“But that’s what you said,” she interrupted, her voice trembling. “I have a dowry of fifteen thousand pounds. I am not destitute.”
He felt his heart drop. “I know that. I just want to keep you safe.”
Elsbeth’s lips tightened as she stepped closer, pressing the pocket watch back into his hand. “You may keep this, my lord. I don’t want it. Not anymore.”
“Elsbeth—”
She silenced him with a raised hand, her tone firm. “I thought we were friends, but I see now I was wrong. You’re no different than my so-called friends who abandoned me when scandal touched my name.”
Before he could say anything more, she turned on her heel and strode out of the manor, her footsteps echoing in the quiet hall.
Niles stood there, stunned and furious with himself. He wanted to run after her, to explain, to beg for forgiveness, but something stopped him. He needed to give her space, even if every instinct screamed for him to follow.
“Was that Elsbeth?” Eugenie’s voice cut through the heavy silence behind him.
Niles barely turned his head. “It was.”
“Then where is she now?”
“She left,” he answered, his tone short and clipped. He hoped his sister would take the hint and let the matter drop. But Eugenie was never one to back down.
Her voice shifted to an accusatory tone. “What did you say to her?”
He sighed. “Why do you automatically assume I said something?”
Eugenie stepped around him, her piercing gaze locking on to his. “Because Elsbeth didn’t stay long enough to exchange pleasantries, which means you likely gave her a reason to leave.”
“I didn’t—” Niles began, but Eugenie’s sharp glance cut him off.
Her eyes darted to his hand, and her brow furrowed. “Where did you find your pocket watch?”
He held up the object in question. “Elsbeth found it and returned it to me.”
“That was kind of her,” Eugenie acknowledged with a nod. “And you thanked her by insulting her, didn’t you?”
Niles groaned in frustration. “Must we do this now? I haven’t even had breakfast.”
Eugenie planted her hands on her hips, her expression unrelenting. “Yes, now. Because I’ll keep pestering you until you tell me what happened.” Her tone carried the kind of determination he knew all too well.
Realizing there was no escaping her interrogation, he decided to relent. “Fine. I may have suggested that Elsbeth accompany us to our estate… as your companion.”
Eugenie swatted his arm. “Are you mad?” she demanded. “Elsbeth is the daughter of an earl, Niles! She does not need an income.”
“It was a practical suggestion,” he defended weakly, though even to his ears, it sounded absurd.
“Practical?” Eugenie repeated. “Practical for whom? You might as well have told her she was unworthy of her station!”
“That wasn’t my intention,” Niles protested, though his guilt was growing heavier by the second.
“Intentions mean nothing when your words do the damage,” Eugenie retorted. “Do you even understand how insulting that must have sounded to her?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I was trying to help her. To keep her safe.”
Eugenie shook her head in disbelief. “Safe? Niles, you’ve likely hurt her more with your thoughtless offer than any danger she’s facing at her stepfather’s manor.”
“I just wanted—” he started, but Eugenie cut him off again.
“I know what you wanted,” she said. “But you went about it in the worst way imaginable.”
