AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll send one of the men down there with Ruth’s car and other stuff.”
“Right. Like the warrant card?”
“Yes. That.” I feel a need to defend her still. “I trust her not to say anything about what happened here.”
He takes another bite of his sandwich. “I hope you’re right.” He levels his dark-eyed gaze on me. “For what it’s worth, you made the right choice.”
I don’t reply. It’s still too raw.
Ethan continues. “I know what it cost you, and I’m sorry. I can’t even begin to imagine how I’d have felt if I had to give Cristina up.”
That would never have happened. “She came from the same world as us. She understands our lifestyle. Ruth and me, well, we’re on different planets.”
“True, but it doesn’t stop it hurting. If there’s anything I can do…”
“There isn’t. There’s nothing anyone can do. It is what it is.”
CHAPTER21
Jenna
The Hopeand Anchor is running like clockwork. Molly has done a fine job. She seems to be really enjoying her stint in charge, and Gregory is turning out to be quite a find. He gets on well with the customers, pulls a decent pint, and never complains about hauling crates up from the cellar. He’s still determined to keep up with his studying despite Ethan Savage forbidding the use of the back room.
The others have stopped coming, and I worry about them. I’m particularly concerned about Robbie. He has so little to start with. At least when he was coming to the pub regularly someone was looking out for him. And feeding him. The last I heard his mum has been arrested for prostitution — again — and he’s been taken into care. Maybe now he’ll get a square meal every day, so that’s something. What he really needs is a good foster home.
Kylie and Sharon are still doing the cleaning but haven’t managed to expand or win any more clients. I just have to hope they don’t get discouraged. I feel sure they have the makings of a decent business if they stick at it.
I grit my teeth with frustration. How could I have been so stupid? I should have made sure Ethan Savage never found out about my side hustle. I’ve let everyone down.
Still simmering, I reach for my coat. “I’ll be getting off now, Gregory,” I call out.
“Okay,” he yells back from the cellar. “See you later.”
I get in my car and start the engine. It’s about a half-hour drive back to Caernbro Ghyll where I seem to have taken up permanent residence.
Tony fitted my car with a remote device to open the gates, so I drive straight into the grounds. I park in the converted stables and walk around to the main entrance. I’m still bristling over the loss of my study support scheme, and this swells into anger when I spot the cause of my problems strolling through the hallway.
Ethan Savage, lord of this manor and everything else he surveys, pauses to acknowledge me. “Miss Delaney. It’s good to see you looking so well.”
“Thank you,” I reply, not believing a word of it. His sarcasm ignites my temper even further. If he cared so much about my wellbeing, I wouldn’t have struggled to sit for the better part of a week on his direct orders.
“I trust you’re quite recovered,” he continues affably.
I almost thank him again, but the words shrivel in my throat. He may be a hypocrite, but that doesn’t mean I have to be. Still, I bite back the angry retort.
“Is something amiss, Jenna?”
Shit!Ethan Savage misses nothing. He stands before me, his eyebrow raised.
Well, since you ask…
“You had me caned,” I blurt.
He is totally unruffled. “This is true. Did it do any good?”
“What are you talking about? Of course it didn’t.”
“Allow me to put it another way. Will you steal from me again? Or lie to me?”
