by Sofia Daniel
I placed a hand at the juncture of his shoulder and neck. “What you did for me these past few days makes up for everything.”
He glanced away. “It wasn’t anything special.”
I held his head between both hands and turned it toward me, so we stared into each others’ eyes. “Listen. No one has ever risked their neck for me the way you did. They could have had knives or guns or another accomplice in a different room, but you rescued me anyway. You weren’t satisfied with the police’s progress and went looking for me on your own. None of the reporters did that. It was you. So if I say I forgive you for those pranks, I forgive you.”
He stepped into my space and pressed his lips onto mine with the gentlest of kisses.
“Swear to me you won’t put yourself in danger again,” he whispered against my lips.
“I swear it.”
Chapter 20
Blake and I spent the rest of the afternoon at Lake Wessex. By the time we returned to Elder House, the pain medication, combined with the exhaustion of the day, weighed my limbs and caused my eyes to fall closed. He walked me straight to the room I shared with Rita, opened the door, settled me onto the edge of my mattress, and unfastened one of the Louis Vuitton cases piled at the foot of the bed.
“I’ll pack your things,” he said.
Rita turned around from her desk, took one look at my bruises, and her face dropped. Her fountain pen fell from her loose fingers and rolled across the floor.
With trembling lips, she asked, “W-where have you been? And who did this to you?” Her gaze darted from me to Blake, and then back to me. “W-was it one of them?”
I shook my head. “I went down to London, and got caught in an ambush.” My insides cringed with shame. I hadn’t told Rita because she would have begged me not to go and told me that revenge on Charlotte wouldn’t be worth the risk of her retribution. “Mr. Carbuncle did this with the help of Charlotte’s brother. Blake came to my rescue.”
She clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. “That’s… Did you call the police?”
“They know about it.” I didn’t want to mention that the Saturday Correspondent had made the call so as not to alert Blake that Rita knew about my involvement with them. I trusted him with my life but didn’t trust him with Rita. “Mr. Carbuncle escaped. He’s out there, somewhere, and I’m moving in with Edward.”
She pulled on her long braid but didn’t reply. I wanted to ask her how she hadn’t heard anything of the articles in the paper written about Peter Underwood’s arrest, but it likely had something to do with the amount of time she spent with her friend in Hawthorn House, who I was beginning to suspect was now her boyfriend.
Blake helped me up to the top floor, where Edward had left his room unlocked. I expect he had already texted ahead about our sleeping arrangements or the three of them had discussed it in the palace on Sunday when Nurse Priya had come to change my dressings. I changed into my nightclothes, settled myself into Edward’s bed, and held Blake’s hand.
“Thanks for a great day.”
He kissed my knuckles. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
I tucked my arm under Edward’s crisp, cotton sheets. Blake stood and pulled off his jacket. “What are you doing?”
“You don’t think I’m going to leave you here on your own, do you? This bed is big enough for four. He paused. As long as everyone snuggles close, and the fourth is as small as you.”
My lips quirked into a smile, and I scooted back to make space for Blake.
I awoke the next morning in Edward’s bed, curled around Blake with my head on his bare chest. My leg brushed over the thick erection encased in his silk pajama bottoms, and a low, sensual moan rumbled in his chest. Edward molded his front to my back and slung an arm around my waist. His fingers skimmed the patch of skin between the bandages encasing my torso and the hem of my panties, spreading warmth between my legs. Every muscle of my abdomen relaxed under his touch, and I let out a sigh of contentment. This was the first night I had slept without the sleeping pills, and it was thanks to their presence.
I lifted my head and peered out at the space beyond Blake, half expecting to find a larger body wrapped around him, but there was no sign of Henry. Instead, orange streams of sunlight shone through the chink in the curtain and highlighted his empty spot.
A pang of regret struck my heart and filled my chest with a dull ache. This entire arrangement had started with Henry. Without that time alone in that dingy room, I would never have gotten to know Henry without Edward’s hostility getting in the way or without my mixed feelings about Blake’s involvement in Charlotte’s pranks.
