“You don’t look surprised,” she said, studying his face, her eyeswidening in obvious alarm. “Sebastian, you don’t look surprised at all.”
He closed his eyes briefly. “No. I’m not.”
“You knew?” Her voice rose. “How could you possibly—you’ve only been here a few weeks, and I’ve lived here my entire life and never suspected?”
“I couldn’t sleep one night. I went to check on my horse and saw a delivery wagon. French brandy, from the look of the crates. There was a man supervising. I didn’t realize until later that it was White.”
Rose stared at him, her face cycling through hurt, confusion, and something that might have been betrayal. “You’ve known this whole time that my father is a criminal, and you said nothing?”
“I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t know if you were involved.”
“If I was involved?” She laughed bitterly. “How could I be involved? Father keeps everything important from me.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?” Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “Because it seems like everyone knows the truth about my life except me.”
Sebastian felt like he was drowning. Every word he spoke seemed to make things worse, and the worst part was that he was still lying to her. About why he was really here. About who he was. About what he intended to do.
“I’m sorry,” he said helplessly. “You’re right. I should have told you.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Because I came here to prove your father framed my father, and I didn’t want you to suspect my motives. Because I’m using your trust to get closer to the truth. Because I’m exactly the kind of liar you’re talking about.
“I was trying to protect you,” he said instead.
“From what? The truth?” She wiped her eyes roughly. “How is keeping me ignorant protecting me?”
He had no good answer for that.
Rose was quiet for a long moment, pulling up blades of grass and letting them fall. “I feel like such a fool. My whole life feels like a performance where everyone knew their lines except me.”
“You’re not a fool—”
“Aren’t I? My father blamed me for my failed Season. Said I was too strange. Not pretty enough.” Her voice cracked. “And I believed him. I spent two years thinking there was something fundamentally wrong with me.”
Sebastian’s hands clenched into fists. “There’s nothing wrong with you. Your father’s the one who—” He stopped himself before he said too much.
“Who what?”
“Who lied to you. Who let you blame yourself for his choices.”
Rose nodded slowly. “Now I understand why he wants me to marry White. It’s not about my future or my security. It’s about their business partnership.”
“I fear so,” Sebastian agreed quietly.
“Tell me about this morning,” she said. “What did you do to White?”
Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck. “I convinced him I was working for one of his competitors. Someone named Talbot—he mentioned the name himself, so I just went with it. I had to think quickly.”
“You pretended to be a spy?”
“I made the whole thing up as I went along. But it worked because he’s obviously guilty of something. When someone’s paranoid about their enemies, they’re easier to manipulate.”
Rose stared at him for a long moment. “That was incredibly clever. And dangerous.”
“I wasn’t going to let him hurt you.”
