Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

Emily's POV

Immediately Ethan dashed out of the foyer, I followed closely behind him, ignoring the maid on the ground. I could hear Madame Doherty and the other maids gather around her, whispering words of comfort and solidarity to her. A small, humane part of me pulled me back towards the foyer, but I had more pressing questions.

I needed to ask Ethan a lot of things. I needed to know.

Ethan's back was stiff and rigid; I could see the tension in them even from this distance. He appeared to not notice that I was at his back, but when he got to the foot of the stairs, he stiffened, then halted.

I stopped too, a few feet from where he stood. We stood in silence like that for a few seconds, before he spoke up. "You didn't have to stand up for her."

"I have every right to." I snapped back immediately. Slowly he turned to face me. From this angle, his face looked drawn and tired. It was as though the incident that just happened had forced the last ounce of physical s