Last night, I had fallen asleep minutes after settling onto Blake’s chest, and I hadn’t noticed Edward’s arrival. Had Henry also entered the room? After I had told him to go to hell the day we visited his parents, he probably didn’t think he would be welcome.
After giving me a gentle, morning kiss, Blake went downstairs to get dressed, while Edward offered me the first use of his bathroom. I stood in front of his mirror and scowled at my swollen face. Green now edged the bruises instead of the usual purple-black. Underneath the bandages, the bruises were still a livid purple. Even the passage of time and Mrs. Simpson-West’s bruise salves couldn’t work miracles.
Edward stepped into the bathroom, froze, and hissed like an angry cat. He fisted his hand over the towel around his waist and breathed hard.
I grimaced at the fading, hand-shaped bruises on my breasts. “You should have seen them a few days ago.”
“I’ll kill him,” he said in a voice as cold as the eyes roving my tapestry of scabs and bruises.
“Not if I get to him first.” He opened his mouth to protest, but I spoke first. “But I’ll be with one of you and not on my own.”
“Yes, you will,” he said with a bite in his voice. He raised his gaze, revealing a face etched with worry. “How on earth are you coping with the pain?”
I slipped off my panties, but Edward’s gaze didn’t waver from my eyes. Damn. I was glad he hadn’t seen my body while the bruises had been worse. “The painkillers are great, even though they make me drowsy.”
He stepped forward. “Are you sure you should be showering alone?”
My heart skipped a beat. “I could always use a helping hand.”
His brows drew together. “This is serious, Emilia.”
I gave him a quick peck on the lips and pulled him into the shower. Unfortunately, the shock of my bruises reawakened his gentlemanly instincts, and he washed my body with the professionalism and precision of a surgeon.
After we dressed, we walked hand-in-hand to the dining room, where Henry sat at a table in the middle of the room with Blake.
Sunlight filtered in through the high windows, making the ends of Henry’s hair shine like candle flames. As soon as our gazes caught, he rose to his feet and stared at me with widened eyes that traveled around my face, down my neck, and lingered on the fading rope marks on my wrists.
His nostrils flared so quickly, I thought I’d imagined the expression, then he asked, “How are you feeling?”
I sat at his side and placed a hand on his clenched fist. Throughout my assurances, his face tightened into a false mask of calm, and his breathing quickened. I gave his hand a squeeze. “You don’t have to do that stiff upper lip thing. You can tell me if you’re mad.”
“The only person I’m angry with are those two bastards,” he said through clenched teeth.
“And that bloody bitch,” added Blake. “Who else would have left that fake invitation in your hallway?”
Edward poured me a glass of orange juice for my pain tablet, and I tried to drown out their plans to deal with Charlotte. Somehow, she had worked out that I had been behind the leaks, and she probably now blamed me for exposing her brother’s gambling addiction, her father’s fall from grace and impending jail sentence, and the resulting sharp decline in her family fortunes. I’d taken my revenge against her too far, and she had retaliated in kind. I
t didn’t mean I wouldn’t smash her in the face as soon as I could swing a punch.
Coates and three other boys from the rugby team carried a pair of empty tables and chairs to the podium, getting the space ready for Charlotte’s grand entrance. The matron rushed up to admonish them for moving the furniture, but they walked around her like she didn’t exist. I rolled my eyes and stirred my porridge.
“They’re slipping,” muttered Edward. “Last week, they would have had that table ready before anyone arrived.”
Blake shook his head. “She probably can’t satisfy four rugby boys.”
I leaned forward, eyes wide. “You think she’s in a relationship with Coates and his friends?”
Henry barked a laugh. “That’s what she thinks. You should hear what they say about her in the changing rooms.”
“Coates wouldn’t cow-tow to someone he didn’t respect.” Edward cast a disapproving glare on the large boys who had laid the table cloth and were now setting the table with fine china and silverware they’d produced from a box. “What does Charlotte have on him?”
