Collector Of Hearts by cassandra samuels

Author:cassandra samuels
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

This was torture. The parlour was overheated and uncomfortable and as much as Arabella tried to focus on the book in her lap, the words kept blurring together. It wasn’t as though everyone was bombarding her with confronting questions; it was much worse than that. They were pretending everything was normal, when it most definitely was not; like dinner had not happened, when it most definitely had.

Her father had charged into the room, dismissing her completely, to take to a chair and brood. Quinn and John entered a few minutes later, all smiles and inane comments about the weather and plans for the picnic tomorrow.

Robert was not with them.

Her heart slumped and tears burned behind her eyes. He had abandoned her to the whispers, to the glances from behind a fan or pair of cards. That was the worst thing of all. Did he truly not care? In his absence all their attention fell on her, however well they tried to hide it.

She wanted to ask where he was, but thought better of it. It was more prudent to stay silent. She glanced around the room. Her mother looked confused, Isabelle’s expression clearly showed her concern, and Lady Shacklesbury and Amy were whispering frantically in the corner by the fire.

Arabella could stand no more. She rose from her chair. Everyone looked at her like she was about to make some grand confession. ‘If I may be excused, I’m going to bed.’

Eyebrows rose and heads nodded. Isabelle followed her, catching up by the time she got to the top of the stairs.

‘Please don’t fret, Bella. Everything will be back to rights tomorrow. Will you be all right?’

‘No. They all think I am Shelton’s lover, his... whore.’ Her throat closed around the last word.

Isabelle’s expression turned quite pale. ‘No, they don’t.’ She put her hand on Arabella’s shoulder.

‘Please, don’t make this worse.’ Arabella pushed the door to her room open and threw herself onto the bed. Her sister followed, sitting primly on the end of the bed, smoothing Arabella’s hair as she moaned her distress into the comforter.

‘If nothing has happened and Shelton says the same, I am sure everything will be forgotten by tomorrow.’

Arabella turned onto her back, looking up at the canary-yellow canopy of the bed and decided she hated the happy colour. ‘But something has happened!’ Misery flowed through her like a river of poison and she wished for a swift end to this pain.

‘What do you mean?’ Isabelle sounded shocked, as well she might by such a statement.

Arabella turned her head and found her sister, eyes wide and mouth open.

‘I’ve fallen in love with him, with the Collector of Hearts! How could I be so stupid? I love him, Izzy, and I don’t know how it happened or even when. Oh, what a fool I am.’

Isabelle closed her mouth and chewed on her lip for a moment. ‘Oh, dear. And Shelton? Does he love you in return?’

‘He doesn’t even acknowledge it as a word, let alone think he can be in it.

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