A knock sounded on the bedroom door, and Darcy opened it to reveal a scowling Caroline holding out an outfit.
“Thank you.” He closed the door before she could ask any more questions.
I sighed. It would’ve been easy enough to explain to Charles’s sisters about the spell mishap. But if Darcy wasn’t going to bother, neither would I. They were the least of my concerns right now.
We went to the bathroom, and I glanced at the shower and swallowed. “How are we doing this?” Sleeping in the same bed was one thing, but showering together? There was no way.
Darcy wrapped the tie around his eyes and knotted it behind his head before leaning against the shower’s glass wall. “You can go first. I won’t look.”
“Oh, thanks.” After finding out Darcy wasn’t the killer, I wasn’t sure how to feel about him. He was prideful and condescending, but he was also, apparently, a gentleman.
I stripped out of my wet clothes and stepped into the shower. The invisible rope didn’t keep the door from closing—magic was unpredictable like that—but it mademe hyper aware of how Darcy stood two feet away on the other side of the glass.
My thoughts flashed to the desperate way he’d called me Lizzy before he saved me. The panic in his face, and the tender way he’d touched me after. My stomach flipped, and I turned the water hotter.
Darcy had saved my life because someone had tried to kill me.
A shiver rolled over me, starting in my toes and trembling through my body. I blasted the hot water even more and took the fastest shower of my life. The heat quickly steamed up the walls, which helped a little, but it didn’t change the feeling of vulnerability hanging over me. I should be questioning Darcy, demanding answers, and fighting to get to the bottom of this, but I needed a moment. I couldn’t have a full breakdown with Darcy right there, but I was close.
I let myself stand under the scalding water for a few more moments, wishing I could wash away the memory. But it was there, and now all I could do was deal with it and determine the culprit’s identity.
At least I could rule out the Unmarked. Today’s attempt proved the killer had magic.
The hot water eased the lingering stiffness in my muscles. As I relaxed, the adrenaline leaked away, and a wave of exhaustion slammed into me. I leaned against a wall, the tile cool against my bare back.
“Are you okay?” Darcy asked. His voice, the reminder that he was still so close, had me straighten.
“I’m fine.” Too bad my voice wavered.
The handle squeaked as I turned it, and the water shut off, leaving the room in deafening silence.
“Done?” Darcy held out a fluffy navy towel. Even with his eyes covered, he still turned his head away.
“Yes.” I did my best to dry off, then pulled on the clothes Caroline had offered, a loose blue T-shirt and a pair of black fleece leggings. Surprisingly, she’d even given me a pair of underwear and a lacy bra that was too big and probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. “I’m dressed.”
“Your turn.” He pulled off the tie and handed it to me.
I covered my eyes and tied a secure knot behind my head. Darkness enveloped me, making it impossible tosee anything. Tension in my stomach uncoiled at the realization, but the sound of Darcy’s zipper and his wet shirt plopping to the floor sent my pulse racing again. Thankfully, he turned the water on, and the rush of it covered everything else.
A faint tug on my wrist told me he’d stepped inside.
My cheeks heated, and I blurted out the first thing that popped into my mind. “Why were you and Easton arguing about a woman?”
“What?” Darcy sounded like I’d pulled him from a completely separate train of thought.
“If someone is trying to kill me because of that night, I need to know everything. No more secrets.” A splash sounded from the shower, and I squeezed my eyes shut despite the blackness already surrounding me.
“Easton thought Caroline Bingley had a thing for me and was mad that I was ‘ignoring her.'"
“You and Caroline?” I tried to picture it and wrinkled my nose when the mental image came all too easily.
“We aren’t together,” he said. “We dated at one point, but there’s nothing between us now.”
“Are you sure about that?” If Caroline still cared for Darcy, that would explain her sour attitude toward me.
“Positive.”
Steam wafted to me from the shower, and I turned my face away to hide my blushing cheeks. “I don’t see what that has to do with Easton’s death or why he was so mad.”
