Haunted Hearts

23

Two miserable days passed without a word spoken between one another. Not even goodnight.

Rufus avoided talking or looking at Elphi from the moment he awoke to the minute he doused the lamps, crawled into bed, and drew the curtains.

However, on the first night, they lay in bed for an hour, listening to one another breathing, when Rufus shattered the silence and whispered, "Are you awake?"

"Yes," Elphi quietly answered, turning to face him in the darkness.

Was he finally willing to let her explain the existence of the lists? The thought was petrifying, but anything had to be better than living another day of banished silence.

She opened her mouth to speak, then let out a startled squeak when Rufus hauled her into his arms and settled his mouth atop hers in brazen ownership before she could utter a sound.

Apparently, Rufus had no interest in talking.

Elphi froze for the barest of seconds, her heart pounding, her stomach fluttering, and then she melted and enthusiastically returned his wild, ravenous kisses, giving him all the encouragement he needed for a night full of blissful passion.

But with dawn's arrival, instead of finding mended feelings or the chance, at long last, to explain the existence of the blasted list, Elphi awoke to an empty bed.

So, worried she was destined to endure another desolate day of banishment, she quickly dressed and went down for breakfast, hoping to catch Rufus before he sequestered himself in his study.

"His Lordship is away on investigations, my lady," Rouse said before Elphi reached the bottom step. His watchful gaze softened with sympathy and concern while his tone remained politely detached. "He said to inform you he wouldn't be back until after nightfall."

Elphi swallowed and blinked against a sudden sting of frustrated tears. "Thank you, Rouse."

She hesitated, torn between retreating to her bedchamber or continuing to the dining room as though nothing was out of the ordinary—even though it felt like her bright and shiny new world had been flipped upside down and set aflame.

Glancing at the clock, she bit back a sigh of relief at the early hour and turned a shaky smile on Rouse. "I believe I'll take breakfast with my brother this morning."

"Shall I summon His Lordship here—"

"No," Elphi said with a quick shake before heading back upstairs to change. "I'll ride to Harwood Hall myself and surprise him." Roderick loathed surprises, despite his tendency to drop by unannounced on other people, but this one would be worth poking his ire because she needed him.

Rouse hesitated, then dipped his chin in a reluctant nod. "Very well, My Lady. I'll have your mount saddled and brought round."

"Thank you," she smiled, quickening her step and all but racing to change into her riding habit.

Several minutes later, Elphi was out of breath and fastening the last few buttons on her bodice as she reached for the doorknob when a sudden thought struck.

What if Rufus wasn't actually out on investigations but was visiting Roderick himself? She frowned. It was a possibility. But the more she pondered the issue, she doubted she would find him there.

However, one thing she'd begun to suspect by mid-afternoon yesterday, which was becoming more apparent the longer she thought about it, was that Rufus was avoiding her.

Two could play that game, she decided, squaring her shoulders.

Rufus was sorely mistaken if he thought he could leave her at home wandering the halls broken-hearted while he traversed the English countryside in search of ghosts and their secrets.