She drew a deep breath and slowed her steps, creating even more distance between herself and the others.Off to the right was a door that was cracked.It seemed to lead to a study or library.She stepped away as the rest turned into the parlor up ahead and then slipped into the chamber to gather herself.
Because a lack of control was too dangerous.She knew that far too well.
* * *
“You said you wished to speak to me?”Callum asked, glancing down at the petite woman on his arm.Flora was lovely—no man could have denied that.He just thought Valaria was even lovelier.
“I admit I’m trying to get a measure of you,” Flora said with a smile that was friendly.“Theo, I understand.Butyouare more difficult.”
“If you understand Theo, you are far wiser than I, Your Grace,” he said with a laugh he hoped might divert the subject.
Of course, it did not.“Well, he is a rake.But not the cruel kind, it seems.You are somewhat more layered.And I just want to…”
“Make certain I’m not some cad using your new friend?”
Flora’s gaze lit up a fraction and she leaned toward him slightly.“I don’t think you’re a cad, exactly.And if you two are usingeach other, who am I to judge?But I think we all know that Valaria is still a bit…fragile.”
He nodded.In truth, he liked that Valaria’s friends would look out for her.She needed that.The more people who cared for and supported her, the better.
“I…like Valaria,” he said softly.“And I want her to be comfortable at all times with whatever we do.Whatever she wants or doesn’t want.”They entered the parlor and he stopped, turning toward her as she released his arm.“I hope that helps.”
She was watching him closely, examining his face.“It does.We don’t know each other very well, Your Grace.But you seem a decent man.Valaria is difficult to get to know.She has walls, it seems.”
“Yes.”
“And I can only imagine the reasons she had to erect them.”Flora shivered slightly as if the thought was distasteful.“But I think they are worth scaling.”
“I agree,” he said.He glanced to the door, expecting to see Valaria enter the room, but she hadn’t.His brow wrinkled.She had not been so very far behind them.
Flora followed his gaze.“Why don’t you go look for her?I will join the others.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.Flora.”He inclined his head.“I hope we will be fast friends.”
She smiled in return and then pivoted toward Bernadette and Theo, who were at the pianoforte together.
“Play us a tune, Bernadette,” Flora said with a laugh.“And I will sing terribly off key and make Theo pretend to enjoy the entertainment because underneath it all, he is a gentleman and cannot tell a lady that her singing is dreadful.”
Theo let out a great snort of laughter that echoed as Callum slipped from the room back into the hallway.Valaria wasn’t there, and he frowned.There was such a short distance between the dining hall and the parlor where Bernadette had now begun to play, delicate music drifting into the hall, along with Flora’s boisterous voice as she sang.
Where could Valaria have gone?
He took a few steps when he saw that the door to Theo’s library was slightly ajar and light spilled into the hallway from it.He pushed the door open and caught his breath.
Valaria stood before one of the tall bookcases, her back to the door, staring up at the shelves.For a moment, he considered leaving her to her thoughts, but she was too great a temptation.
He slid the door shut behind him and said, “The amazing part of this library is that Theo has actually read all the books.For a rake he has surprising depths.”
She turned to look at him and he caught his breath.There were tears in her eyes and bright on her cheeks.He rushed toward her, hands outstretched.“Valaria, what is it?”
She shook her head.“It’s nothing.Just a moment.You needn’t worry yourself.I know you no longer desire to.”
He stopped short of touching her.“I no longer desire to…to what?To worry about you?”
“To think of me at all, I suppose,” she said.“So we needn’t belabor the point.Go back to the others and I’ll get myself together and return, as well.”
“No, wait,” he said.“What are you talking about, Valaria?Why would you think that I had no interest in you anymore?”
Her eyes went wide.“You haven’t reached out to me in two days, Callum.And then you were…you were…” She huffed out a breath, her frustration clear.
