Page 42 of Chandelier Sin
“I’m tired,” I said. “I think I’ll take a nap.”
“What did you discuss with Ben? Don’t lie.”
I swallowed hard. “The garden, I think. The roses look beautiful this time of year. He likes to grow herbs.”
“Gardening?”
Fear slithered up my spine like a snake.
“I hate it when you lie to me,” he said. “You know that.”
“I’m not lying to you.”
“What did you discuss with Ben that you couldn’t say in front of others?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” A chill burrowed deep into my cells, like poison seeking a warm and dark place to settle.
I shivered, but the cold didn’t come from the outside, it came from a feeling of foreboding.
I drew in a ragged breath.
“I had an interesting conversation with Ben myself.” He grabbed my chin and pinched it hard, his fingernails digging into my flesh.
I felt a jolt of pain. “Oh?”
“You disappoint me.”
“Why?”
“You asked him about Eloise.”
My eyes pleaded with him, trying to get him to see reason. “I might have mentioned her.”
“What did you ask him to do?”
Oh, God, no.
SMACK.
The strike caused my head to snap back, and I felt the pain sharply, my skin stinging, my jaw aching.
I blinked from the shock of the blow, trying to steady myself. Tears sprang to my eyes from the humiliation of not being able to fight back.
A cruel silence followed.
I stared down at the swirls of the blue and green patterned carpet, soldered into my memory from having stood here so many times before.
I’d endured worse, so much worse.Just stay calm, stay reasonable, don’t cry, don’t scream—he hates that.
My gaze landed on his desk, and I saw a collection of folders.Focus on them. Atticus’ name; as though even in here, in this place, he could somehow reach me.
Aemon raised his hand to hit me again but didn’t, as though he enjoyed making me flinch.
I braced against the impeding violence.
“Ben did nothing wrong,” I heard myself whisper.
“He follows my orders. Mine alone.”
