SHE WAS TOLD TO SIT QUIETLY AND LET HER SISTER SHINE — THE DUKE ONLY EVER LOOKED AT HER

Chapter 2

The ride home was a silent ordeal. Her mother’s fury filled the carriage like a living thing, cold and sharp, pressing against Evelyn’s skin from all sides. Cordelia sat across from them, her brow furrowed as she replayed the evening’s events, trying to make sense of what had happened. Evelyn stared out the window, watching the gaslit streets of London slide past. The Duke’s face was superimposed over everything—those stormy gray eyes, that low voice, the way he had stood with her as if she mattered.

When they reached their townhouse, her mother finally spoke.

“Explain yourself, Evelyn.”

They stood in the foyer, the lamps casting long, accusatory shadows across the marble floor. Lady Helena’s voice was dangerously low, the kind of quiet that preceded a storm.

“There is nothing to explain, Mother,” Evelyn said, and her own voice surprised her with its steadiness. “The Duke addressed me. I responded.”