“What has happened?”
“Lady Petunia woke in the dark of night and went looking for you. When she didn’t find you, she thought something dreadful had happened. She ran screaming down the corridor. Woke the entire household.”
Guilt slammed into me with the force of a blow.
“Where is she?” I whispered.
“In the nursery?—”
That was all I needed to hear.
I was already moving, turning away from Mrs. Hennessy. When I took the stairs two at a time, my skirts caught at my ankles. I gathered them up without slowing. Voices echoed through the house—low, urgent, confused—but I barely registered them. All I could think of was Petunia, waking in the dark and finding me gone.
Light spilled from the nursery door at the end of the corridor.
I pushed it open and found Petunia sitting upright in bed, hair in tangles, cheeks blotched red, eyes swollen from crying.Chrissie sat beside her, arms wrapped tightly around her small frame, murmuring softly as Petunia clutched at her nightgown and sobbed.
She looked impossibly small, trembling despite Chrissie’s hold, as though the world itself had come undone.
The moment she saw me, her face crumpled.
“Rosie,” she sobbed.
I crossed the room in three strides. As Chrissie gave way to me, I gathered Petunia into my arms and held her as tightly as I dared.
“Oh, sweetheart—I’m here. I’m here.”
“You weren’t—” she sobbed into my shoulder. “I looked and looked, and you weren’t—anywhere—and the dark was big—and I thought?—”
“I know,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
I held her, rocking slightly, sick with remorse for what I’d put her through. I had thought everyone would sleep. I had not imagined she would wake and come searching. I had been wrong—recklessly, painfully wrong.
When her sobs finally quieted, another voice cut through the room.
“Rosalynd.”
Cosmos.
He stood at the far end of the nursery, an arm braced against the doorframe, hair disheveled, his shirt unbuttoned at the throat. His expression was not one of relief. It was fury, contained only by the thinnest veneer of restraint.
“Make certain Petunia’s settled,” he said, his gaze flicking briefly to Chrissie before returning to me. Then, more tightly, “Once she is, come to my study. I’ll be waiting for you.” And with that, he turned and left.
Petunia’s fingers tightened on my sleeve.
“It’s all right, sweetheart,” I murmured. “Stay with Chrissie. I’ll come check on you shortly.”
She obeyed, though reluctantly, sniffling as Chrissie murmured comfort into her hair.
“Be careful with your words, Rosie,” Chrissie said quietly. “I’ve never seen Cosmos so angry.”
Neither had I.
I adjusted my cloak and made my way downstairs to my brother’s study, each step heavier than the last.
Cosmos stood with his back to me, staring out of the window at the paling horizon. The room felt cold despite the embers glowing in the grate.
“Cosmos—”
