Page 203 of Ashen Torment
He lifts his arm and points to a corner of the room.
“Agnes sent you something.”
I follow the gesture; on the floor, against the cabinet, there is an overturned fruit basket. Bruised apples, a split pear, a dark juice staining the floor.
“You rummaged through my things.”
“It was an accident.”
“How dare you—”
He shifts a lock of my hair with a gesture that pretends to be distracted and yet is not.
“Tomorrow I will have every fruit you desire delivered to you. You have no need of her.”
I lift myself slightly on my elbows.
“That is not the point.”
“What, then, is the point?”
I clench my fingers into the sheet.
“I did not grant you permission to touch what belongs to me.”
His lips curve to one side. “Are you concealing some secret, perhaps?”
The irritation rises within me; I turn toward him, then avert my gaze before our eyes can even meet.
“Leave.”
“For what reason do you dwell here, and not at Rochefort Manor?”
“I prefer privacy.”
His gaze lingers. He needs say no more for me to feel the weight of that attention.
“Fear not. My servants answer to me alone, not to my mother. No one will report what they have seen or haven’t seen.”
I return to staring at the ceiling.
“Your reputation shall remain intact.”
The response comes back sharply.
“That is not what I meant. My reputation is in no peril for having spent a single night away from my residence.”
“Good.”
“Are you so afraid of losing yours?”
I press my hands over my eyes.
“Stop, unless you wish for me to throw you out.”
“Lucien found something regarding the accident.”
Lucien?
