“Why?”
“Evelyn told me you had agreed.”
“You never asked me.”
“I was afraid you would say no.”
“You knew I would.”
His shoulders fell.
Brooke stood. “I cannot be married to a man who sees a woman’s kindness as an asset.”
“Brooke.”
“I need you to leave.”
Daniel looked toward Clara. “Where am I supposed to go?”
Clara answered before Brooke could. “The guest room is available until morning. After that, you will make your own arrangements.”
Daniel stared at her.
It was the first mercy he had received that evening, and the first one he seemed ashamed to accept.
He nodded.
Brooke watched him walk down the hallway. His shoes made soft, careful sounds against the floorboards. The man she had married disappeared around the corner, and she did not follow.
Marcus came to stand beside her.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
She leaned against him.
“I should have believed you.”
“You did not know how.”
“I knew enough to be kinder.”
“Yes,” he said. “You did.”
She closed her eyes.
That answer hurt because it did not comfort her.
Clara went to the kitchen and began clearing the plates. The ordinary motion was almost unbearable. She lifted the serving dish, covered the roast, and placed it in the refrigerator.
Brooke followed her.
“Please stop.”
Clara kept working.
“Clara.”
She put the dish down.
Brooke stood at the kitchen entrance, tears running silently down her face.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say what you know.”
“I know I humiliated you.”
“Yes.”
“I know I gave you that card because my mother told me you had nothing.”
“Yes.”
“I know I called this your house while treating you like a guest.”
“Yes.”
“I know I watched you sit alone while we ate.”
