Page 45 of Outcast

Her eyes widened. “Is that where you’ve been?”

I nodded. “They kept us in a room together. We’ve…” A warm glow formed behind my ribs, and I couldn’t help the tiny smile that curved my lips. “We’ve become friends, and Mercia and Simpson-West apologized. Things might be different from now on.”

Rita drew back and pressed her lips together. Although she didn’t speak, she might have scrawled the skepticism all over her face with blue marker pen.

Chapter 16

Despite Rita’s belief that I’d been killed, she had asked Mr. Jenkins to collect notes and homework from all the classes I’d missed. Seeing it all piled up on the side of my desk made me realize how much work a student at Mercia Academy got done. Previously, I’d thrown myself into my studies as a distraction from the taunts and bullying. Now, with Henry on my side and the other members of the triumvirate remorseful, I hoped my fortunes would change for the better.

I didn’t leave the room for the rest of the day. Couldn’t face all the noise, the stares, and the demands to know where I’d been. Mrs. Jenkins, the matron, had been kind enough to bring food to my room, but I mostly crashed on the bed and slept off the remnants of the kidnappers’ drugs.

The next morning, Rita didn’t bolt toward the door before the bell. She waited around to escort me to the dining room. Perhaps she knew the day after such a major event like returning from a suspicious absence was the worst. I gave her a smile of gratitude, and we walked down the hallway to breakfast.

A hush spread across the dining room, and the students stopped eating to gape. For a second, I froze, meeting the ocean of expectant faces, but Rita nudged me toward our usual table.

“Miss Hobson,” said an authoritative voice.

I glanced around to find Edward standing behind the head table. The stained glass windows cast him in slight silhouette, highlighting the breadth of his shoulders and the reddish highlights in his mahogany hair. The effect made him look so majestic my breath caught. His eyes, which were usually as cold and fathomless as the ocean, shone with warmth. On either side of him sat Blake and Henry, each of them giving me the kind of affectionate smiles I’d only imagined in my most fevered fantasies of acceptance. Charlotte, who sat next to Blake, leaned forward, eyes alight with anticipation.

A flock of butterflies took off in my stomach, and I had to force my arms to remain by my side so they wouldn’t clutch the queasiness they’d left in the pit of my belly. Edward might have apologized in private yesterday, but he’d had a full day to change his mind and resume his war. I was still a Yank, and if Henry had spoken about what I’d allowed him to do on our last night, even more of a trollop.

A tight band of apprehension wrapped around my chest. I sucked in a breath, trying to keep the shake out of my voice. “Yes?”

“I’d like to invite you to breakfast with us at the head table.” His gaze fell on Rita. “You and Miss Yelverton.”

Rita squeaked and shook her head. I was about to muster up a polite refusal, when Charlotte drawled, “Really, Edward? There’s only so much whorishness one can take before the first bell.”

The warmth in Edward’s eyes disappeared, and he turned to Charlotte, lips flattened in an angry line. In clipped tones, he said, “Yet here you are, sitting among us.”

A bolt of triumph shot through my heart and exploded into fireworks of joy. Gasps, a few nervous chuckles, and exclamations of shock filled the room. Rita scuttled to our usual table, leaving me standing alone in the sea of spectators. Anticipation thrummed in my chest. This was a deciding moment. If I publicly refused his offer of friendship, Edward might restart the war.

I glanced at Rita, who shrugged. Her way of saying it was up to me. Last night, I’d half convinced her that things were different between Henry and me.

Henry smiled and gave his head a little, beckoning flick. All the tension around my chest unwound itself, and I smiled back. Whatever the triumvirate had planned for me, it wouldn’t culminate in public humiliation… today.

In my clearest voice, I pulled back my shoulders and said, “Thank you, Mercia. I think I will take up your invitation.”

Edward lowered himself into his seat, and I walked around to take the empty seat next to Henry. The peck on the cheek he gave me made my insides fizzle with joy, and elicited a round of even louder gasps from the onlookers.

“We missed you at lunch and dinner yesterday,” Henry murmured. “I thought you might be hungry, so I sent Matron up with food. How are you feeling?”

I drew back and stared into those warm, green eyes, my heart filling with joy. “That was you?”

The corner of his lip quirked. “I thought you might want a change from your usual fare of Snickers and ready salted crisps.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “Thank you.”

“And you look particularly radiant this morning.”

“Thank the wonders of a clean bed and a warm shower.”

He poured me a glass of orange juice from a crystal jug. “Those were also two things I missed the most, but I’d swap them any time for another chance to sleep by your side.”

The memories of his hand on my stomach and his fingers pleasuring me to distraction returned, making my nipples tighten and heat to surge between my legs. I dipped my head and squeezed my thighs together, murmuring, “Your company was the only upside to being in that room.”

“Only my company?” he said in a low voice that was both seductive and teasing.

I picked up my glass and gulped down a mouthful of juice. “There were other benefits.”