“Get out,” Alaric snarled. “Now.”
Sebastian shook his head and then turned and left.
Alone once more, Alaric collapsed back in his seat, snatching at the half-filled glass of whiskey and throwing it back in a single mouthful. He could hear the sound of Sebastian walking through the house, across the foyer, and then out the front door. And when he was gone… silence, once again, he was the only companion.
I did the right thing. The only thing. It hurts now, but Clara will come to thank me. That is the truth, and I much believe that.
Easy words to think, harder words to believe. The pain sat fresh with Alaric, the misery not far behind. Once, he had relished his isolation, thinking it was deserved and the best he could hope for. Now, he loathed it, unable to escape the niggling sense that he had made a grave mistake and would spend the rest of his life regretting it.
Clara will thank me for it… she will be happy… she is the one I did this for…Words repeated, words not believed. Not even for a second.
Twenty
Clara hadn’t realized that she had fallen asleep. How she had managed such a thing with how she was feeling was beyond her.I am just so exhausted, I suppose. Emotionally spent to a point of breaking…
When she came to, she was still in the carriage which had brought her from Ravencourt Castle, but it was slowing down, which she guessed was what had woken her. Curious, she shuffled to the window and peeled back the curtains, unsurprised to find that night had fallen, and unsurprised to realize that she had no idea where she was.
Perhaps I should have asked where I was being taken…
That she hadn’t thought about doing so spoke mostly to how utterly shattered she had been feeling. Lord Wolfe had given her Alaric’s message to leave. That had rocked her beyond words, and the next hour was spent drifting through the castle as she had her things packed into their trunks and then strapped tothe roof of the carriage. There, Lord Wolfe had been waiting, a somber smile on her face.
“Do not fear, Your Grace,” he had assured her as he’d helped her into the carriage. “You will be well taken care of.”
According to their prior arrangement, she was being taken to a home owned by Lord Wolfe, where she would wait until they arranged for more permanent lodgings. If she’d had her wits about her, she might have asked if she could visit Alicia, maybe even stay with her until such things were ready. But again… her wits had left her, she had withdrawn inside herself as she fought against the depression which threatened to consume her. It was all she could do not to burst into tears, although why she bothered was beyond her.
Now, having arrived finally, she peered through the dark, a sense of unease creeping up inside of her.
“Where on earth…
The dull glow of the moon overhead was the only source of light. It gave way to the surrounding forest, grown thick and dense every which way she peered. Among them, through the leering darkness of the trees, she could just make out what looked to be a cabin. But it was a ramshackle structure, surely not fit for a duchess…or for anybody, by the looks of things.
The carriage door opened suddenly, and she jumped to hear it.
“Your Grace, we are here.” The driver was a young man with a thick accent that was from somewhere in the north.
“And where exactly is here?” she asked him.
He hesitated. “We are here,” was the only answer she received.
Biting into her lip, nerves rising, she climbed from the carriage, at which point the driver led her to the cabin. He walked in first, and soon a burst of light grew from within. She stayed back, her heart racing, certain now that something was wrong.
“Is Lord Wolfe on his way?” she asked the driver.
“Tomorrow,” he told her.
“Oh…” She frowned. “Are you certain this is the correct address? It is just…” She looked over his shoulder. “Not what I expected.”
He did not answer, choosing to unpack the carriage and get about carrying her things inside.
The inside of the cabin was as dilapidated as the outside. A single room, the furniture old and falling apart, little decor save for the stuffed animal heads mounted on the walls. And the smell…something has died here recently.There was a burning hearth, however, and she went to it, feeling her body shake as she tried to find warmth.
Soon after, the driver announced that he was finished and would be leaving her.
“Wait…” She went after him. “What of food? Drink? Are you certain that Lord Wolfe –”
“Will be here tomorrow,” he answered without pause. Next, he was on the carriage and whipping the horses into a canter, disappearing into the darkness as if he never was.
Something was wrong.
