She thought he might respond in anger and tell her that she had no choice, but instead, he nodded gruffly, “See that you do.”
She straightened slightly. “I meant what I said about Bethany,” she said. “About all of the staff. If you have something to address with me then address it with me. Do not punish them for my misdeeds.”
“It’s not for you to say what I do with my staff.”
“You won’t compel my obedience that way,” she told him. “It’s a tactic that will never work. So, think of another one.”
He stared at her.
“You think I’m docile,” she said. “You think that Prudence was the wild one, and that you married the easy sister. I’m here to tell you that it isn’t the case. I can be every bit as vociferous as she can when I’m roused, and I will not have my lady’s maid living in fear of you.”
He moved even further into her space. Her heart hammered as that fear licked its way up her spine again, and she wished she knew what she was so afraid of.
“Very well,” he said. “Next time I will come to you directly, then.”
She nodded, heart beating too fast to speak properly.
He lingered before her for a moment, then turned and walked away.
Caroline was left standing alone in the hall, feeling as if she had just run a great distance or evaded a fearsome predator. It was a very long time before she was able to collect herself and make her way back to her room.
CHAPTER 10
Put it from your mind. Puthimfrom your mind.
Caroline couldn’t. She couldn’t stop thinking about the way Levi had confronted her last night, the way he had stepped so boldly into her space. If the encounter had been described to her, or if she had read about it in a book, she would have interpreted his actions as cruel and threatening. She would have imagined that she’d be frightened. But she hadn’t been. He hadn’t been threatening her. It was powerful, yes. Controlling. But there was no danger in him.
At least, she didn’t think there was.
She hadn’t walked away from the incident feeling fearful; that was certainly true. Instead, she found herself wanting to provoke him again, to speak sharply to him once more to see what would happen. It was as if she’d touched a flame, and instead of being burned, had experienced something deeply strange andintriguing. In spite of the fact that she knew better, she now yearned to put her hand in the fire once more.
She sat at the breakfast table, watching him, waiting to see whether there would be any acknowledgement of what had happened.
He didn’t so much as look in her direction. He spread butter dispassionately on his bread and said nothing, almost as if she wasn’t there at all.
Caroline was desperate to know what he was thinking and had nearly summoned the courage to ask him outright when a servant came into the room with a folded piece of paper that bore her father’s seal. “Your Grace,” he said, holding it out to her.
Caroline took the letter, noticing as she did so that Levi had at last deigned to give her his attention. She suspected he wanted to see what was in the letter. But it had come for her, not for him, and he couldn’t only pay attention to her when he wanted something. She rose to her feet.
“Where are you going?” he asked—the first words he’d spoken to her all morning.
“I’m finished with my breakfast,” she said. And after all, there had been no requirement in this marriage that they breakfast together—he couldn’t insist upon it now. He seemed to realize that, and though he scowled slightly, he didn’t try to call her back or prevent her from leaving.
Caroline hurried up to her bedchamber and locked herself in before opening the letter. She hadn’t been particularly concerned with secrecy—she was keeping it from Levi mostly because she knew he wished to read it, and she was in no mood to give him what he wanted right now. But once she had begun to read, she found herself immensely grateful for her solitude.
Caroline -
It seems fitting to inform you that we were incorrect about Prudence’s whereabouts. We assumed her continued absence meant she had found her way to Beatrice’s home and was taking refuge there. But a letter has just come from Beatrice letting us know that she has seen nothing of Prudence these past few weeks. Prudence is not there and never was.
Caroline’s breath caught in her throat. The letter went on—pleas from her parents to come to them, to let them know if she heard anything at all from Prudence, guesses that Prudence might come to her home—but Caroline could hardly read the words. Of course, Prudence wasn’t coming here. She would have done so already. She was somewhere else altogether, and the idea horrified Caroline and made her feel as if her blood had frozen in her veins.
All this time, we just assumed. We didn’t send out search parties. We didn’t look for her. And now it might be too late. The trail will have almost certainly gone cold, and anything might have happened in the meantime. She could be anywhere. With anyone. She could even be?—
Caroline forced her thoughts to a halt. She wouldn’t allow that dreadful idea to enter her imagination. Prudence had simply run off somewhere unpredictable, done something irresponsible—but she hadn’t come to any harm. She couldn’t have. Caroline simply wouldn’t accept that idea.
She pondered the letter, wondering what she ought to do about it. There was always the possibility of going to Levi—but what couldhedo? He hardly knew Prudence. And while itwashis fault she’d run away—an uncharitable thought, but one Caroline couldn’t suppress—his lack of knowing her would hamper any search attempt, and he would no doubt insist that Caroline remain in the house where she would besafe.
That was one thing Caroline didn’t think she could stand—to be confined right now, when all she wanted was to be active. She had wasted weeks on the assumption that her sister was safe with Aunt Beatrice. To discover now that that had never been true was horrifying. She should have been searching all this time. She wouldn’t let one more minute go by without doing all she could to find Prudence.
