“He contacted you?”
She nodded. It was a relief, she discovered, to tell the truth after all this time. It hurt, yes, but it was a good hurt, like cleaning out a festering wound.
“He did,” she said. “A letter. It came to your house.”
Ezra surged to his feet, then began pacing, as if there was more energy than his body could contain without movement.
“He sent a letter tomyhouse?” he demanded, outraged. “How did he even find you there?”
She raised a hand in a helpless gesture. “I wondered the same, but the truth is… I just don’t know. He referenced knowing thatI had been with the Duke and Duchess of Godwin and their children. That, at least, was easier to find out. But your house… We had not told anyone.” She tucked her hair behind her ear, bashful at the admission. “It frightened me.”
“What did the letter say?” he asked, still pacing. “Did he make threats?”
She shrugged. “Not explicit ones. He scolded me for leaving, like I had been a naughty child. He said that he would see me again, but he lives in Belgium.”
“And that’s why you didn’t agree to travel with Helen and Xander,” Ezra said with the air of someone who was finally putting together a puzzle that had bothered him for ages.
“That is why,” she agreed. “I was sorry to leave the children—they are wonderful—and the duke and duchess were considerate employers. But… I just could not go back.”
Ezra nodded, then paced silently for a few more rotations around the room. When he stopped, there was a storm on his face. He looked as though he wanted to rant and rail against everything he had heard.
Instead, he wiped his hand down his face as if trying to brush off his rage. When he spoke, his voice remained calm.
“What do you want to do?” he asked her.
God, herheart. It was not a small thing that he was asking her what she wanted, instead of trying to take charge himself.
“I don’t want to doanything,” she said, even though she knew he wouldn’t like this answer at all. Indeed, his jaw clenched, but he didn’t object. “I mean, what can I do? If I anger him, then he could start spreading rumors—and rumors are enough. Even if he is discredited, it will not matter. I will be ruined.”
He sucked in a slow breath, then let it out. Then, with visible reluctance, he nodded.
“Very well,” he said. “I understand. I don’t like it, but I understand.”
“Thank you,” she said.
His expression softened. “Yes. Yes, of course.”
They looked at one another for a moment, and Letty didn’t even know that it would be her last. Because she was completely surprised when Ezra nodded again, then made for the door.
“Let me know when you can come by to help interview new governesses,” he said, one hand already on the handle while Letitia gaped at him, still entirely unclothed and in her bed. “Or when you wish to come see Iris. You are, of course, always welcome.”
“Oh,” she said, blinking. “Yes. I will.”
“Good,” he said. “Good. Goodbye, Letitia.”
He stepped through the door and closed it before she could respond.
“Goodbye, Ezra,” she said to the empty air.
The room felt so very empty. She felt so very alone.
CHAPTER 20
Ezra was more of a schemer than a fighter; he had always preferred trickery over a swift punch.
Now, he wanted to hit something.
He had made himself flee Letitia’s rooms before he ended up putting a hole in her wall. He might be bribing the landlady to tell Letitia that the rent was much lower than the true sum—and to never tell Letty that he was the one paying the difference—but he suspected the woman would still object if he ruined her neat plaster walls.
