Around eleven, Ethan suggested it was time for bed. It was early, but everyone was tired from the day’s events, and they had a day of treasure hunting ahead. Before parting ways, his mama pulled him aside for atête-à-tête.
“Xenia is perfect for you,” Mama declared. “She is different from the other ladies you’ve spent time with, dearest, and I mean that as a compliment.”
“Truly, did no one like Constance?” Ethan muttered.
“Papa thought she was quite charming.” Mama rolled her eyes. “If he has a flaw, it is that his honor blinds him to female machinations.”
“An advantage for you, I’m sure.”
He was teasing, but his mama’s countenance grew troubled.
“The ability to hurt people you love is never an advantage,” she said quietly.
Because he knew how much his parents adored each other and the unbreakable strength of their bond, he was surprised that she was taking his banter seriously.
He drew his brows together. “I didn’t mean?—”
“I know, my dear. But you have a lot of Papa in you, and by that I mean you are a man of honor whose instinct is to protect those you perceive as vulnerable. You are like a knight of old, dashing to the side of a damsel in distress.”
“Xenia is no damsel,” he said.
His minx was no wilting violet, and he admired her resilience, bravery, and pluck.
“She is not,” Mama agreed. “Yet she has vulnerabilities all the same. For instance, I get the distinct feeling that she does not think herself worthy of you. While that might be due to your differences in station, I have a sense that there is more to it. Is there something in her past, perhaps, that might cause her to feel this way?”
“I don’t know all the details,” he was forced to admit. “She doesn’t like to discuss her past.”
“Oh, my dearest.” Mama took his hand in hers, a strange note of urgency in her voice. “If you mean to marry her, you cannot allow that to stand. Youmustget her to speak openly about her past so that whatever ghosts she may be hiding do not have the power to interfere with your future happiness.”
Ghosts.
After bidding his mama goodnight, the word lingered with him. He wondered if his mama had been affected by the talk of Bloody Thom…if they had all been. He’d intended to leave Xenia to her rest tonight, but he found himself heading to her room, driven by an inexplicable need to see her. An eerie feeling ofdéjà vucame over him. As if he’d walked this path before…not as himself but someone else. He felt as if he were retracing another’s footsteps as he made his way to the servants’ quarters. Eagerness, desire, and anxiety pounded in his chest like an echo of another’s feelings.
He shook off the uncanny sensation. The curse nonsense had obviously gotten the better of him, and if he wasn’t careful, he would succumb to the phantom mania that had besieged the general population. Anyway, Bloody Thom was a distraction that he didn’t need. He had to focus on convincing Xenia to disclose her past.
His parents were right. Without trust, there was no hope of building a future together, and he knew that the only future he wanted was one with Xenia in it. He evaded the patrolling guards and made it to the servants’ wing. He was in the kitchen, about to head up the stairs to Xenia’s room when a voice came from the shadows.
“She’s not there.”
“What the devil?”
Ethan nearly jumped as Owen emerged from a dark corner. Once Ethan’s heart stopped racing, he straightened his lapels, doing a creditable job of acting as if he hadn’t been startled out of his skin.
“Why are you lurking about?” he said irritably.
Owen shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep. There weren’t any servants about, so I came here to rummage for a snack. That is when I saw Mrs. Wood head out.”
“What do you mean,head out?” Ethan narrowed his eyes. “Have you been drinking?”
In the past, his question would have elicited a defensive, and likely belligerent, response from his brother. Now, Owen waved at a half-filled glass on the table.
“I’ve had milk,” he said with a slight smirk. “Does that count?”
Bloody Owen. Annoying when he was soberanddrunk.
“Where would Mrs. Wood go this time of night?” Ethan bit out.
“I didn’t ask. From the dark cloak she was wearing and the stealthy way she dodged the guards, I assumed she did not wish to be seen.”
