The moment the suspicion had entered his mind, he had jumped to his feet, uncaring that he was completely interrupting Lady Norwood, and raced out the door, not even bothering to wait for the groom to bring his horse, but charging into the stable himself.
By the time he had made it home, he had told himself a thousand stories of where Evelyn could be, and none of them were good, ranging from her deciding to leave because of how he had treated her to Norwood taking out vengeance upon her.
He heard footsteps down the hall and a trickle of relief entered as he waited for Evelyn to round the corner, but his hope faded when he saw his sister.
“Asher? What’s wrong?” she asked, rushing up to him as he must have been wearing his concern on his face.
“Have you seen Evelyn?” he asked hurriedly.
“No,” she said with a frown. “She was gone when Mother and I returned home. I assumed she was with you. Speaking of… Mother seems to think that Evelyn is choosing to live in the country — without you. I’ve seen the two of you together, and it makes no sense to me. Why would she leave? Did you do something?”
Asher’s spine stiffened. “Why would you think that I did anything?”
“Well, I am fairly certain that Mother told Evelyn you said it would be for the best.”
“She didwhat?” Asher practically roared, all of his anger toward Norwood and his fears for Evelyn coming to the surface. Here, he had been afraid that something had happened to her,and now his own mother was the one sabotaging his happiness. Unbelievable. “Mother!”
“Asher—” Thalia hurriedly rushed after him, but he was having none of her attempts to calm him down. He knew he was running off in anger, as he had with Norwood, but he didn’t care any longer. He was done with being the man who waited patiently for it all to come into place, who tried to create change slowly with little action. He needed this done, and he needed it now. He needed his wife back beside him, not out who knew where because of miscommunication caused by his mother, who was jealous of his wife’s new position in the household.
“Were you seeking to speak with me?” his mother said, appearing on the landing at the top of the stairs.
“Yes,” he said, practically growling.
She must have realized the intensity of his emotion, for she descended the stairs much more hurriedly than her usual graceful glide.
“Is something amiss?”
“Yes. Veryamiss,” he bit out. “Why are you telling my wife that I want her to live in the country?”
“I thought that was what both of you wanted,” she said, blinking at the intensity of his tone. Asher almost always spoke to his mother with the respect she commanded.
“No,” he said swiftly. “She is my wife. She will remain with me, whether that means I am in London or the country or anywhere else I choose to go.”
“Asher,” his mother said, calling him by his first name in a rare moment. The last time she had done so was at his brother’s funeral. “That is not the nature of your relationship.”
“You know nothing of the nature of my relationship,” he bit out. “I know you wanted me to marry another, but I did not follow your carefully selected plan for me. I didn’t expect this either, but here we are. And, astonishingly, I am happy. Ienjoy being with Evelyn. I do not want to hear anything to the contrary, and from now on, I would like her to feel nothing but welcomed in this house that is now hers as much as it is any of ours. Is that understood?”
“I did give her free rein of the house as she is now the duchess,” his mother said stiffly.
“Yes, but you made her feel unwanted. She knew you didn’t want to give up that power,” he said. “It’s not just what you’ve done, it’s how you’ve made her feel in the process.”
His mother actually had the decency to look chagrined.
“I understand,” she said. “My apologies, Asher.”
“I am not the one requiring an apology,” he said. “Now, on that note, does anyone know where Evelyn is?”
A brisk knock on the door interrupted their conversation.
“Pardon me, your grace, but perhaps this might help,” the butler said, passing him a note from his crisp white gloves.
Asher took it, growling at the piece of paper as though this was all its fault.
“When did this arrive, Lloyd?” he asked.
“Just now, from a hired messenger. I brought it to you immediately.”
Asher ripped open the note, his heart sinking when he read what was upon it.
