???????
Thomas came to her room around noon, bearing a tray of lunch. There was a sandwich of some kind and what looked like a cup of hot chowder, neither of which she would have chosen for herself since sandwiches contained so many ingredients to look up and cornstarch was often used as a thickener in chowder.
“Mr. Cullraven said that he’s been delayed but that he will see to you soon. He also wanted me to remind you that he oversaw to the preparation of your food personally.”
All those warnings about the hunt and the missing women flooded her mind, washing all her thoughts in panic. Nathaniel and Ben kept insisting that she was a deer, and were openly plotting her demise. Cal was just as insistent that she was a sparrow, but she already knew he lied. He’d tricked her before, and made it clear that he would do anything to get what he wanted.
Maybe he just wanted one last fuck before you die.
“Thanks,” Nadine said.
She ate nervously, mostly to have something to do to occupy her hands. The food was good, even if she barely tasted it. Whatever had been spread on the sandwich was creamy and rich, and the chowder had a thick, stick-to-your ribs mouthfeel that almost reminded her of—
Her stomach grumbled ominously as a cramp ripped through her midsection like a knife. She nearly doubled over as everything in her lower belly seemed to loosen all at once.
She fled down the hall, nearly crashing into one of the maids in her haste to get to the bathroom. The tips of her fingers were throbbing, waves of dull, achy heat flowing to her legs. She only barely made it to her knees in time to throw up everything she’d eaten, just as another painful cramp surged through her belly. Her eyes watered.
Someone knocked on the door. “Nadine. I saw you leave your room. Ben and I decided to take you to the festival as asurprise. Are you ready to come with us?”
Are you ready to die?
The thought of them lying in wait for her all morning was disturbing. Her stomach, already agitated, chose that moment to rebel again. She couldn’t answer Odessa but her distress spoke for itself. She could hear the woman conferring with someone out there in the hall. Probably Ben.
Did I remember to lock the door behind me?
She spat and felt the burn of hot acid in her throat. They wouldn’t kill her when she was like this, would they? That would be too pathetic—right? Nadine whimpered.
“Well then,” Odessa said. “I guess that answersthatquestion.”
Ben must have said something because the other woman laughed sharply.
“Don’t be an idiot,Ben. She obviously didn’t poison herself on purpose.”
Their footsteps, both sets, receded. Nadine hung her head, staring at the aging porcelain with bleary eyes.She obviously didn’t poison herself on purpose.
No. But Cal might have.
When her stomach finally stopped cramping and the rolling waves of nausea had ceased, Nadine brushed her teeth and washed her face, before cleaning herself off in the bath. She still hadn’t washed up after sleeping with Cal and her skin felt tacky and unclean.
Her movements were slow. Eating corn always caused her stomach to bloat, even after the vomiting—and sometimes the diarrhea—had passed. Her belly always felt tight and distended afterwards. Painful. Sometimes, she couldn’t even stand to look at food for a couple hours and fear was already making her stomach feel nauseous and jumpy.
She tied her hair up so it wouldn’t get in the water. The hot taps were working again, and she sighed as she sank into the steaming bath. She barely cared that it stung when she grabbed the pink bar of soap. Once clean, she was grateful for the dress. Anything with a waistband would have been quite out of the question now.
Why would Cal poison me?she wondered. It didn’t feel like an oversight; not when he’d made a point of having his butler remind her that he had overseen her food. Maybe his thinking had aligned with that of his siblings: that she’d be less fun to hunt if she wasn’t well.
But they aren’t supposed to hunt me at all. Not anymore.
She looked cautiously down the hallway as she left the bathroom. The house was silent—a thick and buzzing silence. It seemed like the family was out at the festival. She was here all alone.
She locked her door again. It was starting to rain. Curls of vapor swirled over the tops of the trees on the other side of the glass, where they seemed to pierce the clouds themselves. Nadine wondered if they ended the festival early when it rained.
Even when he helps, it hurts, she thought sleepily, hugging her pillow.
She had just about drifted off when someone knocked loudly on the door. Immediately, she was alert. “Who is it?”
“It’s me, miss,” Holly said, her voice easily recognizable through the wood. “I’ve brought you some weak tea. Odessa said you weren’t feeling well and Mr. Cullraven did say that you might like a hot beverage later.”
The offer of tea made her realize how dry her throat was. Being ill like this always made her so dehydrated afterwards, but it would be a while before she was able to stomach anything solid.
