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“No, I’m not ill. I don’t need time off,” I say, twisting my fingers in my dress. “At least not yet.”
He gives me a questioning look, raising one brow.
“I’m… I’m pregnant,” I confess. “I just found out. But please don’t fire me. I will work hard, I won’t let it interfere with the job anymore, and I promise I’ll find something else when the time comes.”
Fitz frowns, then reaches out a hand and places it on my arm, the weight a comforting touch. “I realize I’ve been quite strict and I run a tight household, but I lack neither the intelligence nor compassion to fire you for this information. You may rest assured that as long as the quality of your work remains consistent, you have a place here at Shadowvale.”
A surge of gratitude washes over me, mingled with guilt for hiding the truth. His kindness feels like shelter from the storm raging within, and a glimmer of hope awakens inside.
“Can you just keep this between us for now?” I ask, biting my lip. “I don’t want anyone to know yet. Especially not the Everharts.”
Fitz's brow furrows. “You’ll have to come clean sooner or later. The truth has a way of getting out.”
I nod. “I know. And I will. I’m just not quite ready yet.”
I don’t know how I’m going to tell them, but I need to figure it out first.
Little did I know that one of the brothers was just outside the kitchen, listening in on the whole conversation.
6
RYDER
Istorm down the corridor, footsteps echoing against the polished marble floors of the manor. My jaw clenches, anger coursing through my veins.
Fuck. She’s pregnant?
Evangeline’s trembling voice, her confession—it all seemed too much. She wanted to keep this a secret from us. Why? Did she think we would turn her out if we knew? Conflicting emotions churn inside, a tempest raging beneath my icy veneer of composure.
The irony of her rejection isn’t lost on me as I throw open the door to Theo’s study hard enough to make the hinges groan. She’d dismissed me as beneath her, yet let some random asshole into her bed.
Theo and Oliver look up, startled by my sudden entrance.
“Guys,” I say, my voice tight with anger. “We need to talk about Evangeline.”
“What’s going on?” Theo asks, getting up to shut the door behind me as I sink into a plush leather armchair.
“She’s got a dirty little secret,” I say, lip curling in disgust. “She wanted to hide it from us, but I overheard her talking to Fitz. The little whore is knocked up.”
Theo’s eyes widen for a moment, taking in the news, and Oliver's brow furrows as conflicting emotions dance behind his eyes, a subtle tension evident in his voice. “We ought to tread carefully, Ryder,” he says, his tone measured. “There may be more to gain from keeping quiet about this knowledge for now.”
Theo’s expression darkens. “What do you think she gains from deceiving us?” he demands. “She was hired to be a servant, and now she thinks she can use this pregnancy to leverage something from us? We ought to fire her.”
Oliver sighs. “I understand your frustration, but we don’t want her to leverage this against us in any way. We give her the power if we straight up fire her.” His eyes gleam with calculating intensity. “I have an idea. Perhaps she ought to be reminded of her place and let her be the one to quit.”
My features harden, anger simmering beneath the surface as I struggle to make sense of her actions. “Agreed,” I mutter, my voice cold with resentment. “Let her deal with this unfortunate situation on her own. We’ll show her that we don’t give a shit if she is pregnant. She still has to work just like the rest of us.”
We agree to keep the information we uncovered to ourselves, sharing a silent understanding that our mission to drive her away is now more important than ever. If her plan was to go looking for gold to dig here at Shadowvale, she came to the wrong place.
The next day, Theo calls a meeting of the servants, putting our plan into motion. Oliver and I hang back as he walks carefully up and down the line of new staff members.
“We lost a great deal of staff after the fire here that took my father’s life three years ago,” Theo says, his voice echoing in the space. “The only person who would stay on was Fitz. But now that he’s intent on bringing Shadowvale back to its former glory, you’ve all been retained to bring that dream to light.”
Theo stares at Evangeline long enough to make everyone shift around uncomfortably. “Some of you have been more adept than others at proving yourselves. I hope that the rest of you get it together, or see yourselves out the door.”
The staff's eyes land on Evangeline. A faint smirk plays on my lips as he continues onward. “If any member of the team finds themselves falling short of expectations, your position here will be revoked immediately.”
Evangeline’s cheeks are red as our eyes linger on her for a long moment. “You are dismissed. Miss Parker, stay behind, please.”
