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Well, she hadn’t listened, and the crash was killing her.
Stuart stood and crossed to the window. “I trusted you.” The same words he’d said when he first came in. Violating his trust had been her biggest crime of all.
Except...
“Did you?” she asked suddenly. “Did you really trust me?”
“You know I did. I told you about Gloria, for crying out loud.”
“Then how did you find out about my record?” Last time she looked, there wasn’t a criminal record fairy handing out information. A person had to go searching for it. “I don’t believe it. You had me investigated didn’t you?”
“I—” He couldn’t even look her in the eye.
“You did. Unbelievable.” Sitting here, making her feel bad about her violating his trust, when all the time... “Face it, lapushka.” She drew the word out as sourly as she could. “You never trusted me all, did you?”
“That’s not true.” Stuart shook his head.
Right. And she was the Queen of England. Suddenly, the brownstone was much too small for the two of them. She needed to leave right now.
“Where are you going?” Stuart asked when she stalked toward the foyer.
“Out.” Unless she was fired, she still had the right to come and go as she pleased. “I need some air.”
She noticed Stuart didn’t try to stop her. Looked like the fantasy truly was over.
Well, like she always said, Prince Charming ain’t walking through that door. Instead, she was walking out.
* * *
“Patience?” Soft though it was, Ana’s voice still managed to echo through the brownstone. “Where is she? I thought you said she was waiting for us at home?”
“I thought she was,” Stuart told her. A lie. He’d been hoping Patience was waiting for them. He had no idea if she’d ever come back after walking out.
This was his fault. If he hadn’t been such a jerk when he’d found out about her arrest. But he’d been hurt, and he’d lashed out.
A soft meow sounded behind them. “Nigel, my sweetie pie. Did you miss Mommy?” His aunt hobbled over to the stairway. “He looks like he’s lost weight. Don’t you think?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” At the moment, he was more concerned with Patience’s whereabouts. “Maybe she went to the store.”
Ana was trying to scratch an excited Nigel’s head without falling over. “But she knew we were on our way. Why wouldn’t she wait until we got here?”
“Perhaps she went to get something for your return. Tea, maybe.” But he’d already discounted his theory soon as the words left his mouth. “Or maybe she’s upstairs and can’t hear us in her room.” An equally lame suggestion, but he clung to the possibility.
“Tell you what,” he said, scooping up Nigel. “Why don’t I show you what we’ve set up in the front parlor? Then, while you and Nigel are having a good reunion , I’ll go see if I can track down Patience.”
But he was pretty sure he knew the answer. The air in the brownstone was different; the silence thicker than usual. By the time he went upstairs and spied Patience’s open bedroom door, he was certain.
He stood in the doorway while his heart shattered. The bed where they’d made love this morning had been stripped to the mattress, the bedding folded in neat piles waiting to be washed. She’d left the closet door open. One lone hanger, the only sign the space had ever held clothes, lay on the floor.
A blue scarf hung on the doorknob. He recognized it as the one Patience wore to the dinner dance. Balling the cloth in his fist, he pressed it to his cheek, and inhaled deep. He remembered the way her scent had teased him while they’d danced. The memory mocked him now. The pain in his chest threatened to cut him at the knees.
Dear God, but the house already felt emptier. And it was all his fault.
On the bureau lay an envelope with Ana’s name scrawled across the front. No goodbye for him, he thought sadly. He didn’t deserve one.
“Is she upstairs?” Ana asked when he returned.
“No. She’s gone.”
“What do you mean gone? I don’t understand.” Her eyes narrowed when he handed her the envelope. He was doing a lousy job of hiding his feelings, and she knew it. “What’s going on Stuart?”
“It’s complicated,” he replied. “You should read the letter.”
“Do you know what’s in it?”
“No.” But he could guess.
“What does she mean she couldn’t bear to face me after I found out?” Ana looked up with a frown. “Found out about what?”
