Chapter 7: Let Them Talk

There were new rumors in the house. They said I’d failed to win over Derek, so now I was playing hard to get.

Two young maids were gossiping in the backyard while I organized books in the library. I’d spent a fortune collecting these rare books to please Derek; now I planned to take them all with me when I left. My fingers traced their spines—each one a silent witness to my old life.

As I sorted, I overheard the gossip floating up with the scent of cornbread and dish soap.

“Miss Wren’s up to new tricks again. She used to chase after Derek so close, but now that he’s sick, she ignores him. Isn’t this just to keep him interested?”

“A shopkeeper’s daughter is just a shopkeeper’s daughter, always using cheap tricks from the wrong side of town.”

“No matter what she tries, Derek will never like her. She’s flashy, not classy—nothing like a real lady.”

I couldn’t be bothered. To me, their words were just rain on a tin roof. I’d learned to let gossip roll off me.

But then I heard a familiar voice, cold and sharp as sleet: “That’s enough.”

I poked my head down to look.

After his illness, Derek looked thinner. In a pale blue button-down, he seemed as fragile as a willow in the wind. Beside him was a refined young woman—Natalie Taylor, the Lieutenant Governor’s daughter.

The two maids turned pale and dropped to their knees. “Please forgive us, sir! We know we were wrong!”

Derek’s face was stern. “Half a year’s pay docked. Then go see Mrs. Carter for ten extra chores.”

After the maids left, Natalie looked at Derek, confused. “Why are you so angry? It’s just a little gossip. Why punish them so harshly?”

She and Derek were childhood friends, close in a way I could never touch. Their laughter had a private ring, a language I’d never speak.

Derek lowered his gaze, calm. “The staff in this house are getting too bold. A heavy punishment serves as a warning to others.”

A shadow flickered in Natalie’s eyes, but she smiled again, teasing, “That sounds so official, but isn’t it really for Aubrey’s sake? Ah, Aubrey really is something.”

Derek looked down at her, dark eyes softening. “I’m not defending my cousin. Even if it were someone else today, I’d have done the same.”

Natalie wrinkled her nose playfully. “Alright, alright. Derek Miller is a man of principle. It’s me being petty.”