Turning quickly, she all but ran for the door. When she glanced over her shoulder, he’d picked up the ring and was frowning at it like he’d never seen it before.
“Good-bye, my lord.”
“Victoria, wait—”
She closed the door and leaned against it, trying to hold back sobs. And she did wait, but no footsteps sounded from inside the library.
There’s your answer.
He was done with her. His past, the losses he’d suffered and the kind of man that he was—all those things made it impossible for him to forgive her.
But Victoria had to admit that under her grief and fear and guilt, she was angry with him too. Why couldn’t he understand?
She heard a quick footstep on the stairs and pushed away from the door, trying to compose herself.
“Dearest, I heard what happened,” Edie said as she rushed up to her. “How perfectly awful.”
Victoria fell into her friend’s hug as she choked out a few strangled sobs. Edie patted her back, making soothing noises. After a minute or so, she pulled away and blotted her wet eyes on the backs of her hands.
“I’d like to kill that man,” Edie said, looking fierce enough to do so.
“Which one?” Victoria replied. As jokes went, it was fairly awful.
Edie glanced at the door. “What did Arnprior say to you? Never mind. Alec said he was being difficult. I’ll go in and set him straight.”
Victoria shot an arm out to stop her. “Please, don’t. He’s very upset and rightfully so. I . . . I shouldn’t have lied to him.”
Edie glanced down at Victoria’s bare finger. “Please don’t tell me that he asked for that gorgeous ring back. I’ll have to push him out the window if he did.”
“No, it was my decision. He would never go back on his promise, but it couldn’t possibly work.” His feelings of pain and betrayal would soon turn to bitterness, and perhaps even hate.
Edie grimaced. “No one needs to make any decisions tonight. Why don’t you try to get some sleep? We’ll talk it over in the morning.”
“I’ll be packing in the morning to go back to London.” The sooner she got away from Fletcher and back to Dominic and Chloe, the better.
“That’s probably not a good idea, pet. Legally, Alec thinks it’s safer for you to remain in Scotland.”
“Well, I can’t stay here.”
“Then you stay with us until we sort everything out.” Edie smiled. “As you know, we also have a castle, and it’s very roomy.”
At the mention of castles, Victoria felt her eyes well up again. But she firmly blinked away the tears and forced a smile. “Thank you. That would be wonderful.”
“I’m sure it will only be temporary. In a day or two, the earl will come to his senses, and Alec will get everything sorted out with this dreadful Mr. Fletcher. He’s going to send an express letter to Dominic tonight, asking for his advice. We’ll get our lawyers working on it as well.”
“Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Edie gave her another hug. “You’re family, silly, and we take care of one another.”
Victoria tried not to think of the family she’d just lost. But she had another family—one united both by blood and their odd history, ready to stand by her through the worst. For that, she was profoundly grateful.
“Alec is waiting for me,” Edie said. “Try to get some sleep and we’ll talk in the morning.” She hurried away to the front hall.
Victoria went in the opposite direction, toward the servants’ staircase. She couldn’t bear the idea of running into any of the Kendricks, not tonight. Tomorrow she would face Kade, at the very least, and make her good-byes.
That thought was enough to incinerate what little heart she had left.
She trudged up the stairs. After locking the door to her bedroom, she sank down on the bed and finally indulged in a thorough cry. But it did nothing to relieve her emotions and only gave her a ripping headache.
