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“Now, Castor. Today,” she spat. “He is too familiar with me. He put his hands on me. I will not tolerate it any longer.”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “Brixton is the most honorable and proper man I have ever met,” he said. “If he put his hand on you, then you are probably mistaking his intentions.”
Ivy clenched her jaw and had to resist the urge to throw something heavy at her brother. The way he dismissed her concerns out of hand was just another example of how little regard he had for her. It not only angered her, but it also hurt her as well. It hurt that he would not take her seriously. That he would disregard her concerns and make decisions for her, rather than consulting her about them.
Even their father would do her the courtesy of talking to her about a situation before he ultimately made the decision. Her words may not have swayed him from deciding one way or the other, but they sometimes did give him pause. At the very least, she could feel comfortable that he took her feelings into account.
But not Castor. No, Castor made all of the decisions and did not give a single whit about how she might feel. And she was well tired of it.
“I am your sister, Castor,” she growled. “My feelings should matter to you. And I am telling you that Brixton makes me feel uncomfortable--”
“Fine, fine,” he cut her off irritably. “I’ll have somebody take Brixton’s place if it makes you happy.”
“Good. Thank you,” she replied. “Now, why are we leaving today? And so early? I thought--”
“I have business to attend to at home,” he said. “It is time for us to go. We cannot do anything for the Duke now anyway. We are just getting in the way.”
At that moment, Ivy realized why they were leaving. Castor knew that, especially in light of another attempted assassination, they would not be allowed to see Duke Hamilton. He would never know they were there, and so Castor would be unable to impress him with his concern with the fact that they had traveled from Elix to check on him in person.
To Castor, there was no advantage to be gained by lingering here. Ivy knew that was what it always came down to as far as Castor was concerned - whether or not there was anything in it for him. Whether there was a benefit in something for him or not. But Ivy was not ready to leave York just yet. She wanted to stay.
“I would like to stay, Castor.”
“Out of the question,” he said. “It is my job to protect you, and I cannot do that with you here and me back in Elix.”
“So, leave a guard with me,” she replied. “Somebody to watch over me.”
He shook his head firmly. “Absolutely not. You will return to Elix with me.”
“Castor--”
“I have already said no, Ivy,” he snapped. “You will not be staying behind. It is not safe for you here as last night’s attack proves. No, I will not risk anything happening to you.”
She pursed her lips. “It almost sounds like you care, Brother.”
He gave her a pained sigh. “I do care about you, Ivy.”
“Then let me stay at York.”
“No,” he replied. “Why are you so obsessed with staying here?”
Ivy felt her stomach lurch, and she fought mightily to keep the flush from reaching her cheeks. She sniffed haughtily and gave him a nearly contemptuous glare.
“There are many things still I have not gotten in the market,” she says. “I plan on spending time picking up those items we cannot get in Elix.”
He rolled his eyes at her. “You would put your life in jeopardy to spend the day in the market?”
“They are things I cannot get back home, Castor.”
He stared at her for a long moment, and Ivy started to believe he was giving serious consideration to her request. But then a wide, wolfish smile crossed his face, and he nodded as if he’d come to some realization inside his own mind.
“This is not about the market at all, is it, dear Sister?” he grinned.
“What are you talking about?”
“This is about the Scotsman,” he crowed. “You want to stay here to be close to him.”
Ivy found herself unable to hold back the flood of heat from her face any longer and knew her cheeks were turning a bright shade of scarlet. She hated that her brother had intuited her true motivations. But she realized she should have expected it. Castor was a smart man and far cleverer than most believed. He disguised it well. So well, that Ivy had walked into his trap.
