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“What happened, Ellis?”
She looks away and doesn’t answer, but I follow her gaze. As I narrow my eyes, I see a piece of paper sticking out of the fire. I know that wasn’t there before.
I pull it out, what hasn’t already been burned and crumbled to ashes into the fireplace. All that’s left is what looks like a mutilated butterfly wing, drawn in deep red.
Blood?
My jaw clenches as I turn to Ellis. “What was this?”
Still, she doesn’t answer.
I kneel in front of her and grip her shoulders. “Ellis.”
“It was a note,” she finally says in a shaking voice. “That had a dead butterfly.”
A warning.
I frown. “Did it say anything?”
Ellis nods. “You should have stayed away from the fire.”
I stand up and pull her arm. “Come on.”
“What?” She gives me a questioning look. “Where are we going?”
“Away from the fire,” I tell her.
There’s no way I’m going to let her stay here after that threatening note.
Ellis pulls her arm away. “No. I… I’m not leaving.”
“Didn’t you read what the note said?” I ask her. “The Northups don’t want you here. Your family doesn’t want you here.”
“No.” She wraps her arms around her and shakes her head. “It must be a mistake.”
“A mistake?” I sit beside her. “Ellis, it was a warning. Now that the Northups know you’re going to be in Samuel’s will, they want you gone. You heard them. They’re not going to let someone who just showed up get their money.”
“Only Gabriel said that,” she says. “I’ll talk to him.”
She stands up. I put an arm around her.
“No.” I grip her arms. “True, Gabriel was the most vocal about wishing you’d never showed up, but that doesn’t mean he sent you this warning. I can’t imagine him bothering to send anyone a note.”
If he really wanted to hurt someone, he would, without warning. The thought sends a chill down my spine.
“Then who sent the note?” Ellis asks.
I grab her hand. “We don’t have to figure out who sent it. We just have to leave. You have to leave this place.”
“No.” She wrenches her hand away. “I told you. I’m not leaving. Even if this wasn’t a mistake, if it was really a warning, it’s from one person. There are other Northups in this house who need me.”
She means Samuel and maybe Christine and Vivian.
I sigh. “You’re no good to them dead, Ellis.”
She takes off her glasses and pinches the bridge of her nose. “I know. I know that, but…”
Her voice trails off and she bows her head. Her hair cascades over her face. Her shoulders quiver. Her glasses hang from her fingers. Then her hand grips her arm. Her nails dig into her sleeve.
I frown. She’s actually afraid. She’s afraid but she still won’t leave. She’s trying her best to be strong but she’s failing. She’s on the verge of falling apart.
Well, I won’t let her.
I wrap my arms around her and press her head to my chest. My fingers stroke her hair as I whisper against it.
“I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Ellis pulls away and looks up at me. For a moment, I worry that she might repeat that she can take care of herself, that she might push me away again. Instead, she snuggles against my chest as she wraps her arms around me. Her hands clutch the back of my coat.
She’s not fighting me anymore.
I hold her tight and stroke her hair as I wait for her to calm down. When she does, she looks up at me again. I still see the fear in her eyes, but there’s something else in them now. Hope. Gratitude. And a spark that draws me in.
I grip the back of her head and kiss her. Her lips press against mine in turn and I feel another fire come to life inside the room.
The fire that can only be created by two people who want each other desperately.
I take Ellis’s arms off me and shrug off my coat. It falls on the rug. Ellis puts her eyeglasses on a table and sits on the couch. She starts to take off her turtleneck sweater and I help her. I pull it over her neck and the sleeves off her arms.
When I sit beside her, she grips the hem of my sweater. I take it off and kiss her again. My tongue slips into her mouth and takes control. Excitement buzzes through my veins.
My fingers become lost in Ellis’s hair as we kiss. I brush my other hand against her breast and she trembles. Her hands travel across my back.
I push her down on the couch and plant my mouth below her ear. As I nip the lobe playfully, Ellis’s fingers comb through my hair. When the tip of my tongue brushes against the sensitive skin, she gasps and tugs on the strands.
