“Yes. Please, Jacob. You told me that you consider me to be your friend. As a friend, I ask for this favor from you. You must convince the Duke that the reason I have left is because I had a change of heart and no longer want to be wedded to him. Can you do that for me?”
“You wish for me to lie on your behalf to my own brother?”
“I know it is difficult, but consider this to be the last thing I ask of you,” she pleaded, tears forming in her eyes. “This is difficult for me too, much more so than you can imagine.”
“Sophia…”
“Please, Jacob. You must do this for me. I cannot rest until I know that the curse has been broken. The only way for that to happen is for him to stay away from me. He will come looking for me if he knows the reason why I left which is why he must be convinced that I left because I do not love him anymore.”
“You are asking too much of me,” Jacob replied. “I have never lied to my brother.”
“Then you must do it for the first time if you value him.”
Jacob was quiet for a long moment, and an awkward silence hung in the air between them.
“I shall do what I can.”
“You have to promise me…”
“My mind is everywhere all at once right now,” Jacob sighed. “It is in no state to make promises of this sort to you. But I shall do what I can.”
“Then at least promise me this that you will write to me telling me how the Duke is doing once I am away.”
“That I can do for you.”
“Thank you,” Sophia replied. “I must get going now. Please, take care of him for me.”
“Are you not going to say goodbye to the Duke?”
Sophia shook her head, “It will be too hard for me to do. I am worried that it will even make things worse, both for him and for me.”
“As you wish.” Jacob let out a defeated sigh. “I do not want you to leave this way, but I cannot change your mind now. Safe travels, Duchess.”
When Sophia arrived at Kerling Estate, it was already midnight. As they reached the door, one of the maids opened it for them. The noise of their arrival alerted her aunt, who rushed over with her with hair still in a bonnet and a groggy expression on her face.
“Sophia, is that you?” she asked, squinting her eyes in the dimly lit hallway in which her niece stood.
“It is me, Aunt Rose.” Sophia moved to hug her aunt, burying her face inher neck.
All this time, Sophia had been holding back her tears, but now that she was in the company of her aunt, she could finally let her emotions flow freely. She began to cry softly.
“My child, you are really worrying me. What has happened for you to arrive at a late hour like this? Did you have a disagreement with the Duke?”
Sophia shook her head.
“I had to leave Blackmoore Estate in a haste. It was an emergency situation,” Sophia choked through her tears.
“Sit down.” Aunt Rose took her by the hand and made her sit on a chair that was nearby. “I have never seen you so distraught before. What could the emergency situation be?”
“My curse has returned,” Sophia replied. “The Duke fell ill for no reason.”
“And how are you so sure that it was your curse that was the cause for his undoing?” Her aunt’s voice was full of skepticism.
“Because my gut tells me so,” Sophia replied, tired of explaining herself. “He and I had been growing closer over the last few days, and suddenly, he collapsed on the floor.”
“That is indeed quite worrying. Did you summon a physician? What did he have to say?”
“The physician did not know the cause, but I know that my curse was the reason,” Sophia repeated, feeling pitiful.
