Chapter 395: After the Reading
Lyria's POV
I still did not turn to look at him.
Not even after that soft, unexpected "please" which had somehow made his request considerably more difficult to refuse.
I remained where I was, my gaze fixed upon the cat in my arms, my fingers moving absently through its fur. The creature seemed perfectly content, utterly indifferent to the peculiar tension which had settled over the chamber.
For some reason, the silence that followed felt considerably more embarrassing than the reading itself.
Duke Thorncrest sighed.
I heard the quiet rustle of his clothing as he rose from the chair.
For a moment, he said nothing.
I could feel his presence without looking at him, and that knowledge alone made me painfully conscious of my own posture. I sat rather stiffly, as though the proper arrangement of my hands and shoulders might somehow restore the dignity I had possessed before he opened that book.
At last, he spoke.
