Chapter 12
My patience reached its limit. I was about to unleash the verbal storm brewing within me when Kyle decided to speak first.
"M-my wife and I are here b-because I've recently been a-accused of trespassing onto Viscount Huntsman's land."
Millicent ignored him entirely. She kept her eyes on me. "Just five minutes alone with you, please."
The audacity! She had treated my husband as though he were the air itself. My practiced smile, that fragile mask of civility, began to crack.
"Just answer my question. You were the one who orchestrated this, were you not?"
Millicent's expression remained maddeningly neutral. "If you grant me five minutes of your time alone, I will answer."
Oh, for heaven's sake. Why must she make everything so exasperatingly convoluted? Just answer the fucking question, woman! My fingers tightened on my cane as I inhaled deeply, forcing myself to think.
I turned to Kyle, looking up at him with a gentle softness I reserved for moments like these, moments where I needed to manipulate him. "Kyle," I said sweetly, "can you please step out for just a moment?"
To my utter dismay, and frankly, everyone else's as well, Kyle replied, "I won't let you face this alone."
If Kyle refused to leave, then Millicent wouldn't confess. That much was clear. I sighed and lowered myself onto the sofa. Let the others stand if they liked. I had a bad leg, and it was beginning to ache. I wasn't about to sacrifice my comfort while this ridiculous standoff continued. Life with this wretched leg was difficult enough without the added strain of unnecessary dramatics.
And so, the silence stretched on.
When Millicent finally admitted her scheme, what was I to do? Demand she fix the issue? Beg at the base of her absurdly tall heels, groveling like a desperate fool? The very idea of it set my teeth on edge. Based on her insufferable behavior thus far, it was undeniably Millicent who had orchestrated this fiasco. She had likely plotted all of this to lure me here for reasons I couldn't begin to fathom.
But why? Why go to such lengths? I am nothing to her. Less than nothing. So, could this entire mess be a mere accident? Kyle may have simply stumbled into her scheme. Blast these nobles and their infuriating games! It was all so maddening. Could someone not provide me with a straightforward answer? Anyone? Hello?!
Kyle's nervous whisper broke through my internal tirade. "Ann, I think we should leave."
Leave? Leave?! As though we could simply waltz out of here with the issue unresolved? Millicent had caused this mess, and Millicent would fix it. It was the principle of the matter. Trespassing on noble lands was no trivial offense, not in a world like this. The repercussions could be catastrophic. Kyle could be hanged for such a crime, and I... well, I might find myself wearing a slave seal, my life reduced to servitude.
Poor Kyle didn't seem to grasp the severity of the situation. I reminded myself that his mind had suffered greatly from that fateful tree's impact. How was I to make him see the danger when he could barely recognize the storm brewing around us?
I tightened my grip on my cane and rose to my feet once more. Turning to Kyle, I offered him my gentlest smile. "Kyle," I said softly, "just for a moment. Could you grant Her Grace and me a little privacy? I assure you, I will be perfectly fine."
Kyle opened his mouth, the protest already forming. "But-"
"Please," I interrupted.
"I-"
"You don't even have to go far. Stand just outside the door. I will call for you the very moment I need you."
He hesitated. "You promise?"
"I promise."
Issac stepped forward. "Mr. Woodstone, if you would please accompany me."
Eventually, Kyle relented, casting one last uncertain glance at me before following Issac out of the room. The door clicked shut, leaving me alone with Millicent.
She began to approach slowly as though she feared I might bolt at any moment. Her hands trembled faintly at her sides, betraying the composure she tried so hard to maintain. The icy mask she had worn earlier cracked, revealing a vulnerability. She looked exactly as she had when she found me with Vincent in the carriage. Fragile, emotional, utterly human. Tears shimmered in those cursedly beautiful red eyes, the kind of tears that somehow enhanced her already maddeningly perfect features.
Ridiculous. Who looks this breathtaking while crying?!
Millicent placed a hand upon my cheek, and heavens above, I did not slap it away. What devilry had taken hold of me? My own wretched heart, as if possessed, dared to skip a beat. The gall! It was a betrayal most foul.
"Florence Lorynthall," she whispered, her voice filled with emotion, "I have missed you so much I can scarcely breathe."
And my treacherous heart, that ungrateful organ, betrayed me by quickening its pace, fluttering as though it had been roused from the dead. Utterly outrageous!