39

39

ADRAIN

The moment we returned to the estate, I made it clear who was in charge. The duke and Annalise needed protection—protection from whatever vipers lurked within these walls. I couldn’t trust anyone, not after what I’d seen. So I gave strict instructions. No one was to enter their chambers apart from the physician and a few trusted housekeepers. Anyone else, and they’d have to answer to me.

I turned to the head servant, a seasoned man with a face as lined as old leather. He’d been with the duke’s family for decades, but even that wasn’t enough to earn my trust now. “You understand what’s at stake?” I asked, my voice cold, my eyes locked on his.

He nodded, but I wasn’t satisfied. “I need more than a nod,” I pressed. “I need your word. You let anyone near those rooms who shouldn’t be there, and it’s your head on the line.”

The man swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down like a cork in rough water. “You have my word, sir. No one will get past me.”

Good. I left him sta