The more she thought of it, too, the more she realized how much of a fool she had been. She cast her mind back to the last time she had spoken to Alaric, when they had shared that kiss before he’d fled the room. It was a brief kiss, but it had told her exactly what she’d known for some time: that he cared for her, as she did him.
She refused to believe now that Alaric would send her away under such harsh circumstances. Yes, there was clearly a darkness to him that he was fighting against. And yes, he was desperate to keep his distance from her. But this was beyond anything she might think him capable of, and she wondered now if she should have refused Lord Wolfe and insisted on waiting for Alaric to return.
Even if he had still sent me away, to have spoken to him, to have made him see me before he turned his back… it might have made all the difference.
With nothing to do and nobody to speak with, Clara curled herself up on the thin couch before the fire, holding her knees to her chest, considering the situation at hand, while thinking back to Alaric…
Was what Lord Wolfe had told her true? Could Alaric really have killed his wife? She could not believe it. There had to be more to that story. Just as there had to be more to all of this! How could Alaric do this to her? How could he be so cruel?
She did not want to believe it… and indeed, she tried to fight back that nagging voice that threatened to break her, but as the night wore on and as the flames in the hearth softened, she began to wonder if she had been wrong all this time. The simplest explanation, so often the right one.
That Alaric had never cared for her.
That he was glad to see her go.
That she would never speak to or see him again, left alone to always wonder what might have been…
It was as these thoughts took her that Clara finally allowed herself to weep. It did not make her feel better. If anything, it made her feel worse. Yet at this point, what else was there for her to do but cry for the love she had nearly had, the love she had lost, and the love she would never feel again?
As promised, Lord Wolfe arrived the following day.
Clara had fallen asleep on the single couch, only coming to when she heard the sound of his horse approaching in the distance. Her body ached, and her stomach growled with hunger, but she jumped to her feet and rushed from the cabin just as he was pulling up by its door.
“Ah, you’re awake,” Lord Wolfe said when he saw her. “Excellent.”
“Lord Wolfe!” Clara stormed toward the horse, her anger taking over in ways it so rarely did. “What is the meaning of this!”
He frowned from atop the horse. “Whatever do you mean, Your Grace?”
“You promised –”
“To remove you from Ravencourt Castle,” he spoke over her. “Which, as you will agree, I have done. Just as you are sure to remember that I made no promises concerninghowI meant to do so.” His smile was wicked and cruel. “Frankly, you should be glad you found me in a good mood yesterday. Things could have been a lot worse.”
Her stomach dropped as the realization set in.I was right! About all of this! How could I have been so foolish!
“When His Grace hears of this –”
“I will stop you there,” he spoke over her and then dismounted clumsily, his portliness making a production out of the simple movement. “I did not lie to you concerning Alaric’s desires to see you free from his home. That, I assure you, was his intent.”
“I do not believe you.”
He shrugged. “Believe me or don’t, it makes no difference.” He turned his back on her and unstrapped a bag from the horse’s mount. “But I would ask that you keep things civil, Your Grace…” He indicated the bag. “That is, if I leave here, you wish me to leave you some food. Unless you are a skilled hunter? Somehow, I doubt it.”
Her lip curled at him. “What is going on! I demand to be told.”
His smile was as cruel as it was amused. “I am sure you do…” Next, he stepped around her and walked toward the cabin.
“Lord Wolfe!” she chased after him. “What is the meaning of this!”
She found him in the cabin, looking about. “Yes, this will suit for now.”
“For now?” She swallowed her hope. “So, this is not… I am not supposed to stay here?”
“Heavens no,” Lord Wolfe gasped. “This is merely a means to an end. An out-of-the-way location that no curious explorers or nosy game wardens will happen upon. At least until I figure out what to do with you.”
“You mean to send me somewhere else?” She stepped backward a pace, not at all liking the way he was behaving. “A home to live in? As you said?”
Lord Wolfe sighed and dropped the bag on the ground with a thunk. “I am going to be honest with you, Your Grace, for it is just my way…” He shook his head as if saddened, “It seems that you have presented me with a problem of sorts. One I had hoped to avoid but see now I must deal with.”
