Chapter 12 - Twelve
With a rustle of her sapphire gown, Anne walked closer, her heels clicking angrily on the stone terrace. She stopped a few feet from the bench, her gaze fixed on Delia, deliberately ignoring the Duke beside her. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, her voice low but tight with suspicion. "Why are you two together?"
The silence that followed was heavy. Anne’s eyes darted from Delia’s calm face to the Duke’s unreadable expression. Eric said nothing, his attention remaining completely on Delia waiting to see how she would handle the interruption.
Seeing that she was being ignored, Anne’s approach changed. She forced a nervous, high-pitched chuckle and turned to the Duke, her expression pleading. "Your Grace," she began, her voice falsely sweet. "My sister can be clumsy sometimes." She reached out as if to grab Delia’s arm in a familiar, condescending gesture. "She must have gotten lost on her way back from the powder room. I do hope she hasn’t been bothering—"
Eric interrupted her mid-sentence by simply holding up a hand. The gesture was not rude, but it was absolute. It silenced her instantly. He still did not look at Anne. His dark, captivating eyes remained on Delia, waiting for his answer.
"So," he said, his voice a low, intimate murmur that seemed to exclude Anne entirely. "What is your decision, Lady Delia?"
The direct question, a clear continuation of their private conversation, was a slap in the face to Anne. Her composure began to crumble. "Delia," she hissed, her patience gone. "Can I talk to you for a moment? Now."
Delia finally turned her head to look at her stepsister. A slow, deliberate smile touched her lips. "I’m sorry, Anne," she said, her voice smooth as silk. "Time is not on my side right now."
With a graceful movement, she reached down and picked up the iron key from the bench. The metal pieces jingled softly in the quiet garden, a sound that seemed to seal Anne’s fate. Delia held it up slightly, letting the moonlight catch on its edges.
"You see," she continued, her gaze shifting back to Eric, her eyes alight with a daring, seductive glow. "We need to use this."