Broken (The Captive #5.5)(24)

There was too much going on between him and Genny for her sister to drive a wedge between them. Camille didn't have to like him, but they were going to come to some kind of acceptance between them. "You're lying," he said bluntly.

"Milord…"

"My name is Atticus." Her jaw clenched, her eyes returned to her sister. "If you continue to insist upon calling me milord then I will treat you as one lesser than I. I don't want to have to do that."

A muscle began to twitch in her cheek as she glared at him. "Permission to speak freely then Atticus?" she hissed from between clenched teeth.

"Of course." He folded his arms over his chest and stared relentlessly at the young woman.

"I don't understand what you are doing with my sister, what is it that you are trying to prove?"

"I'm not trying to prove anything," he told her.

"I don't believe you, is this some kind of twisted game that you aristocrats play with us village girls? Make them care for you and then leave them behind so that you can laugh at them afterward? I love Genny, she's everything to me, she's all I have in this world and I'd like for you to leave her alone." Camille's hands fisted as she took a step closer to him. "Even with everything we've been through, she's still trusting of others and I won't let you hurt her any more than she already has been. She deserves better and if you have any heart you'll walk away and leave her be before whatever this is goes any further and you destroy her. Genny's a lot kinder than I am, and if I were mature, things would be different, but I'm not yet. If getting you to go away is the one way that I can help protect her then I am going to do just that."

Atticus's arms fell down to his sides as red flickered hotly in her eyes for a second. Her words had been the absolute last ones he'd expected to hear from her. He'd anticipated some childish response from her. Maybe a fit because Genny was getting more attention than she was today, something he was certain didn't happen very often. Instead, he found himself staring at a young woman that was willing to do anything to protect her older sister. Even stand up to an aristocrat that under normal circumstances could have ordered her death or imprisonment for such insolence.

"You said I could speak freely milord," she reminded him as she seemed to realize that same exact thing and she stepped away from him again.

"Atticus." Her mouth pursed at his word but she showed no other reaction. "I told you to call me Atticus and I meant it." She continued to stare at him but her shoulders relaxed a little. "I can assure you that what is between your sister and I is not part of some aristocratic game that we play with village women. It is not a rite of passage; it is not something we laugh about with each other."

"Then why…"

"For every reason you just said," he interrupted briskly. "Because she gives money to Matilda, because she just bought a loaf of bread that she will never eat. For reasons I can't even begin to explain to you because I don't understand them myself. I don't know what this is between Genny and I but I've never met anyone like your sister and I will not hurt her."

"Even if I did believe you, no matter what happens, no matter how all this goes, you will end up hurting her. You're an aristocrat, this thing between you, it can't go anywhere."

Atticus glanced back at where Genny still stood by one of the stalls. She was pretending to look at the ribbons again but he saw her glancing at them out of the corner of her eye. "I know what I am; I'm reminded of it every day. Even with that, I am going to promise you that I will do everything in my power to ensure that your sister is taken care of to the best of my ability."

She stared at him uncertainly as she folded her arms over her chest. "How can you possibly do that?"

"I don't know but I'll figure it out, somehow."

A snort of laughter escaped her. "I hope you understand if I'm still distrustful of you."

"I do, but can we agree to be personable with each other? Genny loves you, and us being at odds with each other is upsetting her."

She pursed her lips. "I know I can't do much, but if you break her heart I will do everything in my power to make sure that you pay for it."

Her statement should have been laughable to him, instead he found himself admiring her. "I expect nothing less."

The fire was back in her eyes when she stepped closer to him. "She's been through a lot, more than I have, more than you have, but she's not like us, she still finds joy in the simplest things in this world. Don't ruin that for her."

"For that reason too," he murmured as he recalled Genny sitting upon the log in her chemise two weeks ago, smiling as she watched the fish in the water. He started to ask Camille what Genny had been through, she was still rather private about the details of her life, but he knew that Camille wouldn't give him any answers either. "I won't."

Camille turned away from him. He looked toward where he had last seen Genny but she was gone. He instantly forgot about his confrontation with Camille as he searched the crowd for her. "Where is she?" he demanded. He made his way hastily through the people gathered around the stalls and carts full of merchandise.

"She was right there," Camille said from behind him.

Atticus stopped in front of the ribbon cart; he turned his head back and forth as he scented the air. Picking up on her scent, he made a sharp right and moved rapidly past the sellers lining the road. A large crowd of people had gathered in a circle around something that he couldn't see. He pushed through the group, ignoring their muffled protests as he followed her scent to the front of the crowd.