“She’s bribing them,” I said.
Blake shook his head. “I doubt it. They wouldn’t need the money—” His face split into a grin. “Oh, you mean with sex? Coates is a virgin, so…”
Henry snickered. I glanced at Coates, wondering why the triumvirate disliked him. According to Edward, Blake had once put hair remover cream in his sunblock, which seemed like a nasty prank to pull on someone who regularly changed in front of other boys. Maybe Coates was helping Charlotte because he was happy to see the triumvirate dethroned and someone who had hurt him less on the throne.
More students entered the dining room. Whenever their gazes turned to our table, they would catch sight of my face and do a double-take. I didn’t care what they thought, since most of them would attack me if prompted to do so by someone they deemed more popular.
At last, Charlotte sashayed into the dining room with the gait of a runway model. Over the weekend, she had darkened her hair to a shade of pale auburn that matched mine. When she took her place at the head table, she curled her lip then pulled out her smartphone and took a picture of my swollen face.
I stilled.
Every ounce of awareness focussed on Charlotte’s smug expression. The students’ chatter, the clink of forks on plates, Henry’s angry, huffing breaths… everything faded into the background, replaced with the roar of blood between my ears. This was the bitch who had arranged that gauntlet, and now she had arranged for her brother and Mr. Carbuncle to abduct me. If Blake hadn’t arrived when he did, Mr. Carbuncle would have done much worse. And she had the nerve to smirk.
Someone placed a hand on my arm, and I shrugged it off. In the space of three seconds, I sprung to my feet, crossed the dining room, grabbed the edge of her table, and shoved it hard into her gut.
With a shriek, Charlotte tumbled backward in her chair, but it wasn’t enough. As though I’d absorbed Blake’s athletic prowess, I vaulted over the upturned table, straddled her chest and grabbed her by the hair.
The noise of the dining room returned in full force. Charlotte screeched and clawed at my hands, but it remained around her fake, auburn hair like a vice.
“You fucking bitch!” I smashed her head against the stone platform. “You sent your brother and Carbuncle to abduct me. Admit it!”
“She’s mad,” Charlotte screeched. “Coates, Bierson, help!”
The two rugby players moved toward me.
“Touch her, and I’ll break what’s left of your nose,” growled Henry from the other side of the table.
“Whoever records this and uploads a video to the Mercia-Net will suffer,” snapped Blake.
I punched Charlotte on the side of her face, but with my limited range of movement from the bruises, I couldn’t make enough of an impact.
“Emilia!” said Edward from behind.
“What?” I smashed her head against the platform one more time.
“Attacking Charlotte isn’t the answer.” He jumped onto the podium and rounded the table. “Even if the evidence points to her being responsible for your abduction, the police won’t take an assault lightly.”
I clenched my teeth and tightened my grip on her hair.
“I’ll press charges,” Charlotte yelled. “Then they’ll lock you up forever, you crazy bitch!”
“You will do nothing of the sort, unless you want even more information about you leaked to the press,” snapped Edward. He held out his hand and in a softer voice, said, “Emilia, let go of Charlotte’s hair. We can settle things with her later.”
I glanced around into the silence of the dining room. Someone had cleared the upturned tables, and now everyone, staff and students included, stared at me as if I’d turned savage. My fingers uncurled from her brittle hair, and I took Edward’s hand. He raised me off a winded-looking Charlotte, tucked me under his shoulder, and wrapped a comforting arm across my back.
Coates stepped toward Charlotte, who stretched out her hand for him to pick her up. Instead, he frowned at me. “You were the girl Underwood’s brother got into trouble for kidnapping?”
Her hand dropped to her side, and she didn’t answer.
“She left a party invitation near my room with an address in London. When I got there, the number didn’t exist. Underwood’s brother punched me unconscious and dragged me into an empty apartment. Mr. Carbuncle did the rest.”
