Before She Ruled (Before Series, Book 1)

Chapter Eleven

On the way home from Weston's home, Theo pestered Addie persistently about what Andrew had said to her. She told him that the man had only wanted to see if she could be trustworthy in their cause. However, that only seemed to alarm the younger duke, so Addie had to assure Theo that he did not need to be concerned in any way about her interaction with the Duke of Weston.

He didn't seem completely convinced.

It was odd stepping back into Kingfield House. Addie was forced to go through the motions of complete predictability, even though she felt as though everything had changed.

Her mind kept replaying everything—Theo's words of reassurance, his kiss, that goddamn report, Andrew's coaxing for her to come out of the shadows. And it all taunted her. But none of it did so as much as what Theo had said regarding her cousin. If George married Princess Louisa and dallied with the French, the effects of Ernest's rule would echo for far longer than the time he'd sat on the throne.

No, Addie amended herself.

It would not be George's marriage that would be the catalyst. The blame could not be put there, on him.

It would be with her.

Inaction breeds regression, did it not?

Addie tried to bury her growing feelings on the matter, but she knew it would only be so long before they could not be denied.

As the days passed, Theo sought her out frequently. He would find her in the morning to greet her or in the evening to see how her day was. He acted cordially toward her with his words, but his eyes betrayed something else. On some occasions, he would extend a soft touch, but in others it was merely that look that burned her skin without him even coming near.

Addie knew she should keep him at arm's length. She knew she should, really, she did. But it seemed lately that what she should do was becoming muddled with what she wanted.

However, among other things, she had not forgotten Adam's threat. Addie had admitted her previous encounter with Adam to Ginny and Cora, to which the other maids had told her to avoid him at all costs.

Soon, Addie learned that Adam had not forgotten her either.

Addie was bent over, attending to the fire in the parlor one evening. The air had been growing increasingly cooler in London. The summer haze had finally lifted only a fortnight ago, and now it seemed that there was no going back. The leaves were falling with abandon from the trees in Hyde Park and the parlor at Kingfield House was filled with extra, plush fabrics to keep its occupants warm in the fall weather.

Urging the fire on with a sharpened and sturdy poker, Addie froze when she heard someone enter the room behind her. She had been about to stand to see who it was when hands slithered onto either side of her hips, a spindly body grinding into her from behind. Addie gasped as she teetered toward the bright flames that she had just stoked. She threw one hand upon the mantle to ensure that she would not fall straight into them.

"Is this how ya like it?" a voice growled.

Adam.

Addie's pulse raced, but again her speech left her.

"Don't think that I haven't noticed ya, Addie. Flashing your flirtatious gazes at the duke. But ya ain't no better than the rest of us. Look at ya now." He spat out the last word.

Addie's body tensed in fear. She swallowed, trying to find her voice. The lump in her throat wouldn't go down. Instead, she focused on her free hand that had previously gripped the iron poker. It still sat in the fire, hazardously hot and sharp. She twisted her fingers around the end, the metal biting into her flesh as the words came to her.