"Are you certain?" Eleanor raised an eyebrow, "if not him, then what else could have you so forlorn?"
"Forlorn," Alethea repeated the words with a smile on her face now. Is that what she had been coming across as? Biting down on her lip, she decided that forlorn was not the word to describe her condition in the least. Confused, perhaps. But not anything that could be misconstrued for unhappiness.
"No," she said quickly, forcing a smile she hoped looked reassuring. "Nothing is wrong at all. I promise. You must believe me, for you know that I am a terrible liar."
Eleanor's eyes searched her face for a moment longer, as if weighing whether to believe her. Then finally, she settled back against Alethea's side with a little sigh of relief.
"All right," she murmured, content to accept the answer. "If you are certain, then we shall believe you."
Alethea drew in a careful breath, smoothing a hand over Eleanor's hair.
"I am quite certain, dearest," she said softly. "Now, shall we see if the prince finds his princess?"
At once, the girls nodded, their curiosity shifting back to the story. Alethea lifted the book again, her voice steady as she began to read aloud. It only took perhaps half an hour of reading and then both sisters had succumbed to slumber.
Alethea lingered for a moment, watching the two young girls sleep. She tucked them into bed, the sweetness of the scene pricked at her heart in a way she could not name. She brushed a kiss against each soft cheek, whispering goodnight, and closed the nursery door behind her.
Now once again, she was without any distractions.
For the first time that day, the house seemed truly quiet. She gathered her skirts and made her way toward the corridor that led to her chambers. Already she could feel the fatigue gathering in her bones, promising her a few hours of uneasy sleep.
She hoped that the duke would not appear in her dream again that night, as he often did. She was only halfway to her corridor when there was a noise that caught her attention. Startled, Alethea hurried to the doorway. Oliver stood there, one hand brushing back damp hair. Moonlight slanted through the open doorway and caught on a thin red line on his cheek.
"Oliver!" Alethea said softly, crossing the room in two quick steps. She reached out a hand to touch the scratch, worry prickling in her throat. "Your Grace… are you hurt?"
Oliver took her hand in his, tilting her wrist so she could not continue her inspection.
"It's nothing, really. A scratch from a bramble."
"How did you come by it?" she said, taken aback by how casually he seemed to be treating the matter.
"I told you, it was nothing worth remarking upon," Oliver said as a way of explanation, shrugging his shoulders loosely. He did not let go of the grip on her hand.
"You must think me terribly foolish if you expect me to stand here and pretend I do not see it," she said, pointing to the gash on his face.
"It is nothing you have to worry about," he continued with the same maddening nonchalance.
"It is rather too late for that," she said, lifting her chin. "I am already worrying. So the least you could do is let me have a look."
Oliver exhaled, the line of his shoulders easing as he brought her hand to rest lightly against his chest. "You are…very determined. Do you really care this much whether I am hurt or not?"
"Of course I do," Alethea answered, immediately. "How is that a surprise to you? Anyone would be worried if you appeared on the threshold with a gash across your face."
Oliver's mouth curved into something that was not quite a smile.
"I assure you, it is not so grave as you imagine."
"That is not what I asked," she persisted.
"I have come home in far worse condition more times than I can count," he admitted. "No one has ever thought it worth so much fuss."
Alethea stared at him, appalled. "Then everyone you know must be very accustomed to such things," she said.
"And you, I take it, are not accustomed?"
He was smirking now, which boggled her mind.
"No," she said, lifting her chin again. "I am not. Nor do I wish to be, if it comes at the grave expense of seeing you injured. Have you sent for the physician?"
