Chapter 6

He’d never once agreed to be her boyfriend, but Anastasia hadn’t even realized he was stringing her along. Instead, she’d actually believed that the jerk had some kind of tragic reason for keeping his distance.
When Penelope heard her response, she was utterly dumbfounded.
Wait-wasn’t Anastasia supposed to be madly in love with Aaron? What on earth was going on?
She was about to keep pushing, but Anastasia shot her a suspicious look. “Penelope, weren’t you just saying that my happiness is all that matters? Well, what I want right now is to marry Mr. Harrison Lancaster. So why are you trying to talk me into running away with someone else?”
Penelope faltered. “I just thought you liked Mr. Aaron Lancaster
“Who said I liked him? What does he have that Mr. Harrison Lancaster doesn’t?” Anastasia scoffed, clearly annoyed. “He’s the one who’s been chasing after me-l just didn’t have the heart to turn him down.”
Penelope stared at her. “So you’re saying Mr. Aaron Lancaster isn’t good enough for you?”
Anastasia let out a cold, dismissive laugh.
The name Mr. Lancaster sounded impressive. He was part of the well-known Lancaster family, and people said he called Harrison “Uncle Harrison”-everyone was eager to curry favor with him. But in reality, Aaron’s father was nothing more than an illegitimate son the Lancasters refused to acknowledge.
With such a questionable background, he’d only be considered a catch in a place like Fairhaven, far from the scrutiny of Riverton’s high society.
“Good enough for me?” she shot back. “Even if the Sterlings have been in decline since my mother passed away, I’m hardly desperate enough to marry the son of a man who wasn’t even accepted by his own family.”
Penelope fell silent, unable to think of a retort.
As she left Rosewood Manor, Penelope was still reeling. When had Anastasia- the naive fool-become so hard to handle?
With Penelope out of the way, Anastasia knew she still had to deal with Harrison. She worried he might believe whatever Penelope had said and start to distrust her.
She was just about to explain herself when Mary’s sharp voice cut in. “Ma’am, did you go into Mr. Lancaster’s room?”
Anastasia froze.
Harrison had let the whole bathrobe incident slide, but sneaking into his bedroom without permission was a much bigger offense.
She blinked, putting on her most innocent expression. “I just went in to take a shower
“And you couldn’t shower anywhere else? Why did it have to be Mr. Lancaster’s room?” Mary’s voice was clipped, her brow furrowed in disapproval.
Anastasia shot her a glance. “My room didn’t have hot water. Something must’ve been wrong with the plumbing.”
“Mary?” Harrison’s voice was calm but carried an unmistakable authority. He lifted his gaze, clearly expecting an explanation as to why the room Mary herself had arranged for Anastasia didn’t even have hot water.
Mary’s face tightened. Other women before Anastasia had dealt with these petty inconveniences, but Harrison had never cared enough to intervene. She hadn’t expected him to speak up for this particular Ms. Sterling.
“I’ll have someone check it right away. It must have been an oversight on my part,” Mary replied quickly, though she wasn’t about to let Anastasia off so easily. “But even if there was no hot water in that room, there are plenty of other guest rooms. Why did you have to use Mr. Lancaster’s?”
“Someone took me there,” Anastasia answered, her gaze flicking to one of the maids. Thɪs chapter is updated by.net
She had only just returned to this life and hadn’t caught on right away, but surely May-who’d served at Rosewood Manor for years—would know all about Harrison’s rules. And then, when she’d asked for clothes, nothing had been brought; she’d been forced to rummage through Harrison’s closet herself. The whole thing felt orchestrated.
May’s face turned ashen; tears welled in her eyes and she dropped to her knees. “Mr. Lancaster, I swear I didn’t! I meant to show her to the guest room next door- I don’t know how she ended up in yours!”
Mary jumped in to defend the maid. “Mr. Lancaster, May is the most honest girl we have. She would never lie.”
Hearing Mary speak up for May, Anastasia realized there was no way she’d be able to get the girl punished-not with Mary’s backing. Mary’s word carried a lot of weight with Harrison.
So she let it go and turned to the impossibly handsome man before her, her tone soft and a little plaintive. “I’m your wife now-am I really not even allowed in your room?”