back.
“What did you do to Gideon?”
Silas glanced toward the doorway, where Gideon stood beside Merrick.
“Nothing that concerns you.”
Rosalie took the notebook from her pocket.
She wrote quickly and showed Gideon.
He won’t answer.
Gideon’s gaze settled on Silas.
Silas laughed nervously.
“This is absurd.
He cannot even understand us.”
Rosalie faced her father.
“He understands more than you think.”
“Then tell your husband to leave my house.”
“My husband?”
Rosalie’s voice sharpened.
“You told me he paid fifty dollars for me.”
Silas glanced at Merrick.
Merrick looked away.
Rosalie followed that glance.
The truth appeared piece by piece.
“Merrick owed him fifty dollars.”
Silas said nothing.
“You didn’t receive a cent.”
Still silence.
Rosalie stepped closer.
“So why did you send me to Gideon?”
Silas reached for his whiskey.
His hand trembled.
Rosalie saw it.
For the first time in her life, Silas Ashford was afraid
