Page 57 of Sacrificing the Untamed Lady Henrietta
“Does it not? Tell me how it does not?”
He cleared his throat. “You cannot lie and deceive your way into the position you dream about. If they had accepted you, what would you have done then?”
“I would have gone to study.”
“My goodness, you are a child if you believe that to be true. As soon as you arrived, they would have turned you away.”
“You cannot know that.”
“I do, My Lady.” He brushed a hand through his hair. “You would have brought such shame upon us both, if they had discovered the truth. I doubt they would have been courteous enough to remain silent on the matter.”
Henrietta felt anger rising through her. He had sworn that he would not be her gaoler, so why was he behaving as though he was?You are no better than my father if you think this way. Seen and not heard, is that how you would prefer me?The words did not leave her lips, but they burned through her mind like venom.
“You said you did not care for the judgement of others.”
“I care for both our sakes, since you seem inclined to stake both our reputations on this ill-conceived endeavor.”
The ache in her side increased, prompting her to sag back down onto the edge of the bed. Only then did Ewan show an iota of concern, after what had just happened with the horse. He moved towards her, but she lifted her hand to wave him away.
“Do not attempt to worry for me now, My Lord Marquess. I see your mind is already elsewhere—on reputation and scorn, rather than the wellbeing of your wife.”
He sighed. “My Lady, you mustn’t say things like that. Of course, I care. I did get somewhat distracted, I will admit, but that does not mean I do not care.” He eyed her closely. “Is something the matter? Are you injured after all?”
“A slight bruising of the ribs,” she replied sullenly.
“Can I help in any way? Fetch you some cake, perhaps, to take your mind off it?” This time, when he moved towards her, she did not gesture for him to keep his distance.
“This is no time for cake,” she said sourly. “I cannot understand your anger in this, my Lord Marquess. Either you think my dreams to be foolish, or you have been lying to me this entire time, making me believe that you did not think them silly endeavors.”
Ewan knelt before her and took her hands in his. “You must understand the consequences of your actions, that is all. I believe in your desire to become an excellent physician, but there are many challenges ahead of you. Being deceitful is not the way to go about things.”
“How did you get hold of my letters in the first place?” she asked, realizing they ought to be most of the way to London by now. Her mind dwelled for a moment upon the warning she had received.Someone is watching us. This has Seth written all over it.
“Mr. Chambers handed them to me downstairs,” he explained. “He told me that they had been sent back to this address, as he had bungled the postage.”
Henrietta shook her head slowly, her chest gripping in fear. “No… that is impossible. I wrote the address on them exceedingly clear, and I ensured that the postage was correct before putting them in the post box.”
“You must be mistaken.”
“I am not mistaken! See, there you go again, disbelieving my every word,” she muttered. “Do you honestly think I would allow letters as precious as these to be sent away without the correct postage? These meant everything to me.”
He tilted his head in thought. “No, I suppose you would not.”
“This is Mr. Booth’s doing, I am certain of it. He would have me suffer for causing his dismissal. He would see my dreams in tatters, because he is a hateful creature. Indeed, as you know, he always deemed me inferior to him, though we belong to two separate worlds.”
“Why would he do such a thing? After your previous explanation of him, I can understand why such a spiteful little man would seek retaliation, but why would he seek to take your letters?”
Henrietta took a breath. She could not keep the note from Ewan any longer.
“If I tell you something, you must promise not to go to Lord Averson. You must allow Mr. Booth to continue in Lord Averson’s employ, for that is the only way that we will be able to keep a watchful eye upon him.”
Ewan frowned. “I promise.”
Leaning over with some difficulty, Henrietta removed the crumpled note from the top drawer of her bedside cabinet and smoothed it on her lap. The words stared up at her like barbs, each one stinging deeply:
My dear Lady,
It has come to my attention that you have renewed your interest in medical school. If you do not wish some harm to come to you, please withdraw said applications immediately. Also, do be careful. I am watching you.
