of illness, nothing.

Leila pressed her fingertips to her temples, trying to ease the dull throb that had plagued her the entire night. She could still taste the bitter residue of wolfsbane on her tongue.

It wasn’t just wolfsbane; she had carefully crafted an exquisite mixture of transparent, paste-like poison and applied it to her lips before kissing him. It should have been enough to kill him. If only she’d done it right.

She set the newspaper down with shaking hands and took a deep breath.

She had applied a barrier to her lips before smearing on the poison and kissed him immediately to transfer it.

What she hadn’t expected was her own reaction to his kiss.

She had become so lost in the warmth of his hands on her body, his lips on hers, the heat of his skin. She had let him take control when she should have maintained it, and in doing so, she had inadvertently ingested some of the poison herself.

Yes, she had come dangerously close to poisoning herself in her attempt to poison him. How ironic.

As it was, she suffered the consequences for half the night.

Gideon was bound to feel worse than she did. How much worse? She couldn’t anticipate.

But the third failed attempt at his assassination would not be taken lightly.

She shoved the newspaper away from her, cursing under her breath.

She needed to devise another plan, and fast.

A sharp knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. One of the footmen entered, bowing stiffly.

“Miss Leila, you have a guest.”

Leila’s eyebrows rose in surprise. Who would come to visit her? She had barely given her card to anyone…

Of course, Gideon knew her address; his coachman had driven her home after the night she’d spent in his house.

Oh no, had he figured out that she’d attempted to poison him? Was that why he was here?

“Her Grace, the Duchess of Kensington,” the footman announced, and Leila released her breath.

Caroline. Of course. Not the authorities, not Gideon—just Caroline.

Caroline entered the room with a warm smile on her face, dressed in a simple gown, her red hair gathered in a bun atop her head.

“I hope you don’t mind my calling so early,” Caroline said as she walked into the room.

“Oh no, I welcome your company. I was just having tea anyway. Please, join me.”

Caroline settled across from Leila just as the maid rushed in with a spare tea set and some biscuits.

“I wanted to speak with you about the charity work you’re involved in,” Caroline said after taking a sip of her tea.

“Oh.” Leila forced a smile. How unfortunate. “What did you want to discuss?”

Caroline’s hands fidgeted with the lace trim of her gloves. “I’ve been thinking about it since the ball, and Annalise and I are already in the midst of organizing the musicale.”

That was quick.