Chapter 75

Cedric stretched stiffly in his chair by Audrey's bedside and rubbed the tight muscles in his neck with a weary hand. His sister was curled up in her bed fast asleep. Her delicate features and troubled expression made her appear like a fairy queen whose woes had followed her deep into the sacred realm of dreams.

Holding her had brought back horrific memories of years long past. He couldn't protect her from this, couldn't save her from all the hurts in the world. In many ways, he'd been both father and mother to her and Horatia after losing their parents, and perhaps the greatest cost had been that there was no one to hold him as he silently grieved.

The memories of last evening struck him all over again and Cedric shut his eyes. He'd been fond of Muff. The cat had been one of the last connections he and his sisters had of their parents before the accident.

The accident. How many years would pass before the sting of his parents' deaths would subside? A man could only endure so much b