The marriage of His Grace, Thomas Ashcombe, Duke of Ravensworth, and Lady Cordelia Vane, previously announced for the end of August, will now take place in two weeks' time at Ravensworth Church. The happy couple wish to begin their life together without delay.Clara read it twice, then a third time. "Two weeks," she whispered.Once Cordelia was the Duchess of Ravensworth, Lord Vane would have everything: control of the estate, the money to pay his debts, the power to bury the truth forever. And Clara knew something else deep in her bones: a man who had already killed once to protect his secret would not stop now. Not when the murderer's daughter was still alive and still remembered his servant's face.She pushed back the heavy blanket."Lass, you're not well enough to—""Two weeks, Ned," Clara said, and swung her feet onto the cold floor. "That's all the time I have left."On the fourth night after Clara was thrown out, the Duke of Ravensworth could not sleep. He had not slept properly since that morning in the great hall. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face: not the face of a liar, not the face of a thief—the face of a young woman standing alone in front of a hundred people, saying, "My name is Clara Doyle," with her chin held high.He had turned his back on her, and she had not said one word to defend herself. Why not? A guilty woman would have begged. A clever liar would have cried. Clara had done neither. She had simply looked at him with those serious dark eyes, as if she wanted to tell him something and could not.At 2:00 in the morning, he gave up trying to sleep. He pulled on his boots and his coat and walked out into the cool night air down to the stables. It was what he used to do as a boy whenever he was troubled; his father had always said that horses were better listeners than people.The stables were dark and quiet. He lit a lantern and walked slowly down the row of stalls until he came to the last one.
The Duke’s Guests Laughed as the Maid Fell Into the Lake — She Said, “I’ll Remember Every Face”
The Duke’s Guests Laughed as the Maid Fell Into the Lake — She Said, “I’ll Remember Every Face”
Chapter 18
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