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I toyed with my fork and set it down; my hand was shaking. I glanced up and saw Ava and Lucien both watching me.
“You must play for us,” Mr. Lake said. “I hope you brought your violin.”
“No, uh…no,” I stammered. “I can’t. It was stolen. Last night.”
The pleasant smiles slipped from their faces with identical alacrity.
“Stolen how?” Ava asked. “From the townhouse?”
Lucien leaned over the table. “Did you have a break-in?”
Noah took my hand. “We didn’t want to scare you right off the bat,” he said and briefly, and without much detail, told them about the mugging.
“Oh, my dear.” Mrs. Lake put a hand to her chest. “How horrid.”
“Yes, and it was very frightening,” I blurted suddenly, the words tumbling out of my mouth. “But Noah was very brave, and he protected me. He fought the mugger off, but my violin was taken. It was taken and now it’s… Well, it’s just gone.” The reality of these words finally sunk in, like cold knives. “I’m really quite tired actually. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’d like to lie down. Thank you very much for dinner and…it was very good. Thank you and good night. Good night.”
I hurried up the stairs, and by some miracle, found the west suite without getting lost. I went to the cavernous bathroom of beige and copper tile and splashed some cold water on my face, which only made my inexplicable shivering worse. As I started a hot bath, a knock came at the door.
“Charlotte? Are you all right?”
I opened the door. Noah’s face was a mask of worry. “I’m sorry I just left you like that,” I said. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“No, it’s all on me. I didn’t realize you were upset. I should have.”
“I’m just being silly,” I insisted. “And God, how embarrassing. Please tell your parents I’m sorry. We got home late last night and I’m tired, and I think it’s all just catching up to me. I’m going to take a bath and get in bed. I’m fine, I promise.”
His expression hardened, and I knew he’d never spend time with his family if I didn’t convince him.
I kissed him lightly on the lips. “I’m okay, Noah. Truly. A scalding hot bath will do the trick.”
“I’m tired too,” he said. “I’ll make sure my mother’s not having a conniption, and I’ll be back.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to spill it about last night.”
“Will you stop apologizing?” Noah scolded gently. “They’d have to know eventually, and I don’t care about that anyway. I’m worried about you.”
“You should be worried that this bath is going to overflow if I stand here another minute,” I said lightly. “Go. I’m going to soak in this mini pool and then lie down in that barge of a bed and sleep.”
He nodded reluctantly and kissed me again. “I’ll be back soon.”
I eased a sigh as I shut the bathroom door, grateful for the first and only time that Noah was blind and couldn’t see how my hands trembled or he never would have left me.
chapter twenty-six
Lucien had guided me up to the suite and was waiting for me when I came out.
“Everything all right?” he asked. “How is our girl?”
“She’s fine. Tired, I guess. We didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“I’d imagine not,” Lucien said. “Mon Dieu, how frightening.”
I nodded in agreement, but honestly, the sheer joy of sleeping with Charlotte for the first time was far more powerful than any leftover fear from the mugging. But then, she’d lost something precious to her, and she had been able to see the knife-wielding criminal. To me, he was only a voice in the dark.
Lucien led me back downstairs, and I tried to mentally map the way, but the house was too big, too full of furniture and hallways and doors. I could feel the size of it around me and thought it would take months to learn the layout. At my seat at the dinner table, I could practically see the pained expressions on my parents’ faces.
“She’s okay,” I said evenly. “It’s been a long day and even longer night, but she’s fine. She insisted I come back down and spend some time with you, so here I am.”
