Page 41 of Teach a Rogue New Tricks
No!
She took a deep breath to moderate her tone then made sure her sister’s gaze met her own. “What about the secret I’ve kept foryouall these years?Your visits to London. How can you threaten to reveal my secrets when I’ve kept yours so faithfully?”
Nora’s mouth dropped open. When she finally snapped it shut, it had filled with fast-paced words. She spit them at Ada. “It’s just as much your secret as mine. You agreed to let me come. We both kept my whereabouts from Father.”
“True. I am culpable. But… he may be angry with me if he so wishes. Will you like him to be angry with you?”
Nora cringed. “You would really tell him?”
She could not say for sure. But she’d do what she must to protect Lord Albee’s secrets. “I don’t know. Will you really tell Willow?” she countered.
Nora, whose steps fell so light most days she barely hit the boards, trudged with heavy steps to the door. “I don’t know.” She stood in the doorway, her back a wall Ada could not break down. “I love you.”
“I know.”
“That is why I—”
“I wish you loved me well enough to trust me.”
Ada had not thought Nora’s body capable of stiffening further, but it did. How she moved it to grasp the handle behind her, Ada could not guess. Her every movement jerked like a statue come to life, and with cold efficiency, she slammed the door shut behind her, leaving Ada alone.
Ada’s bones melted, and she collapsed in a numb heap on her bed. Nora had always been more than a sister, more of a friend, even—she was the person who knew her better and loved her more. How could such a chasm yawn open between them?
The silence of Ada’s room crashed in on her, pressing worry deep into her chest. Would Nora tell Willow Cass resided in London? If she did, he’d have to leave, and that prospect left her feeling hollow. With Nora’s guillotine swinging over them, his improvement might be cut short, and he’d never have the chance to gain his family back.
Her chest ached, the fight with Nora like an unremoved knife in her heart. What must Cass feel like, his relationship with his brother ruptured entirely? Horrid, that’s how. Unsustainable pain.
She must warn him. She jumped from bed and rushed to her writing desk.
Chapter Twelve
Adaleft a note for Sarah saying she planned to spend the day with her friend Henrietta at her dress shop. But the direction she gave the driver before climbing alone into the hack was Berkeley Square.
As the conveyance pulled forward, Ada pulled the slip of paper from her reticule and opened it.
A,
My thanks for your warning. Meet me tomorrow in Berkeley Square. 10.
C
No explanation. A concise (and frankly) mysterious note. She’d wondered upon receiving it if Nora was not correct—Lord Albee had seduction on the mind. Or abduction.
But she’d quickly banished the notion. Berkeley Square could not be a more public and popular locale. Why would he ask her to meet him there if he planned activities of a nefarious nature?
No, the outing held no risk for her. He alone faced exposure. He could be spotted, recognized, revealed, then exiled. That may already be happening. She had not encountered Nora before she’d left the townhouse, and she could not guess what Nora would do with her knowledge of Cass’s whereabouts.
She should stop thinking of the man as Cass. It implied an intimacy they did not share, and she would not allow it to grow.
She should have given Nora’s accusations more weight last night. Perhaps she did consider Cass a project. Ada gave too much of herself to those. She’d given her youth to the children. Her body to Lucas. Now she seemed to be handing over her heart. Or something like. There would be nothing left for her after she’d dissected herself and distributed the bits and pieces to those with the greatest need.
No. She’d not give anything resembling a heart to the viscount. She’d be careful and keep that bit to herself.
That did not mean she could not indulge the curiosity he flicked to life inside her.Meet me tomorrow in Berkeley Square.Why?
The hack rolled to a stop and Ada stuck her head out the window, sweeping the square for a familiar face. She frowned and plopped back into her seat. “He’s not here yet.”
“Hello!”
