Chapter 4 - THE FIANCÉE WHO HAD EVERYTHING TO LOSE
Clara rose slowly.
“Nothing.”
Victoria looked at the loose floorboard.
“That's a strange way to look for nothing.”
Clara slipped the paper into her apron.
“I dropped something.”
Victoria stepped closer.
“Did you?”
Clara said nothing.
Victoria studied her.
Then smiled.
“You've become very interesting to Damian.”
Clara felt anger rise.
“This isn't about him.”
“Of course it isn't.”
Victoria's smile sharpened.
“It's about your mother.”
Clara went still.
Victoria watched her reaction.
Then said:
“You should be careful digging into old family business.”
Clara stared.
“Why?”
“Because people sometimes discover things they wish they'd left buried.”
Before Clara could answer, Victoria turned and walked away.
***
That evening, Damian found Clara in the garden.
She was sitting on a stone bench beneath the old magnolia tree.
He stopped several feet away.
“May I join you?”
She nodded.
He sat.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Clara asked:
“Are you going to marry Victoria?”
Damian looked surprised.
“No.”
Clara turned.
“Does she know that?”
He sighed.
“She knows I haven't proposed.”
“That isn't the same thing.”
He almost smiled.
“No. It isn't.”
Clara looked toward the house.
“She warned me to stop asking questions.”
Damian's expression changed.
“What did she say?”
Clara told him.
He listened.
Then stood.
“I'll speak with her.”
Clara shook her head.
“I don't need you to fight my battles.”
Damian looked at her.
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because she threatened someone in my home.”
Clara studied him.
For the first time, she saw something beneath the controlled exterior.
Not merely authority.
Responsibility.
***
Later that night, Damian confronted Victoria.
She stood beside the fireplace in his study.
“You embarrassed me at dinner,” she said.
Damian closed the door.
“You threatened Clara.”
Victoria laughed.
“She's a maid.”
“She's an employee.”
“And suddenly she's your favorite.”
Damian's expression hardened.
“This conversation isn't about jealousy.”
Victoria crossed her arms.
“Then what is it about?”
“Joanne Hughes.”
The color drained from her face.
Damian noticed.
“You know that name.”
Victoria looked away.
“My father mentioned her once.”
“Why?”
She hesitated.
“Because she caused trouble.”
“What trouble?”
Victoria swallowed.
“I don't remember.”
Damian stepped closer.
“Victoria.”
She looked up.
For a moment, fear flashed across her face.
Then she whispered:
“You don't understand what your father did.”
Damian went still.
“What did he do?”
May you like
Victoria's eyes filled.
“He made promises to people who could never forgive him for breaking them.”
