When he reached his study, he saw that Persephone the cat was already there. She was curled up in front of his fire, her yellow eyes on him and her tail switching back and forth. He felt as if she was daring him to say something about her presence.
James found that he didn't want to say anything. It seemed such a short time ago that he would've sent the cat out, but now he found it was rather a relief to see her here. It was a reminder that Victoria couldn't have left permanently. She loved these cats too much. She could never have left them behind.
He went to his desk and sat down, trying to put his fears from his mind. She had gone out without asking him, but if she had meant never to return, she would have brought her cats with her. This was proof that she would be back.
The morning seemed to pass slowly. James tried to focus on his ledgers, but he couldn't. He tried to read, but it was impossible to take in the words of his book. He wasn't sure how much time had passed when at last he heard a knock on his study door. He rose to his feet and went to open it.
There she stood, a defiant look already on her face. "I know what you're going to say," she said.
James folded his arms across his chest. "You're still going to let me say it."
"Do what you must."
"You cannot go out like that. Do you know how worried I was?"
"Well, there was no need to be," she said. "I was with my sister."
"And I suppose it was simply too much to ask for you to tell someone where you were going?
"I don't know how you can ask me for that when you never tell me anything," she said.
"What does that mean?"
"You must be joking. After what happened at the ball last night? After what happened when we got home? You know exactly what I mean. All this time, you've had a brother, and you never mentioned it."
James threw up his hands in frustration. "Why should I mention it?" He demanded. "Ever since you learned who Benjamin was, you've been acting as if I kept some vital secret from you. I don'tunderstand why you felt it was something you needed to know at all."
"And I don't understand why you felt the need to keep it confidential!"
"A man is entitled to secrets."
"But a man doesn't need secrets for no reason," Victoria said. "That's the part that concerns me. Not the mere fact that you kept the secret, but what the reason for it might be. And, more than that, if you didn't want me to know about your brother, what else are you hiding from me?" She looked down at her feet. "I don't like it when men hide things from me."
James hesitated. He could understand why she would feel that way. After all, men had been dishonest with her in the past.
He cleared his throat. "I owe you an apology," he admitted.
Victoria looked up.
"What I said to you yesterday," James clarified. "About the reason I didn't want you to spend time with Benjamin. That was completely untrue. Of course I'm not worried about his safety in your company."
Victoria closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. "I didn't really think you were," she said. "I didn't understand what would make you say such a thing. You know I didn't murder the late duke."
"Of course I know that."
"Did you say it just to hurt me?"
"Of course not. I said it — well, I think I said it to end the conversation. But there's no excuse for that."
"Why were you so desperate to end the conversation?"
"The truth is, I didn't want to talk about Benjamin. That's why I never told you about him. That's why I didn't tell you who he was when the two of you first met."
"But why? I don't understand. He seems so kind. What's the matter with him?"
James sighed. "It isn't him," he admitted. "It's his mother. My stepmother."
Victoria frowned. "What about her?"
