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Elizabeth wanted him to ask her why, to question her statement. She wanted any reason to tell him what she truly felt. That she thought they would be married one day, that their families would be joined by their union.
But again, he stayed silent, continuing to eat and no longer looking at her.
Desperate to fill the silence, Elizabeth went on, “In truth, I did not have much of a plan. After learning that you might live on the outskirts of London, I’d only thought to leave home and search around wherever I could. Had it taken me days or weeks, it would not matter.”
“A very foolish thing for you to do.”
“Yes,” she agreed instantly, effectively drawing his eyes back to her. “But I would stop at nothing to find you. I would stop at nothing to get the answers I need from you.”
William’s moving mouth slowed to a stop. Then he swallowed, not taking his eyes off her as he tapped a single finger against the table. Elizabeth swallowed herself, more in fear than anything else, but she wouldn’t back down from his challenging eyes.
“Do not think that because you are here, Beth, you have any right to my life,” William told her. Elizabeth’s heart sank with every word. “I only brought you here because I am sure you would have found yourself in even more trouble had I not. But after you have eaten, I will send you back to your father’s home.”
“And I will return the very next day.”
His eyes narrowed. “I will not allow you to.”
“What will you do, William?” she challenged, even though her heart pounded and her voice was barely above a whisper. “Will you move homes again? Will you leave the country altogether?”
“Watch your words, Beth.”
“I cannot.” Elizabeth shook her head fiercely. Though her hands trembled, though her throat burned with tears and William’s intense glare made her falter, she would not let him quiet her. She’d waited far too long to get here. “Why did you leave me, William?”
“I did not leave you.”
Elizabeth gripped her gown under the table, trying to keep her pounding heart from overtaking her. “Then, what happened?”
“That, Beth, is none of your concern. All you need to know is that I am not the same person you once remembered. You’d do well to forget about all that has happened between us and return to your peaceful life.”
With that said, he stood. As Elizabeth watched him walk away, anger filled her. It was a foreign feeling, something she’d hadn’t felt in a long time, but it came so sharply she could taste in on her tongue. She shot to her feet, the chair scraping back from the sudden movement.
“I don’t believe you,” she exclaimed. William stopped, but he didn’t turn. “You can say all that you wish, but I won’t believe a word of it. I can’t. I know you still feel at least a twinge of warmth for me, despite all the time we’ve been apart. You would not have brought me here had that not been the case.”
William huffed a laugh, turning his head slightly to the side. “You are quite stubborn, aren’t you? Did you not hear what I said? I only did so because I knew you would have gotten yourself in trouble otherwise.”
“You could have brought me home,” she insisted. She knew she was grasping at straws but she forged on nonetheless. “If you are truly as cold as you would like me to believe, you would have left me behind. You would not have brought me to your home when you’ve spent so long trying to stay away from me.”
“Do not flatter yourself, Beth. You are not the reason I stayed out of the public eye.”
She wouldn’t let his words bother her. At least, not while she was trying to be brave. “I intend on staying here, William,” she told him strongly, curling her hands into fists at her sides. “I won’t return home. I can’t.”
William said nothing for a moment. Elizabeth held her breath, bracing herself for the scathing words that would come next, but none came. Keeping his silence, William left the room. The air rushed out of her all at once and she sank back into the chair, her limbs sagging with a horrible mixture of fear and relief.
Saying that much had taken a lot of out of her but she was happy she’d managed it. And now that she’d said her piece, she would ensure she wasn’t taken lightly. For seven years she’d searched for him. She was not about to let him push her away again.
There seemed to be a cloud hanging over Gillet House. James felt it the moment he arrived on the land, the moment the shifty-eyed footman opened his carriage door and escorted him up to the front steps. But he didn’t think anything of it, not until he was brought to the parlor to find Lord Gillet pacing back and forth, mumbling to himself.
