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“Dad would’ve been touched to know that.” Laura blows out a breath before she tells him and Leo, “And thank you both for trying to talk to Father Byrne. Dad would’ve appreciated that. I appreciate it.”
“It’s a shame that it didn’t do anything,” Leo says, sounding disappointed.
“Much,” she corrects him. “He did promise to light a candle and pray for his soul at the time of the burial. At this point, my dad would be glad of that. He never missed a single mass, so that would’ve meant the world to him.”
Tears line her eyes, and not only does she look devastated, but she looks completely mortified by the open display of the emotions she can’t hide.
“I know he didn’t do it. He wouldn’t…” The words morph into a sob, and it’s heartbreaking enough that it gets me.
I come over all clammy as my heart stutters. Everything hazes slightly, and before the two of us are falling apart in front of everyone, I take her hand and coax her towards the house.
“We’ll be right back,” I tell Freddie as he tightens his arm around my waist. “We’re just popping to the loo, all right?”
He scans our surroundings again, and he’s about to say something when Francis and Lucian approach. While they’re talking, I manage to pry myself away from Freddie.
“Wait, you,” Arabella calls as she follows behind us. “I need to go to the loo as well.”
“Why are you being nice to me?” Laura asks her as we reach the house.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but my head is all kinds of hazy and swirly enough that as I turn to look at the two of them, I trip over my feet and buckle in front of Arabella.
“Fuck, I’m so sorry,” I cry at the same time as my drink soaks through my dress and my glass falls on the stone kitchen floor.
“What the hell!” an irate voice calls behind me, where the cold wet patch is spreading and making me shiver.
“Are you okay?” Arabella asks as I stand, and as I’m about to turn, I notice that Laura is walking away, heading towards the hallway.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Got a little wet, that’s all, and maybe that fizz got to my head more than I thought it would.”
“I’m glad one of us finds it funny.” When I turn, I find cold blue eyes trained on me.
Fuck. My. Life.
“Lucy…”
“That’s me,” she grits out, shaking her hands in front of her before she brushes down the wet patch on the front of her dress.
Shit. Last thing I want is for Freddie to think that I’ve done this on purpose or something. There’s already so much going on, and it’s been a hard enough day.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell Lucy as Arabella starts picking up the shards of glass on the floor. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean to…”
“Are you drunk?” she asks a little too loudly, enough that the words cut through my head as it begins to throb.
“No. No, I tripped, that’s all. Here.” I manage to step closer while Arabella disposes of my broken glass in the bin. “Let me help you dry it up.”
Yanking the skirt of my dress from my hands, she takes my hand and tugs me behind her. “You’re the one that needs help, don’t you think?”
Fuck, I’m trying to get my feet to stop and hold their ground, but my blood feels like ice in my veins. My heart is pounding overtime to try to pump it through me, but the harder it pumps, the worse I feel until the walls are closing in and all the voices are this awful, contorted drone.
“Come on,” she grits at me as I collapse back into a wall, and before I know what’s happened, I’m falling, or maybe the room is spinning.
I don’t know.
The only thing I can focus on is that I’m so tired. I can’t keep my eyes open. I can’t balance myself. The harder I try to fight the weight encroaching me, the worse I feel until the blurred light fades. The sun disappears, and the world turns black.
Chapter 26
FREDDIE
