So instead, I gripped her shoulders, waited until her eyes locked with mine, and said, “You have to trust me. Have I ever let you down?”
Her lip jutted out, but she shook her head. “Not yet.”
Not ever.
“Lady Aveen? I believe I have the next dance,” a voice announced from behind.
Dammit.I knew we’d been too loud.
According to the full dance card dangling from my wrist, Sir Henry Withel was next. I wanted to throw the thing into the fire but needed to play along. For a little while longer at least. “I love you, Keelynn. No matter what happens, please remember that.”
Keelynn’s expression hardened.
Sir Henry called my name again.
I didn’t want to dance with him. I didn’t want to dance with anyone. I wanted to spend my last few hours with my sister.
She clamped her mouth closed, looking through me as though I were a ghost.
Soon, I would be.
Icy dread slithered beneath my skin as I started for the gangly man and offered a false smile along with my hand. “My apologies. I was speaking to my sister.”
With a nod, he led me to the floor, where I danced with partner after partner until my feet ached and my smile felt like it would shatter my face.
The hairs on the back of my neck suddenly lifted. My eyes collided with Rían’s from over my partner’s head before he quickly looked away. Instead of coming over to me, he sauntered toward my sister, who was guzzling champagne by herself in one of the chairs set along the wall. If she didn’t slow down, she’d have a terrible headache tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
I wouldn’t be around to help her or giggle about the events of the night.
Tomorrow, I’d be no more.
Lord Stilt, a man whose stomach stretched the seams of his waistcoat, spun me in a reel, making it difficult to watch Rían snag two glasses of champagne and take the seat next to Keelynn.
Pain shot through my foot. Lord Stilt mumbled an apology, sweat dripping down his brow, his face an unhealthy shade of red.
I couldn’t do this anymore.
Letting go of his hand, I fanned my overwarm cheeks, my foot throbbing. “Would you mind terribly if I took a short break? It’s quite warm in here.”
“Not at all, milady,” he wheezed. “Delicate flowers . . . need to rest . . . lest they wither.”
I’d show him a bloody delicate flower.
With a growing pang in my chest, I watched Rían lead Keelynn to the dance floor. There should’ve been more space between them. Why did he hold her so close? What game was he playing now? He was supposed to keep her occupied, not make her fall for him.
Robert glared at Keelynn from his usual spot by the fireplace, surrounded by his brothers. He was some fool. What did he think would happen if we actually got married? Keelynn would fall in love with someone else, leaving him well behind.
I collected some champagne, finished it in three gulps, then discarded the empty glass on one of the high tables only to grab another. Would a hangover follow me to the underworld? There was only one way to find out.
Rían whispered something to Keelynn that left her lips quirking into a smile. His eyes found mine over her head before making his way toward the dark hallway just as the clock in the corner struck the hour. I said a silent goodbye to Keelynn, and good riddance to this house and to these people.
Before I could make my exit, Robert caught Keelynn by the elbow and dragged her onto the balcony.
“I wanted to say goodbye,” a familiar feminine voice said from behind me. I turned to find Lady Marissa in a scandalously low-cut blue gown, glossy black ringlets tumbling down her shoulders.
I hated that Rían had seen me undressed. That he knew me so intimately.