“You’ve been traveling?” asked David with a raise of his brows. “What for?”
“I’ve been on an important errand for my family.”
“Concerning?”
“None of your business.”
David stared at him, not only because of the curt reply but due to the hard tone with which Benjamin spoke. There was no mistaking the fact that his friend would not welcome further inquiries, but David couldn’t help his rising curiosity at the evasive answers. Having spent much time advising his friend on matters of business, David knew the Leighs had no income or investments beyond their estate; there was nothing financial dragging him from Greater Edgerton.
“Does this have anything to do with your sister?” asked David.
“I do not want to talk about her with you,” replied Benjamin with narrowed eyes as he crossed his arms.
And the pair fell silent. For several long moments, they simply stared at each other as David’s thoughts raced. Instinct niggled in his stomach, saying there was far more to this conversation than met the eye, yet he couldn’t logic his way to an answer.
Yet still, Benjamin sat there, silent.
With a sharp sigh, David threw his arms wide. “You won’t speak to me of what you’ve been up to, your sister, or anything else, it seems. Why are you here, Benjamin?”
“I have my reasons,” he replied.
“Which you are not going to share with me?”
One sharp nod was all the reply he gave.
Drawing in a deep breath, David let it out and forced his fists to unclench. “What can I do to repair things with your sister? I have done what I can, but she will not see me. I cannot make things right if she refuses to allow me any opportunity.”
“I told you I do not wish to discuss Katherine. You’ve done enough harm.”
David’s pulse quickened at that, and his heart chilled at the description. And once again, the memory of their parting played through his mind, sending a spike of pain through his chest. But quick on its heels, heat swept across his skin at Benjamin’s tone and the hard judgment in his gaze.
“This is a laugh,” said David. “Only a few weeks ago, I was chastising you for how you treated her, yet now you’re rushing in like some shining knight, protecting her from harm. Do not cast stones at me, Benjamin Leigh. I have hurt her, I know it, but it is nothing compared to what you and the rest of your family have done in the past.”
Benjamin leaned his head back, his brows rising. “What does it matter to you what happens to her? You have plenty of friends. What does it matter if one of them cuts ties?”
The very breath in his lungs seized, and David wasn’t certain they would ever function properly again. His reunion with Miss Leigh had been a given; even if it took weeks or months, he would win his way back into her good graces again. But Benjamin’s final question cut him to the quick.
Cutting ties. That was not a small thing. That was definitive. Unyielding.
“What do you mean, ‘cut ties’?” he asked.
“That is a fairly simple turn of phrase, David.”
Despite its being a ‘fairly simple’ action, David couldn’t breathe. His chest expanded and contracted, yet he couldn’t get any air into his lungs. The finality of his friend’s tone pressed down on him as Benjamin’s words rang through his thoughts. Miss Leigh was cutting ties with him, and with that, he was losing any opportunity to win her back.
Rising to his feet, he snatched his jacket from the side table and shrugged it on, his feet carrying him across the room before he knew what he was about.
Chapter 37
“What are you up to?” asked Benjamin, stepping between David and the door.
“If I have to camp out on your doorstep or break into her bedchamber, then I shall do so,” replied David, straightening his jacket as he tried to step around him. “One way or another, I am going to get your sister to speak to me. If she cannot forgive me, then so be it, but I cannot let things stand, Benjamin. And I am not going to let her cut ties without a word.”
The two shifted and pivoted around the doorway as David attempted to leave the study whilst the other did what he could to stop him.
“Stop this!” said David. “I need to speak to her.”
But Benjamin simply stepped in his way once more.
