Page 237 of The Defiant Curse

Well, that was kind, but she absolutely wasn’t trusting anyone outside of her circle to ‘talk’. If she wanted to get something off of her chest, she could go to Callie and have a therapy session.

Random conversations ended up sold to the tabloids, and she wasn’t burning her family that way.

Yeah, that wasn’t happening in her world because it couldn’t happen.

Unfortunately, people betrayed for the simplest thing, and it was only a matter of time before someone told the media she was in Scotland.

She didn’t put it past people.

“Thank you.”

And she left it at that.

Getting up, Graham knew it was time to escort Sarah out. Since this was Elizabeth’s home, too, and it was clear she wanted her gone, he’d handle it.

So, he held out his hand.

“Let me show you to the door,” he said.

The woman said nothing else, but instead headed out with him.

And Elizabeth was quiet.

“Well, I guess we’re definitely digging up a dead dude,” she finally said. “Oison’s grave it is.”

Because he felt the tension that hadn’t been there before, he focused on the others.

“Can I have a moment alone with my wife?” he asked, knowing she needed it. She definitely needed to talk. Elizabeth felt…rattled.

And he didn’t want her to be off balance.

Not because it was dangerous, this time, but because he loved her.

At his request, they got it.

Gabby kissed Elizabeth on the cheek, and both she and Michael headed out without a word. They closed the library door behind them to give them quiet to talk.

When they were gone, he moved so she could sit between his legs as he leaned against the arm of the couch.

Elizabeth didn’t hesitate to get comfortable, so he held her.

For a good three or four minutes, neither spoke.

Ethan just let her process everything that had gone down, and gave her time to adjust to her emotions. Sometimes, you wanted to just think in the privacy of your own haunted castle’s library.

This was one of those times.

Finally, after a few minutes went by, she was curious.

“Was I rude?” she asked. “Because I wasn’t trying to be that way toward her. I just don’t deal with this kind of thing well.”

Oh, he was aware.

To comfort her, Ethan had his arms wrapped around her as he shared that space with her.

“Nope. You were definitely not rude. I’ve seen you get angsty, punchy, and bitchy. That was more like skepticism and a neutral response.”

She was glad because Sarah hadn’t done a thing to upset her. She couldn’t imagine having the dead in her mind yapping at her all day long.