Camelia’s vision blurred with tears, but her voice cut through the room like a blade.
“Pamela!” She ran after her, but stopped midway. “Raph, did you hear me? What does it say?”
Raph’s eyes met hers over the wreckage of their dinner. “It says we have one day.”
“One day for what?” She frowned, confused.
“One day before Montague tells the world that Pamela isn’t mine. That she’s his.”
Camelia stepped forward into the candlelight, tears streaking her face, but she kept her chin high. “What is going on, Raph?”
He made a broken sound, something between a laugh and a sob, and crossed the room in three strides. He poured himself a glass of brandy and downed it in one sip. Camelia stood frozen, watching as fury overtook him.
“He will never hurt Pamela. Never!” He threw the glass against the wall, and the crystal shattered everywhere.
Camelia felt torn between running to him and running after Pamela.
As if reading her mind, Raph turned to her and said, “Go to Pamela. She needs you.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to plan the downfall of Montague.”
CHAPTER 30
“Pam!” Camelia called out, but the corridor swallowed her words.
Portraits of Raph’s family stared down in disapproval as she ran past the staircase, the music room, and the library.
Nothing.
Not even a sign that she had been there.
Camelia flung open doors and cupboards, her heart hammering. The drawing room and Pamela’s bedchamber were empty too. Panic clawed at her throat.
She decided to check outside; the stables were her last hope. Pamela always ran to the horses for comfort.
Camelia burst through the side door into the night. The air was sharp with frost and the sweet bite of hay. Lanterns swung from hooks, throwing golden pools across the gravel. She could hear the soft stamp of hooves, the rustle of straw, and from the far end of the stables, a broken sob echoed.
“Pamela?” Her voice cracked through the air.
Another sob sounded, followed by a sniffle as Pamela stifled her cries.
Camelia followed the sound past the rows of boxes until she reached Susy’s stall.
The little mare nickered softly. Camelia looked around and finally found Pamela. She was curled up in the corner on a pile of fresh straw, her knees drawn to her chest, and her face buried in her arms. Her shoulders shook as she tried to hold in her sobs.
Camelia’s heart fractured. She eased the half-door open and stepped inside, straw crunching beneath her slippers.
“Darling…”
Pamela flinched, pressing harder into the shadows. “Go away.”
“No, I won’t.” Camelia knelt beside her and reached out slowly. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Pamela’s head snapped up, her eyes red and swollen. “He lied to me. All this time, he lied. And you did, too.”
Camelia swallowed past the lump in her throat. “He was trying to protect you, Pamela.”
