Chapter 5 - The Bride Who Was Not a BrideThe family meeting began at two in the morning.
Dalia was not present, but old houses carried sound through vents, pipes, and secrets. From the room above the library, she could hear pieces of it when she stood near the heating grate.
Serena’s voice came first.
“Daniel should not have touched her. I agree. But throwing him out in the middle of a storm was extreme.”
Rowan answered, “He left in a heated car with two armed men making sure he reached the gate alive. My mercy is intact.”
Massimo laughed. “Always dramatic.”
“You would know,” Rowan said.
Celia’s voice cut through them. “Enough. We all understand what this is. The maid is beautiful, pregnant, and frightened. Men like Daniel create messes. That does not mean we invite the mess into the center of the family.”
Dalia pressed her hand over her stomach.
The maid.
The mess.
That was how women like Celia turned human beings into problems.
Serena spoke softly. “I feel sorry for her.”
Dalia closed her eyes.
Liar.
“She must have been terrified,” Serena continued. “But Rowan, you cannot let sympathy cloud your judgment. Daniel has been under pressure. Business pressure. Family pressure. Seeing her here must have shocked him.”
“You knew about her?” Rowan asked.
Silence.
Too long.
Serena recovered beautifully. “Daniel mentioned a woman who left him. He didn’t say she worked here.”
“Did he mention she was pregnant?”
Another silence.
Dalia’s heartbeat filled her ears.
Celia said, “Pregnant?”
The word landed like a dropped knife.
Rowan did not answer.
Massimo cursed under his breath.
Serena’s voice trembled perfectly. “Rowan, is that true?”
“She fainted,” Rowan said. “A doctor examined her.”
“And you brought the doctor here?” Celia snapped.
“She needed care.”
“She needed removal.”
Dalia’s breath stopped.
There it was.
Not concern. Not surprise.
Removal.
Rowan’s voice lowered. “Choose your next words carefully.”
Celia did not. “You are not a charity hospital. You are the head of this family. A pregnant servant connected to Daniel Marsh is not a person you shelter. She is exposure.”
“Exposure of what?” Rowan asked.
No one answered.
Dalia backed away from the grate, shaking.
Exposure of what?
She barely slept. Near dawn, Mrs. Hargrove came with toast, fruit, and another cup of ginger tea. Bobby lifted his head but did not move.
“You listened,” Mrs. Hargrove said.
Dalia stiffened.
“The vents are old,” the housekeeper added. “And fear makes people curious.”
Dalia looked at her. “They want me gone.”
“Some do.”
“Why?”
Mrs. Hargrove placed the tray on the bedside table. “Because you are pregnant.”
“With Daniel’s child.”
“With a child Daniel may use.”
Dalia frowned. “Use how?”
Mrs. Hargrove’s face closed. “Eat.”
“Please.”
“No.”
“Do you know who Daniel really is?”
The housekeeper looked toward the door.
That was answer enough.
Before Dalia could push further, someone knocked.
Not Rowan.
Not Mrs. Hargrove’s precise tap.
Soft.
Feminine.
Mrs. Hargrove went still.
The door opened before she reached it.
Serena Marsh stepped inside wearing pale cashmere and regret like perfume.
Bobby rose.
Slowly.
Serena stopped at once.
“I only came to apologize,” she said.
Dalia stood, keeping the bed between them. “For what?”
“For Daniel. For making you uncomfortable.”
“You didn’t make me uncomfortable.”
Serena smiled sadly. “No. I suppose Daniel did that.”
Mrs. Hargrove said, “Miss Ashford requires rest.”
“I won’t stay long.”
Bobby took one step forward.
Serena’s smile tightened.
Dalia noticed then that Serena was afraid of the dog. Not nervous. Afraid in the specific way a person fears an animal that has remembered her sins.
Serena looked at Dalia’s stomach.
“You should be careful,” she said.
“I am.”
“No. You’re hiding in a house where every secret eventually becomes currency.” She stepped closer despite Bobby’s warning rumble. “Daniel will not let you keep what belongs to him.”
Dalia’s hand curled into the blanket. “My child belongs to no one but herself.”
“Her?” Serena asked.
Dalia froze.
She had not told anyone she believed the baby was a girl.
Serena’s eyes gleamed.
“Mother’s intuition,” she said. “How sweet.”
Mrs. Hargrove moved between them. “Leave.”
Serena smiled again. “Of course.”
At the door, she paused.
“Dalia, one kindness. Run before Rowan decides you are useful.”
Then she was gone.
Mrs. Hargrove locked the door behind her.
Dalia whispered, “She knew.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Mrs. Hargrove said nothing.
Dalia looked at Bobby, still staring at the door.
May you like
The dog had not growled at Serena because she was a stranger.
He had growled because she was not.
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