Someone did this. Killed King Leopold and Queen Abigail, along with five members of their staff. Put the Crown Prince in a coma from which he may never wake. And that someone is still at large.
It’s hard to conceive how something like this could happen. Harder still to imagine that there are no witnesses, no leads…
Nothing.
The investigation hasn’t yielded anything concrete — at least, not according to Simms, who I bumped into on my way back to my room after my lessons, yesterday. As for the rest of the household, everyone seems content to avoid each other. I haven’t seen Octavia since the night I arrived, nor have I encountered Linus since our meeting the other day.
Occasionally, I’ll hear Carter or Chloe walking the halls of the wing where all our rooms are located, but I have no idea how they spend the majority of their days. After the incident in the garden, neither of them has tried to make conversation. Frankly, I don’t blame them.
I wouldn’t want to talk to me, either.
My eyes press closed with horror, thinking back on it… as well as the massive fight I had with Owen, afterward.
Fight. With. Owen.
I’m fighting with Owen.
No matter how many times I say it, the concept is difficult to wrap my mind around. Before this, there’s never been a point in my life when we weren’t speaking. Sure, we’ve had minor spats over the years… but nothing to this degree. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the look on his face when I walked him to the front gates and asked him to leave.
I just need a little time,I told him, avoiding his gaze.I’ll call you when I’m ready to talk.
The truth is, though, I need a hell of a lot more than time. I need to figure out if I’ll ever be able to look him in the eyes again without recalling the stinging lash of his words. Not just the awful ones he directed at Chloe and Carter… the ones he said to me.
Pathetic.
Naive.
Broken.
I’ve always thought there were no lines between us left to cross, no boundaries remaining to push. I see now how foolish that was. The people who love us most are the best equipped to destroy us. After all, we’ve spent years handing over the ammunition, piece by piece, giving them everything they’ll ever need to inflict maximum damage.
The most twisted part of it is that, angry as I am, I still find myself wanting to call him, just to hear the comforting rasp of his voice. Twice today I’ve caught myself reaching for my cellphone — which, as it happens, was mysteriously scrubbed of all social media applications before being returned to my possession. I managed to stop myself before the call connected, but I know it’s only a matter of time before I cave in to the urge.
Owen has always been the person I turn to when I’m hurt; I’m not sure how to cope, now that he’s the one doing the hurting.
Lady Morrell clears her throat, bringing my focus back to the present.
“I think you have finally mastered the soup course,” she informs me, nodding her approval. “Perhaps you are ready to graduate to something more complex.”
“Foreign affairs?” I ask hopefully.
“Not quite.” Her lips twitch as she swaps out my bowl for a small plate. “Salads.”
“Joy of joys,” I mutter, resisting the urge to bang my head against the tabletop until I knock myself unconscious.
One more hour.
One-hundred-thousand dollars.
I pick up the damn salad fork.
* * *
Later that night,I’m lying in bed attempting to get through one of the dense books Linus sent up for me — a heavy, leather-bound tome calledGermania: Honor Throughout History —when someone knocks on my door.
“Come in,” I call lazily, expecting one of the housekeepers — here to stoke the fire or fluff my pillows or deliver yet another plate of warm chocolate-chip cookies, as they have every night since my failed baking endeavor. At first, I thought it was a nice gesture, but now I’m pretty sure it’s just Patricia’s insurance policy, keeping me out of her kitchen by any means necessary.
The door swings inward on soundless hinges. I glance up from the pages and nearly have a heart attack when I see the woman standing there, her perfectly coiffed auburn hair offset by teardrop earrings, an elegant gray dress, and sensible heels.