She should have kept her comment to herself. But now that it was out, they may as well finish the conversation about the wedding. “Of course they hate me, Sterling. And I don’t blame them at all. I embarrassed them, caused a scandal, and ruined all of your mother’s wedding plans.”
After they’d gotten engaged, Mrs. Noble had offered to have the wedding at the ranch so they could have more space for guests. She’d also planned a wedding dinner to take place after the ceremony. In the couple of weeks leading up to the wedding, the dear woman had spent a great deal of time and money to prepare for the wedding as well as the dinner.
Of course, Violet had helped, and so had Mother and Hyacinth. They’d spent hours at the ranch decorating and preparing and cleaning. But the bulk of the work had fallen upon Mrs. Noble’s shoulders.
As sweet as the woman had been, how could Mrs. Noble forgive Violet for ruining so much and embarrassing her in front of all her friends?
Sterling studied Violet’s face in the dim lighting of the front hallway. “My parents don’t hate you at all, Violet. They weren’t even angry. Just sad…for me, for us, for what could have been…”
She studied his face in return, appreciating the sincerity in his eyes. “Your parents are good people, much better than my father.”
“Don’t give up hope for him. Maybe with all that’s happened, he’ll finally realize the mess he’s made of his life and yours.”
Violet could only hope so, but after the years of empty promises he’d made to Mother, how could she ever trust him again?
Sterling started up the stairs. “Since Jo-Jo’s room off the kitchen has a single bed, you and Hyacinth can stay in Scarlet’s room. The bed there is bigger.”
“I don’t know if that’s right. We’re not family.”
“It’s just a room.”
“But we’re just maids.”
Sterling expelled a long sigh. “No, you’re not just maids.”
What did he mean by that? The question almost slipped off her tongue, but she swallowed her curiosity because she was too afraid to hear what he might say.
“We’ll be fine downstairs, Sterling. Really.”
“I insist. Besides, no one else is home now, so it doesn’t matter.”
He was home, and his room was across the hall. That mattered, didn’t it? Not that he would ever do anything tocompromise her. Sterling was an honorable man with strong self-control. Maybe she was worrying for nothing. After all, they’d stayed together in the cabin and hadn’t had any issues. Why would they now?
He continued up the stairs, holding her as if she weighed nothing, as if he intended to carry her around forever. She knew that wasn’t possible, but she couldn’t keep from wishing they’d had a little more time last spring to get to know each other—to become more comfortable with each other and to trust one another.
If she’d had that time, would she have married Sterling in the summer? Or even the autumn? If she’d gone through with the wedding, she wouldn’t be in this predicament. Instead, she’d probably be living in the house that Sterling had been planning to build on a plot of land near the main house but far enough away to give them privacy.
The blueprints had been drawn up and the money saved for the building materials, and he’d planned to have a house-raising event when the weather warmed up and the snow thawed. Until then, they’d decided to live with his parents, and she’d assured Sterling she didn’t mind, that she was even looking forward to getting to know his mom and Scarlet better.
If she’d had a home with Sterling, Mother and Hyacinth could have stayed with her when the trouble with Father had worsened. Maybe Mother wouldn’t have gotten sick. Maybe she would even still be alive.
As Sterling started down the hallway and they passed by the bedrooms, it was clear the men had vandalized upstairs too, dumping drawers and upending more furniture.
“I’m sorry, Sterling,” she whispered again, the despair settling over her at not only the destruction now, but at how she’d destroyed the life she could have had with Sterling.
“We’ll figure it out,” he whispered in return.
She just hoped he was right but had the feeling that some things in life—like her relationship with Sterling—were too broken to be repaired.
14
“We probably shouldn’t be rearranging the room, Violet.” Hyacinth stood back from the settee she’d moved to the opposite side of the fireplace.
“It’s part of the job.” At least, that’s what Violet had been telling herself.
Sterling and Beckett had done the heavy lifting of righting the furniture before they’d left. Then she and Hyacinth had spent most of the afternoon sweeping and picking up belongings, primarily in the kitchen and pantry and in the bedrooms.
Now that the house was in order, Hyacinth had suggested they work in the parlor first. But Hyacinth’s idea ofworkand Violet’s were different.
