Page 174 of Reign

“That’s creepy.”

“It’s useful.”

She looks back out the window, but she doesn’t move away from my hand.

For a moment, neither of us speaks.

Downstairs, dinner continues without us. Voices. Silverware. The low murmur of men pretending they aren’t waiting for something to go wrong.

Elena’s jaw tightens at the sound.

Then she looks around the room and says, “Why would they put a baby in here?”

I follow her gaze.

The cream walls. The polished furniture. The expensive little prison Santo purchased in the name of protection.

“I understand,” I say. “It’s a terrible room.”

Her mouth twists. “Okay, Mr. Judgmental.”

“It faces the front of the house.”

That gets her attention.

She turns just enough to look at me.

“I wouldn’t have chosen it,” I add.

“You say that like you’ve planned nurseries before.”

“I have opinions.”

“Obviously.”

I glance at the window again. “Too exposed. Too many sightlines. If someone got through the gates, this is one of the first rooms they could target.”

Elena stares at me.

Then she turns fully, and my hand drops from her neck.

“Do men like you ever look at a window and think, wow, natural light?”

“No.”

She laughs. An actual laugh.

It changes her whole face. Her eyes brighten, which should be impossible, because they were already too bright to begin with. For one second, the room gives her back to herself.

I enjoy it more than I should.

Then the laugh fades.

She takes a breath and looks away, toward the window again.

“This was the room my mother locked me in.”

I still.