Betrayal of Innocence (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 1)

“I haven’t seen you at the orphanage lately,” she began when they were about half-way back to the village.

Reuben stumbled a little and righted himself by leaning heavily on a tree.

“Are you all right?” She winced and snatched her hand back when Reuben flinched away from her touch. She softened her voice and kept her distance. “I won’t hurt you.”

Reuben threw her a swift look as he righted himself. He stood upright slowly, brushing bark off his hand with careful precision. Vanessa suspected he was contemplating something and waited patiently for him to decide to speak. To her surprise, he threw her a look that could only be described as curious. She wanted to ask him what troubled him but had already asked him twice now only for him not to answer her. If he wanted to tell her he what was troubling him he would in his own good-time.

For now, she wanted him to go so she could see if Justin was around. She wished now she had waited for him to catch up with her. Somewhere deep in the back of her mind, she wondered if he had gone to speak with Lisa, and immediately closed that thought out when she was hit by a wave of jealousy that stole her breath. The thought of Justin sharing with Lisa what she had shared with him in the barn was enough to make Vanessa want to tear her own hair out. She shied away from the mental images it created, mainly because the jealousy doubled in strength the more she thought about it. So much so, she temporarily forgot about Reuben, who she slammed into when she began to walk again. This time, she was the one who struggled for balance.

“Sorry,” she gasped, righting herself against a tree.

She looked up when Reuben didn’t answer, only to find him standing right beside her, far too close for comfort.

“Thank you,” she murmured, taking the hands he held out to her with a smile. “I am sorry. I should watch where I am going.”

When she was back on her feet, she swiftly released him, then waved to the path before him, even though it was wide enough for them both.

“Are you going home now?” she asked for want of anything else to say.

“I have things to do.”

“I know Magda at the Orphanage would be delighted to see you again,” she began. “She has been asking about you.”

“I am not going there,” Reuben muttered.

“What do you have against it?” she asked quietly. “I always thought you liked going there.”

“I am not going there,” he repeated, this time in clipped toes that hinted at a deeper distress. He glanced furtively around the woods, as though seeking a way to escape.

To Vanessa, he looked like a trapped animal. She hurriedly tried to think of something to say that would turn his thoughts away from the orphanage.

“You can talk to me, you know,” she prompted when Reuben continued to look worried.

“I am not going back there,” he growled.

“That’s fine. If you don’t want to, you don’t want to. It is fine for you to move on,” she replied calmly. “What do you want to do with your time? Do you still work at the vicarage?”

“Yes.” Reuben’s voice was so clipped, Vanessa lifted her brows at him.

She had wondered if he had been at the farm in search of work. After all, he had helped at the Orphanage until last summer, when his good friend Carlotta had left the area to begin married life with her new husband. Reuben had immediately stopped turning up at the orphanage and had refused to even speak to Magda. He had worked for a small financial reward, several good meals a day, his laundry washed for him, and all the support he needed. Now that he wasn’t working there, none of that happened. She wondered if he was coping, or if the vicar helped him.

Her gaze fell to his shirt. It had clearly not been washed for a while, but it wasn’t heavily soiled, just not as clean as she would have liked to see it.

Still, it isn’t any of my business, she reminded herself.

Usually, she would have offered to help him, but she couldn’t afford to be distracted from her search for her sister right now. While there was still hope that Geraldine was still alive, she had to keep looking for her, if only so she could sleep more soundly in her bed at night.

“Well, here I am,” she murmured uncomfortably and with no small measure of relief when they reached the edge of the woods

The last few minutes had been full of tense silence. So much so, she was now on edge and worried as well. She stood on the narrow path that would take her across the field and looked longingly at the property she called home. Her father would be worried sick by now given it was several hours since he should have had his breakfast. She could only hope he had managed to get himself out of bed and downstairs.

She opened her mouth to say goodbye to Reuben, but when she looked back at the path behind her, she started in surprise to find it completely empty. Her eyes widened in shock. She listened but heard nothing. There was no sign he had even been there; no betraying footsteps, no rustling movement, nothing at all.

“Well, how did you do that then?” she murmured, wondering if Reuben was eager to leave so she didn’t pester him about going back to the orphanage. “Well, goodbye.”

“He left a few moments ago, while you were staring at the house,” Justi

n murmured from a few feet away.