"Please stop here." She exclaimed when the familiar road to home appeared in a distance. Her house was still a hundred meters meters away, but she didn't want to be seen descending from a fancy coach by anyone. The carriage drew to a halt, a moment later, the door opened and the servant appeared.
"Be careful, Miss." he said politely as he helped her climb down the coach. The servant looked at the row of cottages a distance away.
"Do you need me to escort you home, Miss?"
She was just about to refuse his offer, when a sudden thought occurred to her.
"That's very kind of you, Freddy, it's your name? Isn't it?"
"Yes, Miss."
Freddy followed behind her as they walked along the path.
"How long have you worked for His Grace, Freddy?" she asked casually.
"This is my fifth year, Miss."
"I see that he treats you well, then."
"Oh, aye, Miss. He is strict to the rules but he is quite fair, and he pays me a handsome salary." Freddy grinned.
"Good for you."
With a quick yet thorough observation,
she concluded that Freddy was childlike and guileless. She asked several questions, keeping her pace slow, before venturing further.
"Is it your usual job, Freddy, to deliver his woman acquaintance home?" she kept her tone neutral.
"No, actually I was quite taken aback, Miss. His Grace has never had a woman acquaintance before." Freddy blurted ingeniously.
"Really?"
"Yes, the servants speculated about it for a long time, but he had never been seen with a woman, except for Lady Selene recently."
She felt an irrational relief.
"I helped him to finish an art project." she explained herself to Freddy.
"Of course, Miss."
They didn't talk again after that until she reached home. She thanked Freddy for his kind help and they exchanged polite farewell. Soon after she entered the house, she locked herself in her bedroom and sank into the bed. She had wasted this day be anxious about nothing. She had suspected him as a scoundrel, she had mistaken his intention to her, and it was all because of the shameless liar, Amanda Chapman. How could she believe her in the first place? Lady Byrne had mentioned dozens of times Amanda was a horrible liar. Now that she thought about it, she realized how blind she was. Now that everything was over, she realized that Amanda's story was a lot of damn nonsense. Why didn't she believe the lady? The lady was her friend and she never lied. Like the lady said, he was an incredible moral man.
But it didn't matter now, because she would never see him again. And for some irrational reason, she felt gloomy about that.
*****
"It seems to be over right now, but actually it has just begun."
A familiar voice came from behind her as she was picking tomatoes absentmindedly in the market. She turned to find Madam Nora standing there, staring at her.
"Good morning, Madam... Nice to see you again." She managed to say. She didn't expect to meet the fortune teller here. The Gypsy woman didn't return her greeting, she watched her silently for a while, then she said.
"I see that it's coming, and what is coming is better than what is gone."
"What is possibly coming?"
"The one that you belong to. He is a man who will put you first and give everything he has to be with you."
Ava didn't think that the madam's words made any sense, but she smiled and replied with a friendly tone.
"I don't know what you mean, I don't think there is a man like you just said in my life now. Even if he does exists, I don't think that I know him."
"Oh you knew him, you always knew."
The madam narrowed her eyes in a way that made the hair in her nape rise. Really, it could be creepy sometimes.
"I doubt it, Madam, because I can hardly think of a name right now."
"Only your heart can answer it. He is the man your heart most desires."
For some reason, images of him began to play through her mind. Quite taken aback by the first thing floating to her brain, she terminated the flashing memories abruptly. She shouldn't think about him, she should think about... Magnus, how could she forget about him? He was the man her heart most desired. How could she think about the duke instead, in the first place?
She tried to calm herself from the little shock and replied.
"I wish I got a clue."
The madam smiled mysteriously.
"You don't have to say a word, but he knows just what you want. He will see that you have anything you wish."
"How could it be possible?"
She made a polite excuse to go and fled away, leaving the market. She almost darted in the corner of the street, to the path led to the studio. She felt strange, like she had walked the path for all her life and suddenly she had to change it. Suddenly returned to the old routine felt unnatural, felt not right. Just a week, and everything changed. A week that supposed to be agonizing, yet it turned to be wonderful. She would remember this period of time.
As she left the crowded street and walked along a quiet road to the bridge in the end of it, she felt alone and bereft. She was recalling the scenery she used to see on her way to his place, the cottages she used to pass, the hedgerows she used to walk by, when she reached the bridge. Suddenly a sight in a distance caught her eye. She froze on her feet, unable to move or breathe, her heart drumming in a frantic beat.
The duke was standing across the bridge, looking as stunned by the sight of her as she felt at his presence. When she just stood still and stared at him without a word, he walked toward her.
"You'll be surprised."
