“What?” Nadine said again, but this time, there was a wash of horror in it.Little sparrow?
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just teasing you. Swing by my room before dinner and I’ll find you something pretty to wear. Maybe even take you under my wing—get it? If you’re really lucky, I might even apologize to Ben on your behalf and tell him how very sorry you are for accusing him of killing Noelle. After all, we can’t have you getting caught between them.”
Nadine stared at her and realized that she had been neatly and effectively trapped.
“No,” she said, very quietly.
Odessa smiled.
“Good girl.”
???????
After promising—again—that she would stop by Odessa’s room, and then getting directions to it because she had already forgotten, Nadine walked away feeling a little disturbed by the other woman’s matchmaking. She didn’t get the sense that anybody in this family accepted her, so the fact that Odessa was attempting to leverage Ben to throw her at Cal was . . . weird.
Manipulative, weird, and—creepy.
(I want you to be his little sparrow)
It had started to rain quite hard, so rather than go out for her usual walk, Nadine wandered in the direction of the library. Apart from the kitchen, and her own bedroom, it was the only other place in this house she felt even remotely comfortable in.
She could hear the droplets viciously spattering the glass behind the drawn damask curtains. She looked at the titles frowningly, running a finger along their textured spines, enjoying the feel of the cloth and old leather bindings as she searched for nothing in particular.
And then someone cleared their throat.
“Good morning, my dear.”
Nathaniel was sitting in the corner, sipping what appeared to be an alcoholic drink even though it was well before noon. The morning paper was open in front of him but his eyes were regarding her over the top of it, and even though he was seated, he looked ready to spring at any moment.
“Uh, hi,” she said, already turning. “I didn’t know anyone was in here. I’ll leave.”
“I heard you come back with my son last night.”
She stiffened.
“Yes, he walked me home,” she said, after a delayed pause in which she tried to shake the image of him watching from the windows from her head. “From the bar.”
“Oh, is that all.” It sounded like a question but she knew it wasn’t, because people only asked questions to things they wanted answers for, and Nathaniel sounded like he already had his.
(keep him excited)
Nadine turned back to the bookshelf, closing her hand over a copy ofJane Eyre. The paper behind her rustled loudly and her head snapped back around to make sure he hadn’t gotten up. Smiling, like he could sense her unease and was doing his best to precipitate it, he said, calmly, “He seems rather protective of you.”
It did not sound complimentary.
She didn’t respond, staring at those stiff spines.
“Ben informs me that you’ve been asking a lot of questions about us in town.” She heard him shift in his seat. “Some of the questions are—rather distressing.”
Her shoulders straightened and she reluctantly turned around to face him again. “I never hid why I came here from you.”
“Yes, but what is it that you think you’ll find by sticking out that lovely neck?” She had to resist the urge to touch the fading bruise when he looked at her sharply. “I would have thought by now you would have realized that there’s nothing here for you to find. Your sister is gone, my dear, and I’m sorry for it, but the best we can do is find solace in togetherness.”
Nadine glanced at the closed door to Cal’s office. “That’s what Ben said.”
“There’s a reason he’s going to lead this house.” Nathaniel took a sip of his drink, letting the paper sag. “He’s willing to do what needs to be done, no matter how much it hurts. Not like Cal, with his fanciful notions and romantic ideals. He’s stubborn and willful. When he gets riled up, he can be as hard to wrangle as a wild stallion.” His eyes cut to her. “But perhaps I’m only telling you what you already know.”
That unpleasant feeling in her stomach grew. “You thinkBenis reasonable?” she said, latching on to the only piece of that disgusting speech that she was willing to touch.
