Chapter 1 - The Question
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“Is that your answer?” Nathaniel asked again.
His voice did not rise. It did not carry the sharp, biting edge that Caroline had just used on Erin. Instead, it was completely hollow, stripped of all the warmth and indulgence he usually reserved for his fiancée. He stepped further into the room, his expensive leather shoes crunching faintly against a stray ice cube that had skidded across the hardwood.
Caroline’s perfect, sculpted smile faltered. She looked at the silver ice bucket in her hands as if she had suddenly forgotten how it got there.
“Nathaniel, darling, you’re exhausted from your flight,” Caroline said, her voice instantly dropping into a soothing, practiced purr. She set the bucket down on the dresser, deliberately hiding her shaking hands. “I came in to check on your mother’s suite, and I found her sleeping in your bed. It’s inappropriate. I simply woke her.”
“You poured ice water on her,” he corrected softly.
“She wouldn’t wake up!” Caroline laughed, a high, brittle sound that echoed terribly in the quiet bedroom. “These girls, they work a few overtime hours and think they can just claim a room in the east wing. I was reminding her of boundaries. You can’t let the staff take advantage of your generosity, Nate.”
Erin stood up slowly. Her gray uniform was soaked through, the icy water chilling her to the bone. She did not look at Nathaniel. She could not bear the humiliation of his pity, nor did she want to see if he believed his fiancée’s elegant excuses.
“I will strip the bed immediately, Mr. Whitmore,” Erin said, her voice remarkably steady despite the violent shivering that had overtaken her frame. “And I will have the mattress professionally dried. The cost can be deducted from my wages.”
Nathaniel finally looked at her. Really looked at her. He saw the dark, bruised exhaustion beneath her eyes, the wet hair plastered to her cheeks, and the absolute, crushing dignity she was trying to maintain while standing in a puddle of freezing water.
“You will do no such thing, Erin,” Nathaniel said, his gaze locked on hers. “You will go to the staff quarters. You will change into dry clothes. And you will go home and sleep.”
“My shift—”
“Your shift is over,” he said, leaving no room for argument. “I will speak with Mrs. Kesler. You will be paid for the full day.”
Caroline’s face tightened into an ugly, furious mask. “Nathaniel, you cannot reward this kind of behavior!”
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He didn't even look at Caroline. He stepped aside, leaving the doorway open for Erin. “Go home, Erin. Tell your mother I wish her well.”
Erin nodded once, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on the floor, and walked out of the room. Behind her, the heavy, suffocating silence of the blue bedroom descended on the engaged couple. It was a silence that felt dangerously permanent.
