A throat cleared at the entrance of the room.
Pru flew out of her seat and Soren followed, though at a much more respectable and much less suspicious pace.
“Fidelia,” she cried out in equal parts excitement, relief, and disbelief.What should have been a vibrant wife and full of life sister, was a shell of a woman.Gaunt cheeks.Sunken eyes.She’d lost weight.Loads of it.And not in any healthy way.
She rushed over to her sister to embrace her, and also to blink away the tears that were forming.She had to be strong for her older sister.And resolved.If there was any way to find out what was going on with Fidelia, Pru would do it.And she’d fix it.Nothing less was acceptable.
“When did you become a woman so given to displays of emotion?”Fidelia’s hoarse voice crackled through the air.“Where’s my pragmatic sister?”
Pru blinked hard before pulling back and looking her sister dead in the eye.“I’ve missed you.”
A rueful look filled Fidelia’s eyes and was then blinked away.
Though her tone wasn’t as welcoming as the question, their hostess gestured toward the seats and asked, “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”
“It’s been too long, Fidelia.”
Her sister merely nodded in reluctant agreement as she poured herself some tea.When she was done, her lips pursed before she inclined her head to Soren.
Moisture evacuated her throat, rendering her useless to answer her sister’s unspoken question.Which only made sense because Pru didn’t have an answer anyway.
“I’m here to speak to Bart.”
“He’s preoccupied,” Fidelia’s answer was curt and more aggressive than Pru had expected.
“I need to speak to him about—”
“The horses are not available to stud—”
“Pru.”Rude as it was, Soren interrupted.“I came here to speak to him about Pru.She has no father available, and I’d like to speak to him about courting Pru.”
Teacups clattered against plates.Pru’s head swam.Her fingers felt numb.“W-what?”she stuttered, looking helplessly at Soren.When he didn’t return the look and only stared at Fidelia, she realized that it must be his cover.His reason to see Bart.To have an in without jumping right into business.It was just a fake story.That’s all.
Yes, he thought she was remarkable.Supposedly.
Yes, he had pleasured her on more than one occasion.Stupendously.
Yes, he had opened up about his family and personal life.Sincerely.
But all briefly.
It all meant nothing.This was fake.
A deep inhalation would set her nerves to rights.She took not only one, but three breaths before stealing another glance at him.
His gaze held steady on Fidelia.
“This is a bit of a surprise,” their hostess murmured.“The Earl is indisposed at the moment.But I shall tell him you stopped by.”
“We’ll wait.”Soren’s reply brooked no argument.Being a duke, his decree weighed heavily in the room.
No one moved for a full minute and though it was unlikely true, it felt as though no one even breathed for the same duration.
“You really must come visit us, Fidelia.Surely, you haven’t forgotten about your three sisters, have you?”
For the briefest of moments, something like hope flickered in her sister’s eyes but a fierce coldness extinguished it.
“That would be lovely.”The severe tone did not match the words.
