“Thank you, too,” she responded softly.
It was a small victory, but a meaningful one.
They turned back towards the house, walking slowly. As they neared the weeping willow where they had begun, Theodora glanced at the girl again.
Perhaps a walk and a bit of sunshine could not cure melancholy entirely, but it could help. If no one could help Theo, if her own numbness, her own fears, and her own unspoken worries remained locked inside, then at least she could help Rosalind find her way through her own shadows without the use of science, diagnosing, or experimenting.
Theodora and Rosalind exchanged a look, each understanding the other without words. “Shall we head back, before your brother sends a search team?”
CHAPTER 13
Rosalind had gone to her chambers to rest; the walk having left her pleasantly tired. Theodora should have taken her leave then and returned home. But what awaited her there was even worse. She felt like a stranger in her own home, harboring secrets from her beloved mother for her wretched father.
Damn him.
Theo walked towards the front door, planning her escape when her eye caught the view of a grand library. She stopped short at the entrance and her breath caught. The shelves reached the ceiling and there must have been hundreds of books.
“Magnificent,” she whispered under her breath.
I should leave.
Instead, she found herself drifting inside. Her steps were slow and cautious. She peered at each book on the shelves, struggling to stop her thoughts from traveling to Alexander.
Missing someone is a chemical reaction.Stage Five of her list.
But Theo was not here because of the experiment. She was here because Rosalind and Alexander were in pain, and she wanted to help them.
That is all.
She decided to find Alexander, aide him, and leave.
Theo put the book she’d been holding back into its place and turned to find Alexander when she suddenly realized that she was not alone. The man himself sat in an armchair on the far side of the library, smiling mockingly in her direction.
“You may take that book if you want,” he said slowly.
Theo gulped. “Why are you only wearing a shirt?”
Alexander let out a low laugh. “I am allowed to wear what I please in the comfort of my house. Anyway, I did not expect a farewell from you.”
Theodora looked around flustered.
Why is he always underdressed?
She decided to shift the conversation. “How long have you been sitting there? And why did you not say anything?”
He laughed lightly. “You were intriguing to watch so I decided to silently enjoy the show.”
Theodora felt a pull in the pit of her stomach; she was beginning to notice a pattern in her body whenever she was around him.
I will be sure to write about this.
She looked at Alexander then, trying to decipher why she felt the way she did around him. Perhaps it was his expertise when it came to seducing women but surely, she had some self-control…
Her breath caught when a ray of sunlight suddenly cut across his shoulders, illuminating the dark fall of his hair and the frame of his body. He was still looking at her darkly. The intensity of his gaze struck her like a physical force.
“Theodora,” he said softly.
“Yes,” she responded shakily.
