“Thank you,” I said, feeling awkward that I didn’t know the boy’s name. He was familiar, but I couldn’t place him. I’d never been terribly good with names.
“It’s Ludovico, my lord.” He said, reading my dismay. “Don’t fret. It’s a large staff, so I’ll forgive you this time.” He winked and I felt my pride swell at the attention. Henri caught the look and shook his head at me.
I grinned in reply.
Montoni, my aunt, and Father Schedoni were going to ride in the first carriage in our train, while the servants would ride in the last one. That left the middle carriage to Henri, me, and Blanche, exactly how I liked it.
“It’s rather exciting,” Blanche said, smiling as she piled into the carriage after us and looked out the window longingly at Château le Blanc. “I love to travel. It’s just too bad this will end in that terrible place.”
“Is Udolpho really so bad?” I asked, skeptical.
“Whatever you imagine, it’s worse,” Henri joked. Or rather, I thought it was a joke.
“Best lower your expectations,” Blanche examined her nails. “We won’t be attending balls or parties.”
I leaned back in my seat, the cushion stiff and uncomfortable. I shifted until I was satisfied. “So, it’s basically no fun at all.”
“Not an ounce to be had.”
“Well, I plan to have fun.” Henri’s hand found my thigh. “Quite a bit of it, actually.”
I swatted his hand away. “Scoundrel.” As the carriage drove away, I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Henri beamed at me.
“It’s not going to be like this the entire journey, is it?” Blanche looked down her nose at us. “If it is, I think I’ll take my chances with Father Schedoni and the newlyweds.”
“No, you won’t,” Henri said dismissively.
She smiled in agreement. “No, I won’t.”
We all peered back out through the window as we drove away from the château. We watched it grow smaller and smaller, until a bend in the road hid it from sight.
Henri sighed. “And then it was gone.”
Blanche patted his knee. “We made a lot of good memories in that house.”
“And we’ll make plenty more, even in a gloomy old castle like Udolpho.”
“Together always,” Blanche said.
“Together always, sister.”
As we skirted town, I noted each building we passed, as if I would never see them again, which could very well be the case. I wondered what Bram was doing at that moment, if he was perhaps watching for the parade of carriages, whisking me away to parts unknown.
“He got it,” Henri told me.
I smiled wistfully at him. “You gave it to him yourself?”
“I did. I would have stayed to observe his disappointment, but I was in a hurry.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Truly? I thought you fed off the suffering of others.”
He placed a hand over his heart. “You wound me, sir.”
“By speaking the truth?” Blanche asked innocently.
Henri pursed his lips. “Is this how it’s going to be then? The two of you ganging up on me? Maybe I should fling myself from the carriage now and be done with it.”
