The winters in Northgate were cold and dry. As Joyce Monroe drifted off to sleep, she vaguely recalled the reluctant look on her younger sister's face as she left the Thorne Estate with Mr. Thorne. 'If it were me,' she thought, 'I wouldn't want to be alone with him either.'
"Mr. Thorne said he wasn't coming home for dinner tonight. Why did he go back?" she muttered.
"I'm not sure."
Given Jonathan Thorne's status, no one dared to ask about his schedule.
"He... wouldn't bully Zoe, would he?"
Silas Thorne laughed out loud. He found his wife adorable. 'Bully someone?' Not only was his brother over thirty and long past the age for pranks, but even if you made him twenty years younger, he wasn't the type to tease young women.
"If you're that worried, just give your sister a call now."
"It's too late. I'll talk to her tomorrow."
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