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Ch 37: Lies and Worries
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2025-08-12 07:40:28
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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 no business holding. Was it a secret even? Coral never mentioned the name. Not once. Her husband was a guilt she held in her heart. Just wistful sighs and half–smiles. To others, he was deceased. And never a brother to a man who now haunted my mind.I tried to read, but the words on the page slipped away. I tried to embroider, but I ended up with a million pricks in the same spot. I gave up and sat by the window, watching the gardens where it had all happened yesterday. The willow still stood there, a witness to it all.Who was lying?The question had made me sleepless. Coral's tears and guilt stricken face, the duke's genuine expression, a rawness he was ashamed to show, .....who was I goi
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 path, no more than a whisper of fur and muscle. I gasped, frozen for a moment, stunned by it's speed. I didn't know they were so near the residence.The groundsmen should be worried of burrows being dug in his garden.As I was staring at where it dissapeared to, and arrow whistled past my ear, grazing the air with deadly precision before burying itself in the bark of the willow tree just ahead.I screamed, the sound torn from my throat as I stumbled backward and fell hard onto the path, gravel biting into my hands. My heart thundered in my ears and the world started spinning for a second."Lady Clara!"Boots pounded the ground. The duke appeared in my vision as I blinked up. Bow in hand, his
The War Bride Ch 35: Sweetened bitterness
The embroidery needle paused between my fingers, hovering over the delicate floral needlework that no longer held my focus. I'd tried all morning to quiet my mind with the meticulous stitch work that my mother once claimed could cure even the most restless soul.But not today. Not when my soul felt like a wound still bleeding and aching.A knock sounded on the door."Come in," I said without looking up.My maid, Lara, stepped in quietly, her hands folded before her apron. "My lady."I nodded, resuming my needlework with feigned calm."I've brought you a fresh pot of tea," she said, setting the tray down on the side table. "And....some honeyed biscuits."I nodded, again.She didn't budge."Thank you, Lara," I said my voice shadowed with tiredness. "Is there anything else?"She hesitated. "Lord Darell and the his grace went out hunting in the southern woods."I didn't reply, but my hands stilled.She then continued, carefully. "I told Lady Coral as you instructed. That you were unwell
The War Bride Ch 34: The day of small hurts
I placed the teacup down with careful deliberation, the porcelain making a soft click on the tray. I rose from the chair, smoothing the folds of my skirts as I stood.Darrell looked up, his eyes briefly catching mine."I'll return to my tasks then," I said, my voice steady despite the strange ache forming in my chest.But as I turned to leave, his voice came again. "We're not done with the ledgers.""We?" I turned to look at him. Who was 'we'? He'd been working on the ledgers alone. He nodded, then put his head back down on the ledgers. "My lord," I called. "I've been seated there, just sipping tea, while you work alone on the ledgers you called me here for.""And?" What was wrong with this man? His nonchalance, him acting like whatever he was doing wasn't strange. Him making me the strange one."Thank you," I said, sighing. "I enjoyed the breakfast. And watching you work the ledgers was quite inspiring and I've learnt a lot.""Have you?" He asked, still not looking up."Yes, My l
The War Bride Ch 33: wife in the office
The next day arrived with a pale hush, the kind that signaled the seasons were changing. The chill no longer bit as sharply, and the frost that once clung stubbornly to the windows had begun to melt into soft beads of dew.I sat at the vanity, fingers deftly adjusting the ribbon at my collar, my gaze distant.Yesterday, after Darrell left my chambers, I'd finally opened my letter.It was from my mother—gentle, warm and full of the things I hadn't realized I missed so much. She wrote of quite hopes for my well being, her prayers reaching across the miles. She mentioned that my father had with my brothers to help quell a riot near the southern border. And that once it was resolved, my brother Edmund and his wife, who was now expecting, would be moving into a new home of their own.A simple letter.But it had left me aching.The world was changing. My world. I was playing wife. I was no longer the go—merry young lady of the mountains. And the letter reminded me that.I reached for my glo
The War Bride Ch 32: Strangers still
My heart lifted before I could stop it.The Valdemont crest.After weeks of silence..... finally.I didn't want for permission or pleasantries. My skirts swept behind me as I turned and hurried up the stone path, taking the side stairs two at a time. Darrell had said the letter was sent to my chambers.I reached the door, flinging it open.Empty.The room greeted me with its usual stillness. No scrolls on the desk, no sealed parchment on the table, nothing slipped under the door or resting on the velvet bench near the window.I blinked, stepping in slowly, confused. Perhaps the maid hadn't brought it yet. Darrell said he sent it, not that he had delivered it himself.I turned sharply at the sound of soft footsteps behind me.My maid, Lara, entered with a small curtsy and smile. "My lady, shall I bring your evening shawl—""Lara," I cut in, "has anyone given you a letter for me? From Lord Darrell or anyone else?"Her brows furrowed. "A letter? No, my lady. I've just come from the linen
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