of here.”
While she could tell the others didn’t mean any harm in it, it did seem like it was embarrassing him.
He waited until they were out of the ballroom before asking her, “Which room do you want to go to?”
“I’d prefer a room where no one will disturb me,” she replied. She had been in the mood to talk and dance earlier, but after Willard came so close to forcing her to leave, she was slightly trembling. She only hoped that Aaron didn’t notice. “Do you mind taking me to my bedchamber?”
“Would you like me to instruct someone to bring you something to drink to help soothe your nerves?” he asked.
She nodded. “I wouldn’t mind some hot tea.”
“I think sherry might be a better choice considering everything.”
Yes, maybe he was right. “All right. I’ll have a glass of that.”
He led her up the stairs. Once he opened the door for her, he said he would get her a drink and left.
She closed the door and collapsed on the bed. Of all the things her brother had done to her, this had to be the worst. Sure, he hadn’t been pleasant most of the time, but he’d never physically tried to make her do something she didn’t want.
He was like that all along. You just hadn’t known it because you went along with whatever he wanted.
She hadn’t started fighting back until Aaron had forced her to have a chaperone. She supposed everyone had a moment where they realized they couldn’t take being controlled anymore, and that had been her moment. She’d been so busy reacting to Aaron since then that it didn’t occur to her that she had learned to stand up for herself. And while Aaron had been unbearable at times, at least he had been willing to let her go. Unlike Willard, he wasn’t willing to force her to keep doing what he wanted.
She hated that she was no match for her brother. She hadn’t been strong enough to get away from him. He could have abducted her if Aaron hadn’t stepped in to stop him. But others had witnessed her brother taking her out of the ballroom, too. She just hadn’t realized it at the time.
She knew Benjamin and Michael would have intervened, but they had chosen to stand back and let Aaron handle things. Perhaps it was to show Kitty that Aaron was a good husband. Maybe it was so she’d know she could trust him. She did like finding out he’d told Willard that the money was hers. Of all the things that anyone had done for her, letting her have complete freedom to do what she wanted with her money was the nicest thing that had ever happened to her.
With a relieved sigh, she closed her eyes and waited for Aaron to return.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kitty sat up in the bed when Aaron returned to the room. As promised, he had a glass of sherry in his hand. He shut the door then walked over to her.
“You’ll be happy to know your brother is gone.” He held out the glass. “I doubt he’ll give you any more trouble. They’re already laughing at him in the ballroom.”
She accepted the glass and took a sip of the sweet wine. At once, it started to calm her nerves.
“Are you going to be all right?” he asked.
“I’ll be fine,” she replied. “I just need some time alone.”
“In that case, I’ll leave you in peace. Will you feel up to a visit tomorrow afternoon?”
“I didn’t mean that I wanted you to leave. When I said I needed to be alone, I meant that I needed to be away from everyone downstairs. All of that activity would be too much for me to handle right now.” She took another sip of the sherry. “I’d like for you to stay. I find it comforting.”
“Oh.” He glanced around the room and, upon finding a chair at her vanity, he brought it in front of her and sat down.
Her eyes widened. “Why are you sitting there instead of next to me?” she asked.
He hesitated but replied, “It’s best that I sit here.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m a gentleman, and there are certain thoughts a gentleman has when he’s alone in a bedchamber with a lady.”
His gaze went away from her as he spoke, letting her know the topic was an uncomfortable one for him. She didn’t know why it should be. She took another drink of her sherry then asked, “Is he thinking she should go to sleep?”
She couldn’t