Camden’s anger returned at the thought of Flora being treated so harshly by the people who had promised to protect her. Even more alarming was that her behavior hadn’t changed when they got married. He felt guilty that he hadn’t made his intentions for her known before, but now that he saw what she was doing with her freedom, he needed to make it right.
“Flora, I want you to listen to me very carefully,” he began. “You never need to earn your place here. Not with me. You are my wife, not my servant, and as my wife, you will be treated like a queen. There will be no more scrubbing floors or injuring your hands like this. Are we clear?”
Flora didn’t take his declaration as positively as he had hoped. She hung her head as if she were in trouble and inspected her fingers cautiously. Slowly, she shook her head.
“That doesn’t make sense,” she said quietly. “I’m notreallyyour wife. You only married me because of some weird obligation to protect me. I owe you. And I hate owing people.”
“Flora—”
“Mom! Is it time for dinner? I’m hungry.”
Camden sighed, realizing their conversation was over. He couldn’t make Flora see just how serious he was about her taking it easy when Sofia needed her attention. This wasn’t a conversation he could have in front of Flora’s daughter. Hewanted to assure her that he did see her as his wife and mate, that it hadn’t been a mistake to marry her, and that she owed him nothing. But it would have to wait for another time.
“I’m cooking tonight, Sof,” he said brightly, turning his attention to the young girl.
If he had to step in more to force Flora to rest, then that was what he was going to do.
Chapter 7 - Flora
Despite Camden’s insistence that she stop cleaning so thoroughly, Flora continued as she had been. Each day, she waited until he had left the house and was out of sight, then she dragged the cleaning supplies out from under the sink and got to work. She was nearly done with the bathroom when Sofia appeared in the doorway.
“Mom?” Sofia asked. “Can we play outside?”
“In a little bit, baby,” Flora replied.
Sofia crossed her arms in front of her, clearly upset, and Flora felt a pang of regret. Her daughter was easygoing, innocent, and kind, despite the hardships of her few short years on earth. Flora wished she could relax and go play with her daughter, but the fear of what would happen if she didn’t keep up with the housework and errands was paralyzing. She remembered when she had taken too many breaks from chores at her adopted parents’ house and the fury she was met with. She couldn’t risk Camden changing his mind and Sofia suffering the consequences of her choice to take it easy.
“I’m almost done in here,” she assured her daughter. “Then I just have a few more chores in the rest of the house, and we can go play. I promise.”
Sofia sighed and left the room. Flora could hear her talking to her dolls and breathed a sigh of relief that she had dropped the issue. It would probably be dinnertime when Flora finally finished cleaning, but they would still be able to spend time together that evening.
She placed the bathroom cleaners back under the sink and washed her hands, preparing to head to the laundry room, when the sound of the front door startled her.
“Hello?” she called.
“It’s just me.”
Camden came around the corner, carrying a large cardboard box. He set it on the kitchen counter and then sat down to take off his shoes.
“What’s in the box?” Flora asked.
“Something I hope you can help me with,” Camden said. “I forgot I needed to take these envelopes to the post office. There are a few items that need to be returned, and some mail that needs to go out. Would you take it for me? The post office is open for another hour.”
Flora’s stomach dropped as she realized that her suspicions had been right. Camden didn’t want her to relax at all. He simply wanted to be the one who told her what to do and when to do it. Instead of being expected to read his mind and handle everything without being told, as Stella and Ben had done, he wanted her to wait for his permission.
“Yes,” she said quietly. She knew she couldn’t say no to his request. Not when he had taken them in and saved her daughter from captivity. “I’ll go get Sofia, and we’ll go right now.”
“Aw, do I have to go?” Sofia whined.
Flora hadn’t realized she had come downstairs. Her heart rate immediately skyrocketed when she heard the attitude in her daughter’s voice. Speaking that way in front of Camden surely would end with consequences for both of them.
“Sofia,” she said sternly. “That is no way to behave. Apologize.”
“It’s okay, Flora,” Camden said. “I don’t mind Sofia staying here with me. I’m sure she just wants to stay home and play.”
Sofia nodded her head enthusiastically, and Flora sighed. She was uncertain about whether to allow her daughter to stay back—what if something bad happened? But at the same time, she trusted Camden to keep her daughter safe. The errand shouldn’t take too long, anyway.
“Alright,” she agreed. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
