Page 57 of Cold November Rake

Should she write and ask him not to come? No. That would be ridiculous.

They were both married, both part of society; they had to be able to attend the same events like civilized people.

And yet...

What if he drew her aside and told her he was ready to move on from his marriage? What if he offered to make her his mistress?

She recoiled at the idea.

No.

He would not stoop that low. Daniel was a gentleman.

All the years since his marriage, he had never written to her, never tried to inquire after her, and neither had she.

Well, she had written to him, at first, but she had never sent those letters. Afraid that he wouldn't answer. Afraid even more that he would.

She hadn't thought of Daniel in a long while. Or at least, she had tried not to think about him.

Tried not to compare the friendship, companionship, trust, and loyalty they had shared with what was lacking in her marriage.

For the past days, weeks, months, even years, most of her thoughts had been occupied by her husband.

She had tried to relinquish Daniel, and it had almost worked.

She'd moved on with her life even before she returned to London to demand attention from her husband.

Yet the ache in her heart, in the place he used to occupy, told her that she had not quite let go as thoroughly as she believed.

She couldn't quench her curiosity about him.

She missed Daniel. She truly did.

And she couldn't imagine what seeing him again might feel like.

God, how will Sutton react?

A grimace overtook her face at the thought of Sutton seeing him again, and with it came the memory of that night she'd kissed Daniel.

The night before their wedding.

Temperance looked away.

"Temperance?" The duchess peered at her. "Ye have gone quite pale."

"It is nothing," Temperance said, picking up the last card with a steady hand. A rejection from Lady Crosby. "I suppose I am a little disappointed with the numbers."

"Dinnae fash yersel!" the duchess said, waving the issue away. "Ye have a duke and two viscounts already. All we have tae do is spread the word. Mayhap people think we are being shunned, and nae one wants tae be the first tae arrive at a house touched by gossip."

The door opened before the duchess could press the point, and Sutton walked in with his father, both of them smelling of cold air and horses. The duchess's eyes lit up like a general's who had just spotted reinforcements.

"Just in time," she said. "We have a problem, and the two o' ye are going tae help me solve it."

"What is the issue?" the duke asked, walking toward his wife. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek. The duchess turned crimson.

Temperance glanced over at her husband, who had a curious expression on his face, almost... longing?

Or perhaps wonder at seeing his parents being so openly affectionate.