Page 109 of Ashen Torment

“I see,” I mutter curtly, trying to shake the sensation.

“You two are friends. Why don’t you ask him?”

“Why do you think we are friends?” I retort, without turning toward her.

“Is it not so?”

“No.”

“Then why were you together in the library?”

“We were discussing a book... a rare manuscript that came into my possession.”

She wraps her arms around herself.

“It is better to go back inside.”

“Agreed, Viscount.”

We begin to walk back, her arm hooking into mine once more. At the entrance, where the carriages wait, Agnes turns her gaze toward me with a sincere smile.

“J’aime parler avec vous.”

My gaze wanders among the carriages. My eye unconsciously seeks a familiar figure, eager to know if he has already left.

Not that I care.

I just want to know.

I see his valet in front of one of the carriages, despite the wind, nothing disarranges his blond hair. He barely raises his hand in a discreet nod. I smile crookedly in response, while my heart contracts for no apparent reason.

I gently detach myself from Agnes’s arm.

“Forgive me... I have some business to attend to.”

She lowers her eyes, the smile tightening on her lips betraying her disappointment.

“Do not worry, Viscount.”

I gesture to one of the maids, Marie, who is at the entrance, and signal for her to guide her inside. Agnes obeys with a slight bow.

I turn then and advance slowly toward the carriage.

“Viscount.”

“Hello, Laurence.”

My hand slides over the horses, tracing their sleek, warm coats, feeling their latent nervousness.

“Are you well?”

He winces slightly, caught off guard, his hands tightening on the horses’ harness.

“Y-yes, Viscount... thank you.”

I continue to stroke the horses with slow gestures, observing their ears as they twitch attentively.

“Étienne is fond of you.”