So she wasn’t at all surprised now to see Viscount Kittridge occupying a chair near the gold satin-covered dais upon which the casket encasing the duke rested. It was a fanciful thing, Spanish mahogany inlaid with silver, bearing the ducal crest. Her husband had purchased it some time back, but when his fever was at its highest, he’d ordered it brought up to his bedchamber, so he could gaze upon his eternal home. She’d found it standing upright in the corner a morbid affair, as though it were waiting for him to get out of the bed, stroll over, and close himself up inside. Not that he’d have been uncomfortable there. The entire thing was lined with stuffing covered in satin. On the inside of the lid, the silk carried an embroidered crest, as though he expected to be able to view it from his position and take comfort in it. Like many of his friends, her late husband, bless him, had a macabre fascination with death.

The crinkling of her dress announced her arrival and the viscount rose to his feet. He appeared wan, with dark shadows beneath his eyes, and she did hope he wasn’t on the verge of succumbing to the illness that had taken the duke.

“You’re here early, Kit,” she said quietly as she approached him.

He sighed heavily. “I wanted to pay my respects in peace, before the others begin arriving.” Taking her black-gloved hand, he pressed a kiss to her knuckles, scrutinizing her as he did so. “How did you sleep?”

“Not so well,” she admitted honestly, knowing he would attribute the blue half circles beneath her eyes to her mourning when in truth Aiden Trewlove had been responsible for her restlessness. He’d come to her in her dreams, his luscious mouth doing wicked things to hers, filling her with guilt because all her thoughts should be focused on her dear departed husband.

Kit offered his arm for support as she lowered herself into the chair, before taking the one next to her. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

Kit and Lushing had been the best of friends, hardly inseparable since their earliest days at Eton. Kit had accompanied her and Lushing on many of their travels. She did have to give her husband credit for that: through her marriage to him she’d seen a good bit of the world. She placed her hand over Kit’s, and he turned his up, threading their fingers together. “I fear the next two days will be trying.”

He moved his head nearer to her. “Hence, my reason for coming early. He was much respected and liked among his peers. They shall all come to express their condolences.”