“I’m all right. Do as she says.”
His hands found my face. They were freezing but still warmer than my cheeks. A moment passed, and I was afraid he wouldn’t listen, but, finally, he nodded.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“I know.”
His jaw clenched as he steeled his expression. The two of them were so alike, both steadfast to a fault.
I nudged him and flashed a crooked smile. “Go, so I can get changed. You might not have noticed, but I’m shivering here.”
He dropped his forehead against mine and sighed. A moment later, he was walking toward the door.
When we were alone, Cynthia helped me to remove my skates. I knew the moment she recognized them as Sophie’s. Her fingers traced the laces, trembling slightly, before she set them aside and turned her attention to the buttons on my gown.
She cleared her throat, and I braced for a scathing rebuke for using her daughter’s skates, but it didn’t come. Instead, her voice was soft when she spoke.
“You’re good at talking my son off the ledge. I only seem to make him angry these days.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond, but I was encouraged by the tone of her voice. It was probably too soon to hope she was coming around to liking me, but I desperately wanted it to be true.
“He wasn’t angry with you, only worried. He’s like that at the agency too. Overprotective. Not just toward me, but to everyone. It’s in his nature. He feels responsible for everyone and takes it personally when he can’t help, even when there’s nothing he could have done. In fact, that makes it worse.”
Cynthia wrapped a thick blanket around my shoulders and one over my legs, then she stoked the fire, sending waves of heat into the room. My teeth-chattering eased as I slowly thawed inside the cocoon of blankets.
“Are you warm enough?” she asked.
I nodded as she sat next to me on the sofa. She tucked the blanket under my feet, and it was such a motherly thing to do, my throat constricted, and a pang squeezed my heart.
“You know, when my son was little, he wanted to run the family shipping company, but after my daughter…” She paused. “Well, a lot changed after that. We thought we knew what was best for him, but he joined the agency instead. Derrick is—”
“Stubborn,” we both said at the same time.
A soft knock sounded on the door, and Mae entered carrying a fresh gown and another blanket. I was almost disappointed to see her. It wasn’t her fault, but her presence burst the spell in the room, and Cynthia seemed to rebuild her wall right before my eyes.
“Is the tea ready?” she asked.
“Yes, madam, I believe so.”
“Help Tessa change into her clothes, and I’ll go get the tea.” She hurried from the room.
With Mae’s help, I got dressed, and dry clothes never felt so good! Between the blankets and the fire, I felt human again. And with that came the questions.
I caught Mae’s eye. “Did you hear me calling to you by the pond?”
Mae stiffened and busied herself collecting my wet garments off the floor. “I don’t know what you mean, miss. I haven’t been outside at all today.”
“But you were there…with Richard.”
Mae blanched and shook her head. “It wasn’t me. I’ve been cleaning the rooms upstairs, and then I was in the family suites helping my mistress find a lost brooch. It’s odd—things have gone missing lately. I lost a haircomb myself, and Edward’s still missing his silver cigar cutter.” She laughed nervously. “I swear, I spend half my days looking for lost items, but, truly, I didn’t go outside.”
“She’s telling the truth.” Cynthia walked into the room carrying a tea tray. She placed it on an end table and poured a steaming cup before handing it to me. “Mae has been with me all morning. Why do you ask?”
I wrapped my hands around the teacup, absorbing its warmth. “I thought I saw her talking to Richard before I fell.”
“Well, you’re mistaken. The cold water must have made you confused. It was probably Lila you saw—she was looking for Richard.” Cynthia’s lips thinned, and it seemed the delicate thread of understanding we’d shared had been severed. The room suddenly felt chilly again, and I huddled deeper under the blankets.
Was Mae lying? If so, why would Cynthia cover for her housemaid?
