Page 10 of Marry in Haste
Lily missed it. “Yes, but it’s much more comfortable in the parlor. Why don’t we take Cal in there and—”
“I’m sitting in the kitchen after midnight,” Cal said in a stern voice, “because my hoydenish little sisters sneaked out on their own at night, endangering their lives and their reputations and worrying their aunt sick.”
“Rubbish,” Rose interrupted. “Aunt Dottie knows perfectly well—” She broke off.
“—where you were?” Cal finished.
“No.” She flushed slightly but continued with that air of cool defiance he was coming to know. “But she knows that we always come home safe and sound.”
“She knowsnothingof the sort!” Cal slammed his fist on the table, making both girls and his glass jump. “For all she knew, anything could have happened to you. You could have been robbed! People in London—and other cities, and don’t think Bath is exempt from crime—have been knocked unconscious, stripped of their clothing—fine clothing like you are wearing under your very fine cloaks, right down to your lace-trimmed fine lawn underwear. It would all fetch a pretty penny in the underworld—and like those other victims, you’d be left naked in the gutter.” He paused to let his message sink in. “You can imagine what might happen to a naked girl left unconscious in the gutter, can’t you?”
Rose gave a little shrug. “Nothing happened to us.”
“Because you werelucky.” Cal decided to be brutal. “You might have been raped—yes, raped. Or beaten. Or kidnapped and sold into slavery. White slavery—do you know what that means? Sold into a Turkish harem, or a brothel in the seamiest foreign cities. And never seen again.”
Lily stared at him with wide, horrified eyes, Rose with flat, disbelieving insolence.
“Or you could have been murdered. But as far as I’m concerned, your worst sin is upsetting your aunt. She was intearsthis evening,” he lied. “Telling me she had no idea where you were—yes, your gentle, sweet, elderly aunt was in tears, because she’s been made responsible for the care and welfare of two inconsiderate, disobedient, headstrong, insubordinate, uncaring hoydens.”
“If Aunt Dottie was in tears, it was because you were nasty and bossy and yelled at her. You upset her, just like you’re upsetting Lily,” Rose said. She put her arm around her sister’s shoulders and squeezed. “See, you’ve made Lily cry.”
Under Cal’s horrified gaze, Lily’s wide gray eyes filled, and fat tears slid slowly down her cheeks. She wept silently,making no sound, no sobs or wails or sniffles, just standing there, gazing at him through misery-drenched eyes.
Cal hated to see women weep at any time, but this... Somehow the very silence of it was more unnerving than ever.
“Lily, stop, I didn’t mean—” Cal put out a helpless hand. Both girls shrank away from him. Dammit, he’d meant to frighten them into obedience, not make them frightened of him. “Now, now, no need to cry. I’m sure you’re sorry. The main thing is, you’re all right now, and tomorrow we’ll sort out what to do.”
With a protective arm around Lily’s woebegone figure, Rose gave him a look of deep reproach. “I think you’ve done enough. I’m going to take Lily upstairs now.” She turned her sister toward the door. “She probably won’t get any sleep tonight. Your threats and horrid stories will probably give her nightmares. She’s very prone to nightmares.”
At the door Rose added, “You certainly know how to make a homecoming memorable, Brother Dear. Lily was so happy to see you—and now look at her. I hope you’re proud of yourself.” She shut the door quietly, leaving Cal alone with his guilt and his frustration.
He hated it when females cried. Nothing made him feel so helpless. He felt like a complete brute, bringing Lily to tears. Lily was a little sweetheart, warmhearted and innocent. She obviously wasn’t the problem—Rose was.
Rose hadn’t turned a hair. By God, she was a tough little nut. She’d defied him all the way, cool as you please, making it quite clear that, brother or not, she had no intention of knuckling down under his control.
She’d soon learn. He wasn’t going to put up with her disobedience. Or her insolence.
Part of him was secretly almost proud of her refusal to be intimidated. If only she’d been born a boy, what a soldier she would have made. He’d given the girls the kind of raking down he’d give a careless young officer under his command, but had she cared? Had she buckled? Not a whit.
But Rose wasn’t a boy. She was a damned nuisance. And for the moment at least, she was his damned nuisance.
And he still didn’t know where they’d been or what they’d been doing.
***
The moment the kitchen door closed, Rose released Lily from her comforting grip and the two girls hurried up the stairs. They entered their shared bedroom and closed the door behind them.
“You can stop now,” Rose said, tossing Lily a handkerchief. “He won’t come in here.”
“It takes a moment,” Lily said, carefully wiping her cheeks. “I’m not a tap, you know.”
“You’re as good as one—better! I so wish I could do it. It’s such an excellent weapon.”
“Not a weapon, a defense,” Lily corrected her. “Or a distraction. But I felt a bit mean tonight, doing it to Cal on his first night home.”
“Pooh! He deserved it. He was being perfectly horrid. All that talk about white slavery and Turkish brothels and being stripped and left naked in the gutter. He was trying to make us feel bad, and so we—well, you, made him feel bad in return. It worked a treat, I must say. Did you see his face?”
Lily nodded. “I still feel mean.”
