As she caressed the keys, Xenia lost herself in the haunting melancholy of the melody.
“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?”
A startled shriek left her, and she jumped up, whirling around.
She found herself facing Lord Ethan, and he embodied dark and terrifying rage. His face was an icy mask, his eyes burning with violet flames as he blocked the doorway. There was no escape.
Think, Xenia, think.
She racked her brain for excuses, but it was frozen in panic like the rest of her. Her limbs shook with the force of Lord Ethan’s ire, which filled the chamber, choking out light and air.
“I…I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“You’resorry? That is all you have to say?” he roared. “What kind of disrespectful, idiotic,worthlesshousekeeper are you?”
Worthless girl. Disobedient twit. Good for nothing.
She shut out the echoes of the past. Tried to focus on her explanation.
“I didn’t mean to?—”
“Didn’t mean to barge into my private space? To use things that do not belong to you? To violate my trust and my property? Goddammit, woman, you’ve caused nothing but trouble from the day you started. I should have never taken you on?—”
“Easy there, old boy.”
The Earl of Manderly appeared behind his brother.
Perfect. Now she had an audience to complete her humiliation.
She curled her hands, fighting the surging heat behind her eyes.Why do I always ruin everything? Why can’t I do anything right?
“I kn-know what I did was wrong,” she said between hitched breaths. “I understand wh-why you’re angry.”
“You have no bloody idea why I’m angry!” Lord Ethan bellowed.
He raised a fist, and for a terrified instant, she thought he would strike her.
Beat her—like her mama had.
Instead, he grabbed the sheet of music from the piano rack. With savage motions, he ripped it to pieces. His gaze burned into Xenia’s through the storm of falling confetti.
“I’m s-sorry for the trouble I’ve caused.” She forced the words through her cinched throat. “I…I’ll pack my things straightaway.”
She edged toward the doorway. He glowered at her, unmoving, barricading the exit. She prayed that he would let her go—that he wouldn’t hurt her. At the last possible instant, he stepped aside. She darted past him and managed to contain her sobs until she reached the servants’ corridor.
ChapterNine
At the knock, Xenia’s heart hurtled into her chest. She stared numbly at her overstuffed valise. Her thoughts spun in a chaotic vortex.
I didn’t pack fast enough. I shouldn’t have borrowed those books from Mr. Khan when I knew my stay was temporary. I need to get out of here, but I have nowhere to go…
“Pardon, Mrs. Wood.”
The door opened, and the Earl of Manderly entered. He had the same lord-of-all-he-surveys manner as his brother. He looked as if he’d stepped out of some blueblood’s magazine in his green riding jacket, his trousers tucking into his tall, champagne-polished boots. His power and grandeur compounded Xenia’s feeling of smallness and insignificance. Her pulse racing, she didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know if he expected an apology too.
“I am sorry to intrude.” His tone was pleasant, the kind one might use when approaching a skittish horse. “I wanted to see how you were.”
She found her tongue; it was the wooden object in her mouth. “I’m fine, my lord. I am almost packed. I’ll be gone soon, I swear?—”
