He leaned back, adjusting his stance. “Not here.”
“Whereis she?”
“I sent you a letter—several letters. I assumed I had the wrong address when I didn’t hear back. But I didn’t, did I?”You ignored me on purpose, you vicious little sparrow, and I think it gave you great pleasure to thwart me.
“Letters get lost,” she said, still defiant. “You could have called.”
“So could you.” Cal sighed. “In any case, she’s not well, and hasn’t been for a while.”
The pinkish tinge in her cheek turned blotchy as she fell out of that defensive stance, hands clasped in front of her as if seeking her own support. “Is she . . . sick?”
“In a way,” he said guardedly, unsure of how much she already knew, or what she had been told. “Something happened on her honeymoon with Ben. I don’t know what. But she came back wild and raving. Delusional. And now—she’s gone missing.”
“But she’s not delusional. She’s neverbeendelusional. She doesn’t even get depressed.”
There was a hopeless note in her voice and he felt an unfamiliar tightness in his chest at the knowledge that he was the cause of her misery and would only be prolonging it now.
“How long?” she asked, oblivious to his torture. “How long has she beenmissing?”
“A little over a week,” he lied. “But most missing people turn up within twenty-four hours and if not then, eighty-six percent are eventually found.”
“And what about the other fourteen?” she whispered. “What about them?”
Cal did not reply and she flinched again; not from him, this time, but from the fear—theunknowing. He had seen this reaction before, in countless living rooms and offices. Inheritance was not always a rosy handing-off of grand fortunes. Sometimes it was a tragedy—or a curse.
Nadine let out a ragged breath as what little color remained in her face abruptly blanched. Cal surged forward just as she began to wobble on her feet, so that when she collapsed, the full weight of her body sagged against him.
His shoulders dipped with the effort of holding her upright. Grunting, he cupped her by the backs of her knees and swung her into his arms. She was heavier than he expected and he was rather perversely satisfied by that. She felt sorightpressed against him like this, with those lush and bounteous curves rubbing up against his hard, unyielding frame, as if they could—
No. This was not the time for that. He had to decide where to take her. Not his bedroom—he had a feeling she wouldn’t respond well to waking up on his rumpled sheets. Perhaps the library. There was a settee in there. Or the parlor—
He ran into the maid again in the hall, who looked rather alarmed to see him with a body. He gave a look lanced with impatience. “Get me some ice,” he barked, before she could flee again, and she bobbed her head before darting for the kitchen, the soles of her shoes squeaking noisily.
Ben appeared at the top of the stairs. For a moment, he looked surprised, and then his brows drew down in obvious judgment. “Back to your old ways already? You know Father doesn’t like you bringing your playthings in the house.”
“It’s your sister-in-law,” Cal responded coldly, wanting to wound. “Nadine.”
His brother’s hands clenched on the balustrade. He released the wood abruptly, heading down the stairs for a better look. “So it is. I barely recognized the shabby little wren. How, pray tell, did you land her in that condition?”
“She fainted.” His irritation increased when his brother followed him into the parlor like a grim chasing the scent of death. Cal laid her down on one of the sofas, smoothing her hair back from her face. “She’s worried about her sister.”
“I thought you were supposed to take care of that,” Ben said. “Did she come alone?”
“I think so.”
“Good. That will make this so much easier.”
Cal did not like the expression on Ben’s face. “You aren’t going to get rid of her, surely.”
“That depends on what she knows.” He opened his mouth to say more, but Holly entered the room with the ice. She handed the glass to Cal before hurrying away, her path describing a rather large circle around Ben. “I can be very persuasive.”
Cal pressed one of the ice cubes to her pulse, watching her shiver. A rivulet of melted water trailed down her throat that he longed to chase with his tongue. “You aren’t going to touch her.”
“Are those the doctor’s orders? Your bedside manner leaves much to be desired, if so.”
“I mean it.” Cal looked at him harshly. “One disappearance will raise eyebrows. Two will bring every law enforcement official in the area to our door.”
“I’m the heir of Ravensgate,” Ben said. “As far as you and everyone else in this town is concerned, what goes on in his house is under my jurisdiction. She’s my sister-in-law, Caledon, which puts her under father’s and my authority. Not yours.”
