“What’s that supposed to mean?” Camilla’s eyes flicked between Denise and Lindsey. “What’s going on?”
Lindsey said nothing. After all, she wasn’t the one who had started this.
“Denise? You said something to her, didn’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Denise said. “I didn’t say anything.”
“For a politician, you’re not very good at lying.”
“Fine. I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”
Camilla’s eyes clouded over. “You bitch. What the hell did you say to her?”
“I’m just looking out for you, Millie.”
“Oh, because you’ve done so much of that in the past, haven’t you?”
Lindsey tried as hard as she could to dissolve into her chair. Luckily, June chose that moment to reenter the room, carrying a pot of coffee, which she placed on the table before Camilla. It seemed to remind Camilla that Lindsey was still sitting there.
“Lindsey, darling,” Camilla said through gritted teeth. “Do you mind? I need to talk to my sister. Alone.”
“Okay.” Lindsey got up and followed June out into the hall.
Seconds later, the dining room erupted into shouts.
“I can’t believe you said that!” Camilla yelled.
Lindsey stopped just within earshot.
“I’m trying to keep you from getting hurt,” Denise replied.
“That’s bullshit. You don’t get to disappear from my life for months, even years at a time, then come back and stick your nose in my business and pretend to care.
“I’m not pretending, Millie. I do care.”
“You have some way of showing it. Calling Lindsey a gold-digger? Trying to drive the person I care about the most away?”
June cleared her throat. “I would have thought you’d learned your lesson about listening at doors.”
Lindsey jumped. She hadn’t realized that June was still there. “Er, right.”
“Trust me. You don’t want to get caught up in one of their fights. It’s best to just let them talk it out.”
“So, they’re always like this?” Lindsey asked.
“Their relationship is… complicated.” June said. “Now, you didn’t get to finish your breakfast. If you’d like, I can bring you something.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“All right.” June stood in place, waiting for Lindsey to leave.
“I’ll just go then.”
June nodded. As Lindsey walked away, she could feel June’s eyes on her.
Lindsey spent the morning outside, attempting to sketch the wild, overgrown orchard at the back of the estate. It was no coincidence that it was as far from the manor as possible. The tension between Camilla and Denise seemed to permeate the entire house.
But when Lindsey went back to the manor for lunch, both Camilla and Denise were nowhere to be found. The house felt eerily empty, and there was no one else in the dining room. When Lindsey asked June where Camilla was, the housekeeper informed her that both sisters had requested lunch in their rooms. That was unusual. Camilla never took her meals anywhere but the dining room unless she wasn’t feeling well.