Page 28 of A Shadow Amongst the Roses

“Be efficient,” Eliza said, finishing for him.

“Yes, my lady.”

Eliza turned to Thomas. “Do you wish to attend?”

Thomas met her eyes. “No.”

The simplicity of it was startling.

Eliza looked back at the clerk. “Then the answer is no.”

The clerk hesitated. “But His Grace…”

“The Dowager Duchess will advise His Grace on the accounts,” Eliza said, her tone still polite. “If he has questions regarding the gardens, he may ask them through proper channels.”

The clerk looked torn between obedience and fear. Then he bowed again. “Yes, my lady.”

He retreated down the corridor, clutching the ledger as though it might protect him.

Thomas remained still.

Eliza waited until the man had turned the corner before speaking again.

“They’re trying to bring you into rooms you’ve never entered,” she said softly.

“Yes,” Thomas said.

“Because they think it proves something.”

“They think it makes the estate look modern,” he replied. “Reasonable. Fair.”

His gaze held hers, steady and unyielding. “I don’t need fairness performed on my behalf.”

Eliza felt her throat tighten. Not from pity. From recognition.

“No,” she said quietly. “You don’t.”

A draft moved through the corridor, carrying the scent of rain and warm bread from the kitchens. The sounds of the house continued around them, muffled by distance and the thick stone walls.

“You shouldn’t have stepped in,” Thomas said after a moment.

Eliza lifted her chin. “Why not?”

He hesitated. “Because it gives them a reason to believe you speak for me.”

Her breath caught.

“I do not speak for you,” she said. “I spoke to them.”

His expression softened by the smallest degree. “I know.”

They stood for a moment, the space between them taut with something neither of them had invited and neither could ignore.

“You won’t be able to leave for Thornhaven,” Thomas said then, as if shifting the weight to safer ground.

Eliza’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You’ve heard.”

“The staff talk,” he replied. “The bridge is flooded.”