Page 48 of Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
“She died here, didn’t she?”Victoria asked.She braved a glance at him.
He sat still as a statue, his arm still draped around her shoulders.His stony expression revealed nothing.
“Lenore was your wife,” she continued.“And you had a daughter.Lily.”
Pain creased his features, as though hearing this drove a blade straight through him.He dropped his arm and shot to his feet, his back to her.Rigid.Taut.Gabriel pushed a hand through his hair, leaving it in disarray.He refused to face her.He didn’t want to hear the girl’s name from her lips.
“Yes.”The word came out in a hiss of a whisper.
“What happened to them?”she asked.
“Please don’t ask me to explain.”His voice was terse with a hint of anger.“I cannot.”
“Why?”she demanded, tired of the half-truths.She got to her feet, her hands fisted at her sides.“Why are you still here when they are not?”
He spun to face her, fury creasing his normally passive features.“Do not ask that of me.Ever.”
Then he was stalking away, up the stairs.She watched his disappearing form as he turned into the west wing.Moments later, a door opened and slammed.
She turned back to the front door and tried the knob.It opened with ease.She stepped once again into the morning light.
Chapter 19
Atthepost,sheintended to send the letter in her pocket.She intended to get her life back.But when she entered, and the bright-eyed young man behind the counter greeted her, she lost her nerve.
“Nice to see you again, Miss Ravenwood.I have a few letters for you.”
When he handed them to her, she saw one was from her aunt.Her gut clenched.The others were responses to her advertisement in the Tribune.
“Anything else I can do for you?”he added.
She plastered on a smile.“No, thank you.Just a mail pickup.”
When she turned to go, he said, “I hope things are well for you, miss.”
Things were certainly not well for her.But she continued to smile anyway and gave him a nod as she sprinted out the door.
Rather than return to the manor, she clutched the letters in her hand and walked through the village.When she found a bench near the fountain, she sat and held the papers in her lap, staring down at them as though they were a foreign object.
It was hard to forget the way Gabriel looked at her with such fury.As though he were enraged by her questions.The look in his eyes—rage, grief, maybe even fear—sliced straight through her.And it cut her to the core.Only the night before they had connected in a way that seemed impossible.And now…now things were fractured between them once more.It hurt.
Turning her attention to the letters in her lap, she opened the first one from the Tribune.It started withI regret to inform youand ended with apologies.The second letter was much the same but with a harsher tone.I wouldn’t work in that horrifying manor if it was the last job on earth.And the last was nothing more than a simpleno, thank you.
Nothing could have prepared her for that amount of rejection.
Now, she was faced with her aunt’s letter, saving it for last.Gods, she wished she could leave it sealed.But she knew she had to open it.Sliding her thumbnail under the wax seal, she broke it and read the salutation.My dearest Victoria, how we miss you here in Crown Hollow!
As she read on, it was not good news.As her gaze skipped down the page of the elegant handwriting, a mixture of horror and dread pounded through her.Her stomach clenched into a tight knot.
I thought it prudent that the Honorable Earl of Berkhampstead, Lord Charles Howard, and I visit your estate.Did you know he’s the 22nd Earl of Berkhampstead?He was quite interested in hearing all about Ravenfell Manor and simply insisted on coming to see it and you.I think you’ll like him!He’s a very nice man.Handsome with a sizeable wealth and a lovely brownstone in Crown Hollow.
Of course, you needn’t worry about us imposing on you.I know full well, from your uncle, the ramshackle state of the manor.So, not to worry.I have a cousin not far from you there in the country and she’ll be happy to host us.
We’ll see you in the forenoon on Thursday next—
Oh, gods!That was today!
Victoria leapt to her feet, the rejection letters from the Tribune fluttering to the ground at her feet.She hastily snatched them up, crumpling them and her aunt’s letter in her fist.
