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“Wait, Lavinia. You can’t go following him around. Especially if you maintain that you don’t want to marry him. You are not ruined just yet, but you will be if you run after him in the middle of the night,” Caroline said.
“He is going to kill someone,” Lavinia replied emphatically.
“I wouldn’t worry about William,” Kensington said from behind. “You have no idea how many other men he’s crossed in his lifetime. And he is alive so far. Roth is not the first man to try to kill him, and he won’t be the last.”
“This is your brother!” Lavinia exclaimed as she turned on him. She felt as though she didn’t recognize him. “Bastard or not.”
Kensington gritted his teeth, his hands fisted at his sides. “Exactly. You don’t know him as I do.”
Lavinia was tired of this entitlement from him for one night. She never remembered him being like this. “First of all,” she said, fisting her hands by her sides. “You do not get to decide who I marry. This is none of your business.”
“Of course, it—”
Lavinia held up her hand. “Second of all, if anything is your business in this situation, it’s finding your brother and dealing with him before Sebastian does!”
Kensington blinked, looking at Lavinia as if he were seeing her for the first time. “Very well. I shall go and make certain Roth doesn’t do something he will regret. Your Grace.” He tipped his head and threw a meaningful stare at Caroline before leaving the room.
Caroline immediately approached Lavinia. “Now that that’s settled, let us get you into your bed. You need to rest”—she waved her hand at Lavinia’s disheveled attire—“and change… Sleep! You look like you haven’t slept in weeks.”
Lavinia scrubbed her face. “Yes. You’re right. I am extremely tired, to the point that I don’t think I understand what I’m doing or saying. But all I know is that Sebastian feels the same. But his response to it all is heightened by the urge to protect his niece. I cannot just sit idly by when he is on a rampage. And poor Victoria! If she truly loves this… If she loves William, she will be devastated.”
Caroline weaved her arm with Lavinia’s. “You are right,” she said as she walked toward the door. “Perhaps we can’t do anything to help Lord Roth now. We have to believe that Kensington will do everything in his power to stop a tragedy from unfolding. However, there’s something wecando. Let us go and check on Victoria. And while we are in the family wing, perhaps you’ll reconsider going to bed.”
Lavinia touched the tips of her fingers to her pulsing temples. She really didn’t know what she was doing. She was not in a position to make independent decisions just now, her mind was so muddled. Without any other recourse, she nodded and followed Caroline out of the study.
As they made their way toward the staircase in silence, Lavinia thought about what poor Victoria would feel once she found out the truth about her beloved. She’d been so happy when she talked to Lavinia about love, so hopeful. And having experienced heartbreak, Lavinia didn’t wish it on her mortal enemy.
Suddenly, the thought of leaving for London felt like a piercing blow. The idea that she’d leave Sebastian behind and marry someone else hurt her beyond measure.
She had to shake out her thoughts. When had she become so attached to Sebastian? Was it during their kidnapping? Or was it even earlier?
Her thoughts were tumbling one over the other, so when Caroline finally spoke, Lavinia jumped from fright.
“Lavinia, can I ask you something? Oh, pardon, did I frighten you?”
Lavinia forced out a smile. “I was so lost in my thoughts I forgot—Never mind. Please, what did you want to ask me?”
“It’s about the marquess.”
Lavinia turned toward Caroline, her concentration returning to the conversation. “What about him?”
“You seemed pretty adamant about not marrying him, although it seems like you get along pretty well… And dare I say you care about him.”
Lavinia’s cheeks heated again, as they did every time she thought of him. “It is because I care about him that I cannot marry him. He doesn’t want a wife. He told me, very firmly, that it is the last thing he needs. He’s been pushed to move to England against his will. He was pushed to join the aristocratic circle because of Victoria. And I shall not be the one to force him into an unwanted marriage. I’ve been a burden to my father my entire life… I won’t be a burden to my husband.”
“But with your father dying—”
“My guardian has a prospect for me,” Lavinia said quickly. She didn’t want to discuss this now. Her thoughts were in disarray. She knew the solution she came up with wasn’t perfect. She still had a lot of issues to sort through. But she couldn’t think about it now.
“If that’s what you wish,” Caroline said softly.
They made their way toward the family wing and reached Victoria’s chamber pretty quickly, only nobody answered when they knocked. Caroline tried the handle, but the door was locked.
Caroline let out a frustrated breath. “She is either a very sound sleeper or—”
“Or she’s not in the room,” Lavinia finished for her.
“Yes, well… We can’t be running around the entire estate in hopes of finding her. That is not productive.”
