The door opened and her brother stepped into the room with a biscuit in his hand. “I brought you a biscuit. Do I have permission to come in?”
“You do,” Anette replied as she went to retrieve the offering. “I think I shall start charging a biscuit for anyone that wishes to enter my room.”
Caleb glanced at Violet before asking, “May I speak to you privately?”
“You may,” Anette agreed.
Violet dropped into a curtsy before she departed from the room, closing the door behind her.
After she swallowed the first bite of the biscuit, Anette asked, “What would you wish to speak to me about?”
“I wanted to apologize for how Father acted around you earlier,” Caleb said as he sat down on the settee. “He was wrong to do so.”
“Shouldn’t Father be the one to apologize, not you?”
Caleb smirked. “You know Father is not one to apologize, even when he is in the wrong. He is entirely too stubborn for that.”
Anette sat down next to her brother. “Regardless, you did nothing wrong. I just wish that there were no secrets between us.”
“I would like that as well.” Caleb sighed. “I know you overheard Father being threatened by that man a few nights ago. Roswell and I are trying to help him get out of his terrible predicament.”
“Shouldn’t Father go to the constable for help?” Anette asked.
“We are in a better position to help Father than a lowly constable,” Caleb replied.
Anette furrowed her brow. “I don’t understand. How is it that you can help Father?”
Caleb’s eyes crinkled around the edges. “I apologize, but that is all I can say for now. You just have to trust us that we will keep you safe.”
“I am tired of everyone telling me to trust them but no one is telling me why. Do I not deserve to know the truth?”
“Telling the truth is not always an act of kindness,” Caleb replied. “There are some things that, deep down, people don’t truly want to know.”
“What could be so bad that I wouldn’t want to know?” Anette asked.
Caleb reached for her hand and said, “Just know that I have your best interests at heart. I always have and I always will.”
Anette snatched back her hand. “You don’t intend to tell me the truth, do you?”
“Didn’t you just hear my reasons?”
Jumping up from her seat, Anette said, “I heard them, but they are idiotic. Do you think I cannot handle whatever it is that you have to tell me?”
“It is not that—”
“Then what is it?” she asked, cutting him off.
Caleb rose and placed his hands on her shoulders. “If I told you the truth, everything would change between us. Don’t you see that I am trying to protect you?”
“I am so tired of people trying to protect me,” Anette said, taking a step back. “When will you see that I am not a little girl anymore?”
Caleb ran a hand through his hair, making it terribly disheveled. “I know you aren’t a little girl, but you are still my sister. This is my job to ensure you are safe.”
Anette huffed. Her whole life her brother had protected her but she couldn’t always rely on him. She needed to be able to take care of herself. And that included standing up for what she believed in.
“You are wrong to do so,” Anette said. “I don’t need a protector; I need a brother. One that supports me in whatever I do.”
Caleb looked displeased by her remark. “You know that I support you.”
