And that terrified him.
After his parents died, grief had hollowed him out so completely he thought it might consume him whole. One carriage accident. One cruel moment. That was all it took for people to vanish forever.
Victor still remembered standing beside their coffins, feeling as though the world itself had split apart beneath his feet.
Afterward, he made himself a promise.
Never again. No attachments deep enough to destroy him. No love. No dependence. Nothing permanent.
Women remained simple when one kept emotions absent. Charlotte threatened that simplicity.
Morgan interrupted his thoughts abruptly. “You look as though you witnessed a murder. Come now, let's have some merriment for God's sake.”
“I am contemplating throttling you,” Victor said.
“That is much healthier. Continue…” Morgan grinned.
Victor exhaled slowly. “Fine. If you must know… Miss Brown, she vexes me.”
Morgan looked triumphant. “Excellent. We are making progress. I assume you have kissed her, did you not? I mean, when can you not kiss a woman?”
Victor’s eyes narrowed immediately. “How precisely did you arrive at that conclusion?”
Morgan leaned back smugly. “Because you are behaving like a man who has kissed someone he ought not to.”
Victor hated how accurate that sounded. Before he could respond, applause suddenly erupted nearby.
A singer stepped elegantly onto the illuminated stage across the gardens dressed in pale blue silk. Her rich voice floated smoothly across the crowd almost immediately, drawing admiring attention from every direction.
Victor recognised her at once.
Miss Diana Reed.
Morgan followed his gaze curiously. “Well, now. That woman keeps staring directly at you.”
Victor smirked faintly into his drink. “We were once… acquainted.”
Morgan burst out laughing. “Acquainted. I see. Good for you. She is a beauty.”
“She sings well,” Victor said.
“She wants you...” Morgan said with a laugh.
Victor watched Diana, narrowly glaring in his direction between verses.
Perhaps she does, or she hates me.
The memory rose unexpectedly then. Charlotte storming into the forbidden room, clutching a candlestick like an avenging angel, only to see him with Diana Reed half clothed.
Victor nearly laughed aloud, remembering Charlotte's horrified expression afterward.
Morgan noticed immediately. “There. You are doing it again.”
“Doing what?” Victor snapped out of it.
“That ridiculous smiling thing, what are you thinking of?” Morgan asked.
Victor’s amusement faded slightly. Because Morgan was correct. Charlotte invaded his thoughts constantly now. Her sharp tongue. Her stubbornness. The way she looked at him as though she wished equally to slap him and kiss him.
