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Ch 17: A keepsake and a warning
publish date:
2025-07-01 04:16:45
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The War Bride Ch 45: A new her
The ride back to the estate was silent.Coral had chosen to stay behind at the cabin, needing time to process everything. I had insisted I would be fine on my own, but the emptiness beside me in the carriage felt heavier than expected.Darrell didn’t say a word. His eyes were fixed forward, calm, almost unreadable.I watched the trees sliding past the window, the frost of winter had given way to the green. The world seemed to change quietly around us, and yet the tension inside the carriage remained unchanged.The rhythm of the horses’ hooves was the only sound that punctuated the long stretch of road.Eventually, the carriage slowed, pulling up to the estate. Darrell stepped down first. “Here we are,” he said, his voice low, measured.He extended a hand toward me.His grip was firm, steady, grounding in a way that made the air around us feel suddenly lighter.As I stepped down, our eyes met, and for the first time that day, it felt as if words weren’t necessary. The estate loomed befo
The War Bride Ch 44: Goodbye by the lake
Lady Meridia’s funeral had been a quiet affair, held by the cabin near the lake she had loved. No grand procession. No crowd. Only a handful of people, and the stillness of a place that seemed to understand what had been lost.I could not stop comparing it to the last time I had stood there. Then, the world had been covered in white. The lake frozen solid, the air sharp but alive.I walked slowly along the water’s edge, her steps unhurried, my gaze fixed on the gentle ripples where ice had once been.I remembered gliding across it, laughter caught in the cold air, my breath visible with every turn. I remembered how carefree it had felt.I remembered Darrell. He had stood with his grandmother then, something unguarded in him as he listened to her speak. There had been warmth in his expression, a quiet kind of joy I understood at the time.Now, that warmth felt like something borrowed from another life. The snow was gone. The ice had melted. The lake looked… ordinary.Or perhaps....
The War Bride Ch 43: A letter for him
That evening, the estate had settled into a hush. I sat before the mirror in my chamber, fingers working slowly through my hair as I braided it over my shoulder, the steady motion giving me something to focus on.The door opened softly behind me. I caught Coral’s reflection before I turned. She lingered by the doorway, in her nightgown, her shawl clutched tightly in her hands.She looked… nervous.“Coral,” I said gently, though I did not rise. “You needn’t hover there. Come in.”She stepped forward hesitantly, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her shawl, twisting it in small, restless motions.For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then I exhaled quietly and set my hands still against my lap.“I won’t tell Darrell anything,” I said, my voice calm, meeting her gaze through the mirror.“But,” I added, turning slightly to face her more fully, “I think it would be wise if you did… at some point.”Her eyes dropped, the weight of the unspoken settling heavily between us.Silence stretched
The War Bride Ch 42: Back home
The next morning arrived softer than expected.The gardens were quiet, kissed by a gentle breeze that carried the scent of blooming flowers and damp earth. I sat beneath the shade of an old tree, sunlight flickering through the leaves above, casting shifting patterns across her skirts.Across from me sat Edmund. For a time, he spoke, and I listened.He told me of the roads he had traveled, of shifting alliances, of whispers that had turned into something far more dangerous. His tone remained steady, but I knew him well enough to hear what lay beneath it the caution, the weight, the things he chose not to say aloud.“And you?” he asked at last, his gaze sharpening slightly as it settled on her. “How have you been here?”I hesitated, my fingers brushing lightly against the fabric of my sleeve.“The Storms have treated me well,” I said, my voice even, composed. “There is nothing I lack.”It was not a lie. But it was not the truth either.Edmund studied me for a moment longer than n
The War Bride Ch 41:A new man
The warmth of the hug lingered in my arms long after Edmund pulled back, his faint smile still lighting his features.But the moment felt fragile, like a dream I wasn’t allowed to fully savor.“I—I have to settle my men at the family home,” he said softly, a hint of regret in his tone. His hand brushed briefly against mine before he stepped back. “There’s much to organize before tomorrow.”I nodded, trying to steady my racing heart. “Of course…You're settling at the Rosendal's estate?""I hope it didn't crumble down...."he joked, like he always did.“Tomorrow,” he added quickly, catching my eye. “I will visit. I promise. You will not have to wait long.”I forced a smile, though the hollow ache of parting already pressed against my chest. “I’ll hold you to that,” I whispered.With a final glance, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing in the courtyard, the echo of his presence lingering long after his boots had faded into the distance.Coral’s hand brushed against my arm, gentl
The War Bride Ch 40: How to welcome a husband
A month had passed since Lord Darrell rode for Greymont.True to his word or perhaps to his discipline, letters arrived each week without fail. Brief, precise, and often maddeningly restrained. He wrote of weather, of progress, of the state of the men. Never of himself.I read each one carefully, twice over. Searching for something more, and emotion but caught nothing. But my heart would calm, filled with relief that all was well.Life within the estate had settled into a rhythm that felt… incomplete.My relationship with Coral had changed in ways neither of us acknowledged. We still dined together each evening, seated across from one another at the long table, exchanging polite inquiries about the day.We would talk about the garden, the weather and her son. How he was growing up so fast. And then silence would fall again, heavy and suffocating, filled only by the faint clink of cutlery.Whatever ease had once lived between us was gone, replaced by something fragile, strained, and
The War Bride Ch 39: Two letters, Different recipients
The halls smelled faintly of parchment and beeswax, and servants moved briskly about with the order of chaos of a household in motion.The butler stood beside me, staring down on the ledger I was holding."I want provisions sent to Greymont," I told him. "Dried meat, flour, grain and salted fish. W
The War Bride Ch 38: I knew nothing
The morning was bright, almost too bright, as if the world had chosen to forget the uneasiness of days before. Spring had fully taken hold, the air soft, the sky a washed blue, and the garden lined with plants no longer dull and filled with life.I stood by the tulip beds, my fingers brushing on th
The War Bride Ch 37: Lies and Worries
I sat there, teacup cooling in my hands, but the taste was lost on me. My mind circled back again and again to the duke's words yesterday, as though they were words imprinted in my mind. I couldn't pry them off.Juliane.A name I had never heard until yesterday. Yet now I held a new secret I had n
The War Bride Ch 36: Juliane and Julian
My steps fell softly over the gravel path, my cloak brushing against the flowering hedges. It was peaceful here, deceptively so. I breathed in deeply letting the warmth of the sun settle over my skin. Just as I rounded the lilac arch, a blur of movement startled me. A wild hare darted across the
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