“A holiday…” She spoke the word awkwardly. “What’s that?”
“It’s when someone leaves their home and goes somewhere far away for a short time. To… to have fun and play.”
“I like to play!”
“I know you do,” Thalia laughed and squeezed her daughter in a tight hug. “Which is why we will leave at once. Tomorrow, I think. How does that sound?”
“Is His Grace coming?” she asked with obvious excitement.
“I am afraid not…” Thalia’s chest tightened. “He likes his private time, as you know. But I have already told him, and he thinks it is a good idea.”
Olivia beamed. “Aunty Isadora! Oh! Maybe she can help me kill the dragon?”
“I am sure that she can.”
Thalia felt no joy at lying to her daughter. In fact, when she called Olivia over, her intent had been to tell her the truth. But to see how darn happy Olivia was, and knowing how much she loved it here, she simply could not bring herself to do it.
That left her just the one option. Not a good one, but the only one she had.
She and Olivia would go to her aunt’s home in London, they would stay there, and in time Olivia would hopefully forget about the duke and her home…and hopefully, I will too.
“Go on then.” Thalia lifted Olivia from her lap and placed her back on her feet. “You have a dragon to slay.”
“And I will!” Olivia held up a curled fist as if she was clutching a sword then she turned and sprinted back across the garden, swinging that imaginary sword as she pretended to chase the dragon.
It would not be easy on her. And she was far too young to understand why Thalia had to do this. All Thalia could do was hope that in time, her daughter would come to forgive her. Which was more than she could say about the duke.
When the evening fell, and after Olivia was put to bed, Thalia wrote a letter for Ronan to read. She was not going to tell him in advance what she planned, figuring it would be easier for him to find out after the fact.
As she wrote that letter, she allowed the tears to well in her eyes and drip on the page, smudging the ink and staining the parchment. She wrote from the heart, using that letter to say everything that she could never bring herself to speak out loud. And the more she wrote, the more she came to accept the painful truth.
She had indeed fallen in love with her husband, and it was a love that would never be returned.
This whole thing had started as a marriage of convenience, and had since transformed into one of suffering and heartache. Things were sure to get worse. Thalia did not look forward to what that would bring. But hopefully, in time, she would heal and move on from her woes, and perhaps look back on these last few weeks with a smile one day, for they were some of the better weeks of her life.
And, as for the duke, she hoped that he would one day overcome whatever he was suffering through, and maybe even finding a happy ending of his own. No one deserved it more, and all Thalia wanted was what was best for him.
So great was her love for the duke… today, tomorrow, and sadly, forever…
Twenty-Six
My dearest Ronan,
It brings me no pleasure to write this letter, nor does it bring me any pleasure for you to read it. But I feel that it is for the best, a means to hopefully set right the wrongs I have committed, even if I know that nothing I do or say will ever repair the hurt I caused.
The first thing I wish to say is this. I am sorry. I am sorry for lying to you. I am sorry for using you. I am sorry for the hypocrisy of my actions, and although nothing I can say will change what I did, I want you to know how utterly sorry I am. You did nothing wrong, I am the one who is to blame, and know that the actions I take now are the result of my own failings.
For that reason, I have decided that it will be best if Olivia and I leave your estate and your care at once. I will not tell you where we have gone, nor will I burden you with worrying after ourwelfare. You did for us all that we wanted and more, and rest easy knowing that you never have to think about us again.
I also wish to thank you. You brought us into your life when we needed it the most. You looked after Olivia, even when you did not need to. And you reminded me that there is good in this world; you were our protector for a short time, and we owe you everything.
You are not what people say. You are kind and gentle and caring. You are that which makes this world great, and I pray that in time you come to see that. You deserve all the happiness, and I know that one day you will allow yourself to have it.
Thank you for saving me, Thalia.
Ronan allowed the letter to slip through his fingers so that it drifted slowly to land at his feet. There, he dared to glance at it a final time, noting the smudges on the ink and the stains on the paper… tears left for him to see.
He had found the letter later than he should have done, a fact which brought him untold amounts of shame. It was late in the evening, and despite his efforts to avoid Thalia, he could not help but notice how silent the castle was.
