There was silence. Absolute silence.
Anthony did not move. The change in his expression was so immediate that Penelope noticed it before she could pretend otherwise.
His eyes remained fixed upon her. "Ravensmere?"
Penelope's stomach dropped. She said it. She had actually said it.
For one foolish second, she considered pretending she had meant something else. But Anthony was looking at her as though the word had altered the entire conversation.
"How do you know about Ravensmere?" He asked again.
Penelope's face hardened, claiming indifference. "It is hardly a secret that the estate is valuable."
"That is not what I asked."
She ignored him, looking toward the window.
Anthony did not take his eyes off her. "Who told you?"
Penelope fought the urge to spill everything. The memory rushed to her at once, every single detail from that evening, and at that moment, she wished she'd not been there to hear it at all.
"No one," she answered.
"Then how do you know?"
"I hear things."
