Chapter 43: Of Curious Scents and Unspoken Questions
Lyria froze.
For one dreadful moment, the realization struck her with such sudden force that she nearly choked on the last crumb still dissolving on her tongue.
The linen in her hands was empty.
Completely empty.
Her fingers tightened slowly around the soft square of cloth as the full horror of the situation dawned upon her.
She had eaten everything.
Not one snack remained. Not one crumb. Not even the smallest smear of jam clung to the linen.
And she had done so while standing directly before a duke and an earl.
Lyria's eyes widened in quiet alarm.
For a single breath she stood perfectly still, as though perhaps if she did not move, the reality of what had just occurred might somehow undo itself.
It did not.
A low chuckle broke the silence.
The sound came from the Duke. She was getting accustomed to the sound that she could identify it without being told explicitly who it came from.
Lyria's head lifted instinctively.
