Page 61 of A Shadow Amongst the Roses

“It will be all right.”

Those words.

Not reassurance offered lightly, but with intent. With trust.

His chest tightened, not with fear, but with something older and stronger. The sensation spread slowly through him, deep and unmistakable, like a door inside him opening after years held carefully shut.

He inclined his head once, a quiet acknowledgment, and moved on. He would not interrupt her work. Nor would he ignore what had begun.

*

Further along the corridor, Thomas paused near the steward’s passage. Voices drifted from Ashwood’s office, muted but edged.

“…not her purview… too many errors… cannot continue this way…”

Thomas did not linger. He did not eavesdrop. But he noted the tone.

Ashwood was preparing an argument.

Likely for Nathaniel. Possibly for the district council. Certainly to weaken Eliza’s standing.

The thought set Thomas’s jaw.

It was not anger. He did not waste energy on surface emotion. What settled over him instead was purpose. Clean. Sharp. Unyielding.

He turned toward Eleanor’s study.

If anyone understood the burden of what had begun, it was the duchess.

He knocked once.

“Come.”

Eleanor sat in her tall-backed chair, morning light catching the silver threaded through her hair. Her expression softened when she saw him.

“Thomas,” she said. “I wondered how long it would take you.”

“There is something in motion,” he said.

“Yes.” She closed the book before her with a soft sound. “And you must allow it to unfold a little longer.”

His brow furrowed. “With respect, Your Grace—”

She lifted a hand. “If you act too soon, you give Ashwood what he wants. Proof of interference.”

Interference.

As though Thomas’s proximity were misconduct. As though loyalty were obstruction.

“He’s cutting her out of decisions,” Thomas said quietly.

“Yes.”

“He’s altering records.”

“Yes.”

“He’s using visitors to spread doubt.”