Page 66 of The Devil’s Lair

Sighing, I turn back again. “Yes?”

“Will you at least ask her to consider letting us see Isla?”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to say no, but that’s not my place. “I will pass on the message.”

“Thank you.”

I get back in the car and loosen my tie. Preston’s request sits uncomfortably on my chest. Maybe I should have told him no outright, but that would’ve been taking agency from Rebecca. She’s not a child who needs shielding from difficult decisions. She’s a woman who deserves the right to make her own choices.

Even if every instinct I have is to protect her from them.

Chapter Twenty

REBECCA

Vicky strolls into the living room Tobias shares with his brother Christian and flops beside me on the couch. “Pack your swimming costume, we’re going on a spa day.”

“What?” I ask, you know, like an idiot. I heard her perfectly well, and that’s my response.

“All of us. You, me, Imogen, Grace, and Saskia. We feel like utter shits because, ever since you came back from Cornwall last week, we’ve all been so busy, we haven’t had time to spend with you and welcome you to the family properly. So, that’s what today is. Wives bonding club.”

The difference is I’m not a real wife like Imogen, Vicky, and Grace are. Their marriages might have started out as arranged, but anyone with a pair of working eyes can see how madly in love they are with their husbands.

“I can’t. I have Isla.”

“I’ll watch Isla,” Tobias pipes up. “That is, if you’re okay with that.”

“Problem solved.” Vicky flicks her wrist in Tobias’s direction. “A man being useful for once.”

“To be fair, Nicholas set the bar pretty low. It’s doing none of us any favors.”

Vicky laughs. “I do love you, Tobias.”

“I’ll be sure to tell Nicholas that next time I see him.”

“Oh, he knows. I use it to keep him in line.” She winks, then returns her attention to me. “Come on, Rebecca. It will do you good. You should see the spa we’re going to. It’s sooooo luxurious. You deserve a little pampering.”

“She isn’t wrong,” Tobias says.

“And what will you guys do?” I ask.

“I thought I could give Isla her first riding lesson.”

“Riding?” Isla does love seeing the horses. Every time we leave the house, she insists on walking past the stables, no matter where we’re headed. To me, they look like great big snorting beasts. Tobias, though, would never put Isla in harm’s way.

“Yeah. I think she’d love it,” he adds. “And I promise to take lots of videos, so you don’t feel like you’re missing out.”

That hadn’t occurred to me, but it’s more evidence of Tobias’s thoughtfulness. I have to loosen the apron strings eventually, especially as she’ll be expected to attend school this September. It’ll do Isla good to be away from me for a little bit, too. I don’t want her growing up as a clingy child. Developing her independence is important, and this could be the first step.

“Okay, I’ll come,” I say to Vicky. “But I don’t have a swimming costume.”

“Not a problem. We’ll go shopping on the way.”

“Oh, that reminds me.” Tobias stands and reaches into his back pocket. He opens his wallet and slides out a black card. “This is yours.”

I take it from him. In the top right-hand corner is the De Vil family crest, with a company name I don’t recognize in the top left. At the bottom there’s my name in gold lettering. Mrs. Rebecca De Vil.

“What’s this?”