Page 61 of Her Heart's Rightful Earl
Arabella smiled quietly. ‘Yes, Charlotte. That would be lovely.’
In truth, a clothes shopping trip was the last item on Arabella’s list of desires, but she was eager to sustain Charlotte’s innocence concerning this precarious situation; the less she suspected, the safer she would remain.
Charlotte clapped her hands happily. ‘Oh, wonderful! It will be such fun, Arabella! Let’s work to get you smiling again!’
Arabella was grateful Charlotte had not pushed her further for justification of her low mood, but she knew that on their shopping trip, she would need to feign a joyous disposition to ward off the questions.
Suddenly, Marcus appeared in the doorway. The silence with which he had approached suggested he had tiptoed, for his footsteps could always be heard. All three ladies turned to look, and he shot each of them with narrowed eyes, a vicious expression.
‘Were you talking about me?’ he demanded.
Arabella and Charlotte looked at each other in consternation.
‘No, Lord Wellwood. We were discussing a shopping trip–’ Arabella told him.
In the loaded pause that followed, the ladies tensed up, poised for an outburst. But instead, Marcus laughed raucously and hastily crossed to take a seat. He grabbed a pastry and stuffed it into his mouth before even sitting in his chair. Margaret averted her eyes in shame.
‘Did you sleep well last night, Mother?’ Marcus asked, through a mouthful.
Margaret attempted a watery smile. ‘Quite deeply, son.’
‘Then why did I hear footsteps up and down the place in the early hours of the morning?’ Marcus demanded. Margaret started and began to quiver.
Marcus turned quickly to Charlotte.
‘And upon investigation, I sawyou!’He pointed accusingly at Charlotte.
Arabella felt her heartbeat escalate in panic. It was the first time she had been in Marcus’s presence with the confirmed knowledge that he was a killer, and her whole body bristled from being in such close proximity to him.
Now he was confronting her sister with such a violent tone that Arabella’s adrenaline coursed through her, and her protective defences kicked in.
‘It was I, Lord Wellwood! I do apologize if my movements disturbed you.’
Marcus turned and fixed her with a stern stare. Arabella internally instructed herself to breathe easily. If he had accused Charlotte, claiming he hadseenher, then it assured Arabella he had not actually gone to investigate, nor seen anybody. He was bluffing in a bid to discover the truth of who was moving about in the early hours before dawn.
‘What were you doing?’ Marcus hissed.
‘I could not sleep. I have suffered a megrim this past week, which has seen me resting a lot during the day. Now I am feeling better, I believe my body is telling me to wake up!’ Arabella feigned a laugh, hoping to insert some levity into the conversation.
Marcus continued to stare at her. Margaret blinked rapidly with watery eyes, and Charlotte laughed along with Arabella, attempting to lighten the situation.
‘There you are then, Lord Wellwood!’ Charlotte smiled. ‘It was not me you saw!’
‘Howdareyou insinuate I was mistaken!?’ Marcus slammed his hand down on the table loudly and stood over Charlotte as he yelled in her face.
Charlotte shrank back in her chair, paling and visibly shaken. Margaret let out a slight bleat of concern, and Arabella was poised to leap across the table to intervene, but she purposely held herself back.
Marcus stood dominantly over Charlotte, as the ladies waited for him to either calm down or do something shocking.
After a moment laden with heightened tension, Margaret reached out to Marcus with a trembling, frail arm. ‘Perhaps you should go and rest if you were woken early, my dear …’ she consoled him.
Marcus recoiled from her touch, seething.
‘Everybody is watching me!’ He slammed his palm on the table again. ‘Will everybody juststop watching me!’Marcus yelled at the top of his voice and stormed out of the room.
Charlotte was shaking, close to tears, and Arabella reached out to touch her arm, in the hope of calming her.
‘He’s just like his uncle!’ Charlotte sobbed. Her eyes went to Margaret. ‘I am sorry, Lady Wellwood. I should not say anything, but his actions frighten me …’
