“You’re referring to Lady Tatiana?” Nevis asked.
“Yes.” Or perhaps not. Whoever she was, she was everything he wanted. As if she felt his presence, she turned her head and looked right at him.
His heart lurched in his chest. By the Light, she was stunning. And she was wearing that blue gown again, the one where her breasts were practically popping out.
“That looks tasty,” Nevis said.
Leo halted, his hands fisting as he shot his friend a warning look. But Nevis was focused on a platter of raw oysters that a servant was setting on a long table.
Damn. Leo released the iron grip he had on Nevis’s cape. He’d nearly clobbered his best friend. He’d never felt so strongly about a woman before.
It’s more than lust, a quiet voice warned him. More than possession. More than desire.
He shook himself mentally. “Come.” He motioned for Nevis to follow him up onto the dais.
Leo bowed his head. “Good evening, Ana.”
“My lord.” She curtsied.
“Leo,” he reminded her, and she smiled shyly. “Have you met my best friend?” He motioned to Nevis.
“Yes, I have.” Her smile widened as she offered Nevis her hand. “Captain Harden, thank you for watching over Leo.”
“My pleasure.” Nevis took her hand and bowed over it, giving her knuckles a light kiss.
Leo’s chest tightened. The gesture came so easily for his friend, but it was something he didn’t dare attempt.
“Hear, hear!” The duke drew everyone’s attention as he raised his goblet in the air. “Before we begin the feast, I’d like to give a toast.”
“I’ll see you later,” Nevis whispered, then he scrambled off the dais and rushed to an empty spot at a table where everyone was rising to their feet.
Leo lifted his goblet along with everyone else.
“To the brave men who lost their lives today. May they always be remembered,” the duke said, then everyone gave an enthusiastic shout and took a drink.
The duke glanced at Leo, smiling. “And another toast to welcome my daughter’s betrothed and the future Duke of Vindalyn, Leofric of Benwick!”
This time the shout was halfhearted at most. Leo winced inwardly. Apparently, it would take some time before the people of Vindalyn saw him as anything but a Beast.
“Let the feast begin!” the duke announced, then sat. As everyone took their seats, the servants began filling bowls with soup.
“Allow me.” Leo drew Ana’s chair out for her.
“Thank you.” When she sat, he gently pushed her forward, letting his gloved fingers graze her sleeves.
No gasp of pain. He sat beside her, wondering if he dared touch her bare skin. But if he ended up hurting her, then he really would feel like a Beast.
“I enjoyed our luncheon together,” he whispered to her.
She glanced at her father, who was busily slurping down soup, then whispered back, “I enjoyed it, too.”
“Really? I was afraid I might have shocked you.”
Her gaze flickered to his lap before bouncing back to his face. “I’m quite all right.” She grabbed a loaf from the nearby basket and tore off a hunk. “Would you like a piece of bread?”
He accepted it. “Shall we share it like before?”
Her cheeks bloomed a pretty pink as she tore off a second piece. “Not now.”
“Later then?” He leaned closer. “Shall I come see you?”
“I—” She stiffened suddenly, her eyes wide and focused in front of her. “Chris—” She glanced quickly at Leo, then tore a piece of crust off her bread. “Crispy.”
What the hell? She was staring again at an empty space in front of the table. Chilly air wafted toward Leo.
He tensed. “Ana?”
Her hands flinched, crushing the bread. “D-don’t eat the soup.”
“What?” He glanced down at his bowl.
She jumped up from her chair and grabbed her father’s hand as he brought another spoonful of soup to his mouth. “Stop.” She looked at General Harden. “Please stop.”
The duke set his spoon down. “The soup?”
She nodded. “It’s only the tureen for our table.”
Leo rushed over to her father and the general. Their faces were turning ashen. The general’s hand trembled as he dropped his spoon on the table.
Dammit. Leo was grateful that Ana was safe. But he wasn’t so sure about her father and the general. They had halfway finished their bowls of poisoned soup.
Chapter Twenty-three
“Men,” Luciana muttered to herself as she paced across her small room in the tower. At the first sign of trouble, they always wanted to isolate her here like she was some sort of delicate flower that might wilt at the first sign of danger. Very aggravating, especially when she was the one who had alerted them of the danger in the first place. Now she didn’t know how her father or the general was faring. She didn’t even know what Leo was doing.
She stopped at the window that overlooked the wall walk. I should be out there helping Leo catch the assassin. The next time she saw him, she’d let him know that when it came time for them to marry, she would not accept the role of a do-nothing, know-nothing, say-nothing wife.
And if he was afraid that touching her might hurt her, she’d just take the matter into her own hands. The next time she saw him, she’d touch him wherever she wanted.
“I’m not going to live my life afraid.” She winced as soon as the words came out because she was afraid. Afraid that her father was dying. Surely, if he was, he would ask her to be by his side?