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Chapter 11
Annalise came home later that day and went straight to her room. She was tired and felt wrung out. It was exhausting to have to watch her friends suffer. What would she say to Lavinia? How would their lives go on after this? Would it pull her friends even farther apart?
She entered the room and stood against the door for a moment, gathering her strength. Annalise stepped farther into the room after a moment and saw a long object lying on her pillow. A case of some sort.
She frowned as she came closer, took it into her hands, and opened it. Inside lay a beautiful and large ruby necklace. So large, in fact, that when she picked it up, she could feel its weight substantially pulling her hand down.
Annalise placed the necklace back in its case and noticed that there was a note by its side.
To my beautiful wife, it read.
Annalise smiled softly, picked up the note, and placed it between the pages of her diary, where she kept all the other notes from him from when they were courting. Was she too easily swayed and naïve to feel this way about every little gesture of affection he’d shown her? She’d gone down that path before, and nothing good awaited her in the end.
A light rap on the adjoining door startled her. She looked up to see Blake standing in the doorway. He was in his breeches and shirtsleeves, his collar open, as if he’d tugged on it repeatedly, his hair flowing about his shoulders. She had never seen him without a wig before his disappearance. Now, she liked the view of his thick, dark hair and wanted to run her hands through it.
“How was your outing to Lady Caroline’s?” he asked.
Annalise let out a sound somewhere between choked laughter and a snort. How did she answer a question like that? “It was… dreadful,” she said with a grimace.
Blake’s brows furrowed over his eyes as he walked into the room with purposeful strides. He came up to Annalise and grabbed her by the arms, firm yet gentle. He caressed her exposed skin with his thumbs, just where the gloves ended, and before the sleeves started, his face marred with a slight frown.
“What’s wrong?” His voice was so gentle that Annalise almost burst into tears.
“Caroline’s uncle passed away today.”
“Pardon?”
Annalise looked away and bit her lip. “Yes, at the exact same moment I was there.”
Blake let out a harsh curse. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly and slowly drew her closer to him. He enveloped her in a warm embrace and ran his hands up and down her back in soothing motions.
Annalise tensed at the contact, but soon she let go of her defenses. With his warmth, his scent enveloping her, she truly could not resist his comfort. He wrapped his arms around her like a warm blanket. She leaned into him, burrowing her nose into his shirt, inhaling his scent. And everything was peaceful again. It felt right. She felt at home.
The thought startled Annalise so much she wriggled away. Blake was not safe. He was not her haven. And she shouldn’t ever feel like he was.
But just once, her traitorous heart whispered to her.Give in to his comfort.
Blake let her go instantly. He didn’t even try to hold her longer, to keep her with him, and that was for the best. Because if he had, she would have given in. He walked to the servants’ bell instead.
“I shall arrange for a warm bath to be prepared for you. You need to rest,” he said as he rang the bell.
Annalise gave a distracted nod, her mind still dazed.
Once the orders for the bath had been given, Blake came up to her and gently brushed a lock of her hair from her face. “Turn around,” he murmured.
As Annalise turned, he started slowly undoing the tiny mother-of-pearl buttons at the back of her gown. His breath, hot on her neck, sent pleasant shivers down her spine and a strange flutter inside her stomach. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the memories of this day coming back to her and bringing back the unpleasant weight in her chest.
“I can’t imagine how Caroline is feeling,” she said. “She tried to remain strong, but that’s how she is. She wouldn’t show her emotions in front of anybody. Even me.”
“Does she have anyone with her?”
“Her chaperone is living in the same house as her. But the Duke of Wolverstone also came right before I left. I imagine he was summoned. He was her uncle’s best friend and the closest person to a family she has left.”
Blake grunted. “Well, at least she’s not alone.”
Annalise swallowed. “I don’t know how to tell Lavinia. Marrying Caroline to Kensington was the Marquess of Roth’s last wish. Caroline is not going to back out of it now. And I am not going to dissuade her either.”
“Perhaps the mourning will delay things, and she might still change her mind.”
