“What do you mean?” Her brow furrowed.
“They are the kind of things one would prefer to forget. I suspect that is why they have taken so long to return.” Alaric gritted his teeth. “Moments of my father beating me, the way he used to paw at anything with a pulse. My mother weeping over his many,many betrayals. His laughter… I hated him, Catherine. I still do. I hate him with every part of me. He was cruel. Weak.”
Catherine took Alaric’s hand in hers, and he felt her thumb gently stroke his knuckles.
“When he died, I took so much pleasure in stopping all of the things that brought him joy. His payments to G od knows what, his business ventures in the West Indies. All of it.” Alaric’s words were like bitter poison. “I remember how he used to insist that I would become just like him. That I would behave as he did.”
“You could never do that.” Catherine’s voice was iron.
Alaric swallowed. “My memories of my father are not the only ones that have returned. I keep reliving the accident. That is what happened to me in the ballroom.”
Catherine drew in a breath.
“The more I remember of that night, the more certain I am that it was not chance that caused the crash.” He clutched his palm with his nails, the pain pushing away the remaining nausea. “Just now, I remembered finding a broken spoke and trying to use it to pull myself from the wreckage. It snapped under my weight.”
“That is hardly surprising. From everything I have been told, the carriage was completely destroyed.” Catherine frowned.
“The break was not a jagged one, Catherine.” Alaric heard the snap of wood in his mind. “In my memory, the thing had a clean edge. As though it had been intentionally cut through.”
“What? But that makes no sense.” Catherine drew back from him.
“It does if we assume that what happened was not some cruel twist of fate.” Alaric met her gaze with his own. “I think someone wanted my carriage to crash.”
“But why? Why would anyone want that? Something like that could kill you.” Her eyes widened. “Heavens ! You think they were trying to kill you?”
“It is the logical conclusion if we assume the accident was not anything like that.” Alaric sighed. “By the time I was found, the driver was dead, and most of the carriage was beyond saving. But the more I remember of that night, the more certain I am that it was no accident.”
“But who would want to do that to you?” Catherine’s hands rested in her lap, her fingers flexing and clenching.
Before Alaric could answer, there was a knock at the door. “Enter.”
Mrs. Langley arrived with a pot of tea on a silver tray. Her green eyes flicked from Alaric to Catherine as she curtsied. Alaricnoticed Catherine stiffen as the woman set the tray down in front of them.
“Thank you, Mrs. Langley.” Alaric gestured to the tray. “You may leave us.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” Mrs. Langley moved toward the door. “Shall I bring you more tea tomorrow?”
Alaric nodded, and Mrs. Langley left the room. He turned to find Catherine staring into the fire, her mouth drawn into a thin line.
“If someone tried to kill you, Alaric, we need to understand why,” Catherine murmured. “Then we may have a chance of discovering who was behind this.”
Alaric looked at her, and as he did, his heart felt like it was suddenly too big for his chest.
How can she just accept this without flinching?
He watched as she stood up and began to pace, tapping her fingers on her thighs as she did.
“One way or another, we will get to the bottom of this.” Catherine stopped her pacing to throw a log on the fire before turning to Alaric. “I just wish I knew how.”
“So do I, Catherine.” Alaric clenched his fists. “But we will find out.”
It is the only way to keep you safe.
CHAPTER 21
Catherine did not sleep at all that night. Instead, she lay awake in bed, thinking about everything Alaric had told her. Their dance was almost forgotten as her thoughts returned to his face when the memory surfaced.
“He was white as a sheet.” She pulled the bed covers closer around her. “And the circles under his eyes... They have been growing darker for weeks, and that stubborn, foolish, idiot of a man did not tell me that his headaches have been getting worse!”
