Page 80 of Their Will be Done

I apologize sincerely for my behavior last night. I was out of sorts, and I shouldn’t have handled such a delicate matter the way I did.

Please join me for dinner tonight.

I am sure you have many questions.

I would like to answer them.

Gabriel.

My heart is thundering like a waterfall by the time I reach the end. Did Miriam read this? There’d be no way for her to decipher such a vague letter, but I’m still convinced she knows everything.

I had an affair with—

Fuck!

I crumple up the letter and hurl it away from me, tears blurring my vision. I storm off as fast as my whipping skirts allow, wiping furiously at my eyes as more tears build up.

Why can’t I just be normal?

A normal girl, with a normal family, attending a normal school, with normal friends.

Is that too much to ask, Universe?

Rain batters my face. I glare up at the sullen clouds stretching from horizon to horizon. In their dull light, Saint Amos looks more like Dracula’s castle than ever before.

I spin around and give Saint Amos the finger. Then I stalk over the lawn, heading for the classroom block. I’m early for my next class, but if a brisk walk through the drumming rain can’t clear my head, nothing can.

I was going to skip out on Zachary’s class. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have reported me. But I can’t bear the thought of being stuck alone with my thoughts one second longer.

Halfway down the slight incline, my shoe hits a patch of thinning grass and I slip in the mud.

I sit for a moment like that, rainwater soaking through my dress, before I push myself up and carry on walking.

Fuck you, Universe. I’ve had worse.

Don’t have your notes, Trinity. Textbook’s still in your room.

And so what? Let Zachary write me up for detention.

The rain should be steaming off my skin, that’s how mad I am. But all it does is pound down, wet and relentless, until I finally step under cover of the eaves. I shove open the door and storm inside, heading for Zachary’s class.

Breathing hard from climbing the stairs, I pause a second outside his door before going in.

I come to a stop as soon as I’m inside.

He’s at his desk, hand cupping his jaw as he stares at nothing. When he looks up at me, the heavy frown on his face clears in an instant.

He gets to his feet, watching me expectantly.

“What?” I snap. “Did you also forget how to thank someone?” My skirts whisk around my legs as I storm up to him. “It’s easy. You say, ‘thank you,’ and then I tell you to go fuck yourself, because it wasn’t a pleasure.”

His frown is back. “What?”

“The files.” I wave my hand. “The things I copied. You got it back, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but—” he begins, stepping around the desk.

“Butnothing. The least you owe me is a thank you, and I’m still fucking waiting.” I grab my hips and start tapping my foot. “Well?”

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