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"I apologized to ht, brittle voice "I asked hiry, of course--he said that I should have at least looked soht Next time I’ll choose with more discrimination"
"Next time?" McKenna looked as if he had been struck
"You’ve amused me for a while, but I’m bored with you now I suppose we should try to part as friends, only…you are just a servant, after all So let us end it cleanly It’s best for both of us if you go before I as that will make us both even more uncomfortable Go, McKenna I don’t want you any with you I’ve learned all I can froentle at her with the gaze of a fatally wounded ani she could continue before she broke
"How could I love so a stab of agony in her throat "You’re a bastard, McKenna…you have no family, no blood, no et from any man of low breed? Go, please" Her nails left bloody crescents in her own palms "Go"
As the silence unraveled, Aline lowered her head and waited, tre to a merciless God that McKenna would not come to her If he touched her, spoke to her once uish She s to work, willing her heart to keep beating After a long time she opened her eyes and looked at the eed to reach the wash-stand, and she clutched her ar spasasp, until her stomach was e and crawling to the balcony, she huddled against the railing and gripped the iron bars
She saw McKenna’s distant figure walking along the drive that led froe road His head was bowed as he left without a backward glance
Aline watched hi that she would never see hih the painted bars until he disappeared, following a bend in the road that would lead hi face to the sleeve of her gown, and wept
Four
Mrs Faircloth came to the doorway of Aline’s cabinet, a sinally come froo the earl and countess had bought the vaulted cabinet while traveling abroad It had been packed into crates--paneling, painting, ceiling, and floor--and completely reconstructed at Stony Cross Park Such rooland but common in France, where the upper class used such places daydrea intimately with a friend
Aline huddled in the corner of a chaise that had been lodged against the age-rippled glass , staring at nothing The narrow sill beneath the panes was lined with small objects…a tiny painted- an ar knife with a handle carved fro’s horn All the items were bits and pieces of McKenna’s past that Aline had collected Her fingers were curled around the spine of a pocket-sized book of verse, the nonsensical kind used to teach children the rules of gra Mrs Faircloth remembered more than one occasion on which she had seen Aline and McKenna reading the priether as Aline doggedly tried to teach hih it had been clear that he would have h the woods like an uncivilized creature
Frowning, Mrs Faircloth set a tray of soup and toast on Aline’s lap "It’s ti her concern with a stern voice
In the month since McKenna had left, Aline had been unable to eat or sleep Broken and dispirited, she spent most of her time alone When she was com her food and reard Aline’s decline as childish pouting However, Mrs Faircloth did not share their opinion, wondering how they could so easily discount the profound attachment between Aline and McKenna The housekeeper had tried to reason herself out of her worry, re herself that they were mere children, and as such, they were resilient creatures Still…losing McKenna seee Aline
"I ht with shared grief "But you must think of what is best for McKenna, and not for you You wouldn’t want his he could never have And it serves no one to let yourself go to pieces this way You’re pale and thin, and your hair is as rough as a horse’s tail What would McKenna think if he saw you right now?"
Aline lifted a dull gaze to hers "He would think it hat I deserved, for being so cruel"
"He will understand someday He’ll reflect on it and realize that you could only have done it for his own good"
"Do you think so?" Aline asked without apparent interest
"Of course," Mrs Faircloth asserted stoutly
"I don’t" Aline picked up the arded it without emotion "I think that McKenna will hate me for the rest of his life"
The housekeeperwere not done soon to jolt the girl froe to her health
"Perhaps I should tell you…I’ve received a letter froh she had meant to keep the infor how Aline would react to the news And if the earl learned that Mrs Faircloth had allowed Aline to see such a letter, there would be yet another position at Stony Cross Park to be filled--her own
The girl’s dark eyes were suddenly alive, filled with a frantic blaze "When?"
"This very "
"What did he write? How is he?"