Page 35 of The Pureblood Daughter
Though not spoken aloud, the words sound like a whisper, and she closes her eyes, allowing his voice to swim through her mind.
I’ll always wait for you.
Chapter Fourteen
A loud sound awakens Adelina, and she blinks groggily in the darkness. Footsteps pound across her room, and then the blinds are thrown open with such vigor that Adelina fears they may rip free from the wall.
The light is blinding, and she holds up a hand to shield her sensitive eyes.
A large silhouette stands before the window, shoulders rising and falling with angry breaths.
“You’ll arise and take your tonic,” Lord Gray says. He comes around the side of Adelina’s bed and snaps his fingers. The sound is sharp, and Adelina winces.
Rose steps into the room, the silver tray in her hands, the teacup with the tonic tinkling on a saucer.
Adelina cuts her tired gaze to Rose, thinking she’ll at least have the decency to look ashamed, but the lady’s maid looks like a stranger this morning. Her eyes are narrowed, and her lips are set in a firm line. All softness has been erased from her face, replaced by angles and harsh edges.
And to think just yesterday Adelina felt uplifted by her supposed loyalty. What a travesty.
“I’ll do no such thing,” Adelina says, turning to regard her father. “What is the meaning of this? To be so rudely awok—”
“I need not explain myself to you, now or ever.” His face, though already flushed, begins to take on a ruddy hue. “The doctor has prescribed this tonic for your condition, and you’ll not go another day without taking it.”
He curls his fingers at Rose, and she steps forward, the tray and the tonic now within arm’s reach. Lord Gray lifts the teacup and holds it out toward Adelina.
The scent, while never pleasant, is strong enough to turn her stomach, and she twists away from him.
“No, Papa. Until you tell me what’s in it, I’ll not drink a single drop.”
Lord Gray’s hands start to shake, and the tonic nearly splashes over the rim of the cup.
“Is this because ofhim?”
The question sends a jolt through Adelina, and she tries to keep any hint of emotion off her face. Her father can’t know the agreement she made with the viscount; even Rose isn’t privy to that information.
“Of course not,” she says, lifting her chin brazenly. “Why does everyone keep asking me that?”
“Because he’s the only thing that changed!” Lord Gray barks, making Adelina start. “You shan’t disobey me.”
His tone is filled with such venom that she wonders if perhapsheis the revenant, for her father has never spoken to her in such a way.
In moments, it’s as if the fabric of her life starts unraveling, as if everything she’s known of her own father is a lie.
“And you shan’t dictate what I do or do not drink. That’s the end of it.” She crosses her arms, daring to look her father in the eye.
Lord Gray dashes the teacup to the floor, shattering it. Shards of porcelain skitter across the floorboards, and both Adelina and Rose jump at the jarring crash. The baron raises a hand as if to strike Adelina across the face, and she braces for the blow.
Silence fills the room, punctuated only by Lord Gray’s heavy breathing.
“If you’ll not do as I say,” he whispers, “you’ll remain in your room until you come to your senses. I told you to stay away from him, and you defied me. Actions have consequences, Adelina.”
She looks up as he drops his hand to his side, his fingers trembling with what she assumes is rage. Before now, she never knew her father capable of such anger, but it seems she was mistaken.
With a jerk of his head, he sends Rose from the room. The lady’s maid glances back briefly before leaving, and then it’s just father and daughter, staring at each other as if they’re strangers.
Lord Gray flexes his hands into fists at his sides. His gaze shifts to the window, and he whispers, “If all goes to plan, that abomination will cease to breathe, and we can all go back to the way things were.” His eyes cut to her. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Adelina’s eyes go wide as her father moves toward the door.