"What are you doing here?" she asked in astonishment, totally forgot about the standard polite greetings. She thought she would never see him again."Waiting for you." he replied as he stopped a feet away from her.Silly of her, the simple answer suddenly sounded so romantic."Why?" her breath caught in her chest."I want to give you this." He drew something from his pocket."Here, please take it."She glanced at him, then at the tiny, beautifully wrapped box in his hand."What is it?""It's only a small gift, I want you to have it.""I..." she hesitated."You said you didn't do it for money. I didn't mean it to be a transaction either. I just think you deserve it. Please don't turn me down this time."He had been waiting for her in this place to give it, and she would
How could he meet her here? He came to this sacred place to seek for guidance, for enlightenment, for peace, for serenity. He had just prayed to God to deliver him from evil, yet the moment he opened his eyes, the Lord Almighty put this pure temptation right before him. Looked like the Holy Father had decided to keep putting him to the test. Heaven kept sending her again and again into his gravity. Dazed, he ceased to move and stood still as if his feet was rooted to the floor.For a brief moment, she considered to curtsy or greet him with his title, but she decided quickly that it would be odd. She never curtsied nor greeted him from their first encounter. Looking back at it, she felt strange. What kind of relationship they had? From the first time, there had never been a usual formality between them. She observed him carefully, trying to decipher his reaction. He looked surprised, but there was no signs of irritation.
Polly tossed the dough and stared round-eyed at the lady."My goodness!!! Are you sure about it? How do you know?""I attend the party every year, and his family is always invited.""Go bring her, then! You don't need to compensate. Take her with you as long as you want!""My idea is brilliant, isn't it? But we must keep it a secret. I'm afraid she will refuse to go if she knows she will meet him there.""Agree." Polly nodded."Godspeed. Don't come back empty-handed.""Of course, I bet my plan will work," the lady said confidently."Or I'll compensate you, twice. No, make it three times. Pour me some more tea, Polly. These biscuits are really good.""Agree! Though I'd prefer you to win."Polly got up to fill the cup."Looking forward to hear
He dashed up the narrow road in rapid speed. His mind rioting and his heart pounding. The thought of losing her was extremely terrifying. He expelled a sigh of relief as the sight of her back in a distance caught his eyes. A sudden realization came upon him like a lightning. He thought he had accepted that he had to leave her alone and go on with his life, a life in which she had no share. And he thought he could do perfectly fine with that. But at the very moment he was realizing for the first time, he would only be able to do perfectly fine as long as she was within his reach. He never considered if she was really going.She was strolling along the sidewalk leisurely, no signs of her being in a hurry. She looked around and stopped a few times to see through the shop window.Following her in a relatively safe distance, Ashton battled his own conscience. What the blazes was he doing here? If she really left his to
"This one." She said again. He tried to perceive it but he didn't get it."What?""The mirror..."She looked confused. He just realized she was showing an oak frame mirror carved with leaves and acorns to him."What do you think?"It took a long while for him to recover from the momentary lapse."Lovely. I'll take this one."He took the mirror from her and pretended to scrutinize it."Thanks for your help. Really appreciate it.""You're welcome."She felt a bit nervous after the awkward situation a moment ago, so she made an excuse for leaving."I have to go back to the inn now.""Where are you staying?""Magnolia Inn. And you?"&nb
Oh, dear. He didn't care about it.The man turned toward them and looked down at the ground immediately. He groped beneath the fabric of his pocket reflexively as he saw the chain watch lying on the ground.The boy's eyes widened in fear, his mouth gaped open. The boy waited in pure terror, but the man who captured him said nothing more.The older gentleman glanced at the urchin in suspicion."Thank you, sir."The man didn't shift his gaze from the boy as he came near and bent down to pick the chain watch. He studied them in silence for a while before asking."Tell me, sir. Did that monkey try to steal it?"The boy suddenly quivered in his hand. Ava glanced at him, catching her breath.
Her cheeks turned rosy and she avoided to meet his eyes."Here." He passed the basket of roses to her."Thank you." She said as she took it, suddenly feeling awkward and a bit embarrassed."Not at all." He said. "I bought it only to make the girl happy."Even though it was so, but she felt like she was caught in a beautiful dream. Strolling down the street with him in a fine afternoon, and he bought her a bunch of roses. Unbelievable. They said nothing as they sauntered along the way, in a companionable silence when words were no longer necessary, as if their minds talked to each other in a train of hidden thoughts.It was a beautiful dream indeed, so beautiful it was almost painful when it had to end. The sight of the seaside street where their inn located came into view. The dream receded into reality, and sh
Magnus had everything he could only wish for, anything he could never have. Magnus was the one who had her heart. Magnus was the man she truly loved. Magnus had a little more freedom to do what he really wanted. He had a father and a mother who loved him unconditionally, and his parents loved each other as well. He had a real family.From the corner of his eye, he noticed his uncle was talking with his wife with a disapproving look. Despite the couple's relentless arguments every single day, somehow he knew, they couldn't live without each other. His uncle was a cold, calculating man, so it surprised him the first time he knew that his uncle didn't allow his wife to bear another child after her long, suffering hours of giving birth to Magnus. Aunt Cecily survived a dangerous loss of blood at the time and his uncle swore never to make her pregnant again. He wondered if he could have such a fortunate union with Selene.It was funny how a perso