“Your father is asleep now, but I shall tell him you visited and give him your regards.” At that moment, May and June entered the room, halting just short of the threshold.
“Are you taking her back now?” May asked, exchanging a look with June.
“Indeed,” Theo said. “But we shall return before long.”
He offered his arm, and April took it. Outside, the carriage waited, and he helped her inside, settling beside her. As they rode, she looked out the window, lost in thought, Loretta’s words curling like smoke in the back of her mind.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
She turned to him with a smile. “How are you the first to start a conversation?”
“I am learning,” he said, “from you.”
“I am not thinking of anything in particular.”
“Are you sad to return to the manor with me? We can go elsewhere if you like.”
Her lips lifted slightly. “I am nervous about going back.”
“Then we shall not return just yet,” he said. He rapped on the carriage roof. The vehicle slowed then stopped. He stepped out, exchanged quiet words with the driver, and returned, his expression unreadable.
“Where are we going?”
“You shall see. I am full of surprises, remember?”
April raised a brow. “Are you now? I had begun to suspect you were entirely too serious for surprises.”
“You wound me.”
She smiled fully now, leaning her head slightly to the side. “I doubt that very much.”
They drove on, not back to the manor but farther beyond London. Fields gave way to the broad, tree-lined stretches of Essex countryside. After some time, the carriage turned into the gravel drive of an elegant inn with ivy-covered walls and a garish sign swinging in the breeze that readThe Toad and Thistle.
April stared at it. “You have a peculiar taste in inns.”
“Only the finest establishments for my lady.”
They were shown to a suite of well-appointed chambers with a generous hearth and floral drapes. Theo gave instructions to the footman. “Our things will be brought shortly.”
April turned in a slow circle, taking in the space. “It is lovely.”
“It is quiet,” he said. “And far from anything that might trouble you.”
She met his gaze, that unreadable expression again dancing in his eyes. “Thank you.”
“Rest, April. I’ll see to supper.”
The moment the door closed behind him, April sat on the edge of the bed, fatigue wrapping around her like a heavy shawl. She lay back, her eyes drifting closed, the softness of the bedding pulling her under.
But her sleep did not last.
In her dream, she stood once more on the banks of the pond. Mist curled low and thick, choking the air. The surface of the water was unnaturally still and black as ink.
A whisper came, soft and poisonous.You are not enough. He will tire of you, just as he tired of me.
April turned, searching, but no one was there. Just that voice, that honeyed venom.
He loved me once. You are merely a distraction.