Coates gaped at Charlotte.
She picked herself off the floor. The buttons of her shirt had burst open, revealing a shocking pink bra. “I-it’s a lie.”
“How did your brother know where to find Emilia?” asked Blake.
“I already told the police I didn’t know!” Charlotte spread her arms wide. “The papers didn’t mention Hobson’s name. M-maybe my brother got arrested for taking another girl, and Hobson slammed her face in the door to frame me for being involved.”
“Those bruises are days old,” said someone from within the dining room.
“She could have made them the day the news broke out and hidden all this time.”
“No.” Rita stood from where she sat with the scholarship students. “Emilia has been missing from our room since Saturday morning.”
Charlotte threw her hands in the air. “I didn’t say she hid in her room!” She stormed across the podium and hurried down its steps. “H-Hobson’s hated me since the day we met. She hates us all. That’s why she leaked all that information to the Saturday Correspondent!”
Gasps broke out across the room. I pressed my lips together and sucked in a breath through my flared nostrils. They hadn’t reacted to hearing that Charlotte had arranged my abduction, which was typical for the residents of Elder House. They would believe anything about me… Even if it was true this time.
“I saw bank statements with payments from the Correspondent with my very eyes.” Edward tightened his arm around me. “There were also checks payable to Carbuncle from the newspaper in his filing cabinet. Everyone, including Mr. Chaloner, was convinced of his guilt before he escaped to avoid charges.”
I stilled, and warmth trickled into my heart, making it swell. Edward had defended me, even in the face of irrefutable evidence that I had been the leak. My fingers curled around Edward’s side, and I gave him a squeeze I hoped would convey my gratitude.
Charlotte paused at the door and clenched her fists. “Carbuncle was loyal to the school!”
Blake folded his arms. “No… You’re loyal to Carbuncle.” He shook his head. “Scratch that. You’re loyal to his cunnilingus ’stache.
I fought back a wave of revulsion and the memory of the janitor’s overgrown, spittle-covered mustache. The rest of the dining room filled with laughter, and Charlotte’s face turned the color of her blazer. She picked up a broken plate, threw it at my head, and missed. Someone in the back of the room jeered, and she raced out through the tables and out of the doors. I gave Blake a grateful smile. Between him and Edward, they had averted what could have en
ded up in a violent mob.
After straightening and smoothing down my uniform, I walked around and off the podium.
Alice rushed over to me, her eyes wide. “Is it true?”
“Yes,” I said through clenched teeth. Hadn’t she heard me explain everything out loud?
She clapped her hands over her mouth and made a theatrical gasp. At times like this, it was hard to forget that she was a doppelgänger double-agent. “Why did they do that to your face?”
“They wanted to prove to my stepfather that they meant business. Every day he didn’t pay, they would do something worse and release the photos to the press.” Edward pressed his palm against the small of my back and steered me away from his former… co-girlfriend, frenemy-with-benefits?
Alice chased after us. “To shame him into paying?”
“Something like that.” I sat at the table.
“Do you think she’s luring me somewhere?” She rubbed her chin.
“What do you mean?”
“Charlotte’s holding a party in London in two weeks. It’s the event she’s promised will revolutionize Mercia Academy and cement her role as its ruler.”
Chapter 21
“Alice,” said Edward with a long sigh. “I owe you the deepest apologies for the way things happened between us.”
She stepped back, eyes wide. “What do you—”
“But if this is another plan to lure Emilia into an ambush, I will destroy you, utterly.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “I-it isn’t.” She turned to me, eyes brimming with tears. “Ask Coates if you think I’m lying. Most boys in Elder and Hawthorn houses have bought their tickets.”
Blake’s brows rose. “They paid?”
Edward raised his hands. “I don’t want to hear it. Alice, leave.” She turned around and stormed out of the dining room, and then Edward turned to me. “I want you to stay away from Charlotte. She’s likely still in contact with Carbuncle, who will be on the run and desperate for money.”
