I could not breathe until the Hytons disappeared.
As the golden carriage pulled away, ribbons of sunlight broke through the clouds over Ravenwood Manor.
I basked in the sunlight as the memory of Derrick’s sweet words from mere minutes ago filled my mind. “Seven years is a long time, Serafina, but I am counting down the days until I see you again.”
Warmth filled my chest like a flickering hearth and I smiled. The heir to the Dukedom of Lycaster was mine.
Before Derrick and his father had visited the manor, I was trapped in a cage of circumstance. My older brothers were dead and Ravenwood province was doomed to desolation and poverty.
But Derrick was my key out of the cage. If he married me, I would be the next Duchess of Lycaster. If I had that power, I could save the province. All I had to do was make him love me.
If he loved me, he would free me.
I ran back into the manor to tell my parents the good news. I was a mere fourteen years old, but I was going to save the House of Ravenwood.
My footsteps echoed through the dark halls as I rushed to Father’s study. I pushed open the cracked door to find Father at his desk with his head buried in his folded arms. A thick black ledger was open in front of him.
Just as I was about to cheer up Father with the promising future I had crafted, the weight of the darkened study crashed on my shoulders. The smell of fresh ink filled the air. A piece of parchment laid on top of the ledger, stamped with the Hyton seal.
A deal with the Duke of Lycaster, but for what?
My first step into the study creaked a floorboard and Father’s head slowly rose.
I swallowed. “Father, I can help the family. I already have a plan to—”
“Never you mind about that.” His glassy eyes fell to the shining blue wax of the Hyton seal. “Let the…men handle things.”
I knitted my brows. “But I am the last Ravenwood and I can—”
“Go find your mother, Little Ember.” He still refused to look at me. “She is out in the garden.”
I bit my tongue. Fine. Father was the Baron of Ravenwood, a man of business. What would he know of the importance of marriage?
My footsteps were quieter as I walked through the manor to find my mother. She would be proud of me, at least. She had wanted me to charm Derrick and I did. I had eased his nerves, gained his confidence, and even stole a little of his affection.
I pictured our last night together—in the garden enjoying treats I had snuck from the kitchen. Starlight crested Derrick’scheeks as he laughed. His eyes were both as dark and as beautiful as the blue evening sky.
I traced the back of my hand with my thumb—where the memory of Derrick’s kiss lingered like a promise—and the little spot of heat in my chest warmed.
I pushed on the door into the garden and caught a glimpse of Mother’s dark hair through the shrubs. Pebbles crunched beneath my feet as I ran after her.
She turned as I caught up with her. With her toes in the dirt and her foraging basket tucked in the crook of her elbow, she was only my mother and not the Baroness of Ravenwood. She had abandoned the beautiful mask she had worn with Duke Hyton over the last fortnight and a hard look burned in her eyes.
I straightened my back. “I charmed him, just like you wanted.”
She did not even smile. “Did you?”
What was wrong with her? Maybe she just needed to hear what I had done. “Derrick kissed my hand and said he was going to—”
“Lord Hyton,” Mother said firmly. “You refer to him as Lord Hyton.”
My voice hardened. “He asked me to call him by his given name.”
Mother’s mouth formed a fine line. A breeze rustled the leaves of the tall shrubs around us.
“You want control now that your brothers are gone, I understand,” she said with a low voice, “but you cannot get your hopes up—”
“I am not getting my hopes up!” I snapped. “I know better than to do that after you told me that Erik and Endre would come back from the mountain—”
