Chapter 45 After the storm had passed
CHAPTER 45: After the storm had passed
Chauncey
Pulling into the driveway, I killed the engine and the car stopped with a jagged shudder that left the confines of its interior enveloped in a silence so thick you could physically touch it.
I gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles white, staring at the imposing, looming figure of my brother's home. I was supposed to be at the studio tidying loose ends for my upcoming exhibition, but Lily’s arrival last night had caused a change in my schedule.
The drive from my place to Silas’s had been an exercise in strained endurance.
Beside me, the teenage girl was a picture of restless energy, her fingers drumming a frantic, silent rhythm against her handbag.
“We're here,” she said.
I hummed. “Mhmm…”
Honestly I was still thrown off by her behaviour in my bedroom last night when she tried to sleep in my bed.
I may have done some shitty things every once in a while, but I was not that low of a scum to misbehave with a sister in-law that was practically still a minor. That said, I was firm last night, sending her back to her room.
However, I was neither dumb, nor clueless what she was trying to do, especially after last night.
“The staff is back,” she commented, her voice thin and brittle as she glanced out the window at the domestic staff that were already moving about their daily tasks, and also the various service vehicles parked near the side entrance.
“So it seems,” I replied, my tone clipped but civil. I didn't look at her. I couldn't.
I pulled my sunglasses down from my hair, shielding my eyes from the sun.
I was about to open the car door, when Lily stopped me with a hand on my arm.
“Hold on...”
“Is there a problem?” I asked, looking at her grip on my arm.
She cleared her throat, awkwardly. “I'm sorry if—if I made you uncomfortable…last night.”
I didn’t reply.
“I just…I didn’t—”
“It's okay,” I replied, gently taking her hand off my arm. “Just…no more no more surprises in the future.”
She laughed, short…nervous. “Ofcourse not. Can you not tell my sister about it? I don't want her—”
“It's cool. Come on. Let's go.”
She nodded.
I stepped out of the car and waited for her, maintaining a distance of curt politeness as we walked up the stone steps and into the house.
The foyer was unnervingly quiet, though some of the staff moved around cleaning and tidying.
I caught sight of a maid hurrying toward the kitchen and intercepted her.
“Where is my brother?” I asked, keeping my voice level. “And his wife?”
The girl looked skittish, her eyes darting toward the grand staircase.
“Good morning, sir. I haven't seen them yet this morning, Mr. Chauncey. It seems the boss and madam haven't come down at all this morning... well, since last night.”
What was going on?
“Are they up?”
“I have no idea, sir. But I'll find out right away.”
“Thank you.”
The maid nodded and disappeared up the stairs.
Lily bit her lip, her expression shifting into one of concern.
“Do you think something happened?” She turned to me.
“Let's not assume the worst.”
She nodded. “Excuse me for a while. I’m just going to drop my luggage in my room,” she murmured. “Then I’ll go see my sister.”
I watched her go, then I headed upstairs.
My boots sounded like gunshots against the marble. I couldn’t wait for the maid to return.
Despite the anxiety nagging at the corners of my gut, when I reached the master suite, I didn't barge in. My brother was no longer a bachelor.
I knocked, waiting for the low, gravelly permission to enter.
As soon as I stepped into the room, the scene I met was a punch to the gut.
Vera was as white as a ghost against the white silk of the pillows, her face translucent. An IV drip was tethered to her arm, and I wouldn't be imagining it if I said that she looked like she had been crying.
Silas stood by the window, a dark silhouette against the morning light. He looked like he had been hollowed out from the inside, eyes bloodshot, jaw set in a permanent clench. His clothes were creased and he looked like he hadn't slept the entire night.
“What happened, Silas?” I asked, my voice low. “It feels like a storm passed through here.”
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
He didn't turn around. The words were flat, dead...cold.
“That's not the answer to my question.”
I walked to the edge of the bed, looking down at Vera. She looked fragile enough to shatter.
“Why does she look wrung, and hooked up to an IV bag?”
“It's nothing.”
Vera lowered her eyes.
I was confused with the guilt I thought I perceived from her.
I scoffed. “You've got to be kidding me. Nothing? Silas, she’s on an IV. If it was truly nothing like you said, then she wouldn't be looking this horrible.”
“No. It's really nothing,” Vera said. “Your brother is telling the truth.”
My voice softened. “I don't think so. I think the both of you are hiding something.” I stepped closer to the bed. “You’re pregnant, Vera. If you're this ill, then you need to be in a hospital. We should call an ambulance right now.”
“She’s not going to a hospital,” Silas snapped, finally turning to face me.
The intensity in his gaze made me take a half-step back.
“Chauncey, please,” Vera’s voice was small, as weak and broken as she looked. She looked at me, her eyes swimming with a mix of exhaustion and something that looked confusingly like guilt and shame. “Nothing is wrong. Truly. I was just... incredibly tired. The stress got to me. I fainted. Silas is just being cautious.”
I looked from her to my brother, my suspicion growing.
My gaze landed on the half drunk bottle of whisky on the table, my suspicion spiked more at this point.
“I learned you asked your staff to vacate the premises last night, brother,” I said. “It's a bit too much… dismissing the staff because your wife needs a nap. What are you not telling me?”
He moved away from the window, his hands shoved into his pockets.
“It was a private matter, Chauncey,” he said, stepping toward me, all the while not sparing a glance in the direction of the bed. “A matter between a couple which required privacy. It’s handled.”
I was about to call out his bullshit when the door pushed open, and Lily swept in.