Alexander wanted to talk but he did not even know where to start from. His mind was reeling and an ache was already starting to bloom in his head. This information was truly too much to process.Beatrice on the other hand, simply stared at Alexander, gauging his reaction and wondering how he was taking the information. From the look on his face, he seemed to be taking it badly. She knew he was at a loss for words.Alexander dragged air into his lungs through his nose to calm him down before he spoke."I have pondered on all what you said and I know that it is true. It is baffling me how you could come here but as you said, it was through magic. However, I do not believe that magic still exists in these parts." He cleared his throat and continued. " As for your presence here, you shall continue to stay in the keep and act as Beatrice, my wife and the Marchioness of Ludlow. I will not ask any sexual favours from you and I will be good to you. What do you say to this proposition?" Alexan
Alexander looked at Beatrice through sweat drenched eyelashes in suprise and disbelief. He was shocked by Beatrice's words. Was she lying? He did not think so because he saw the sincerity of her words in her gaze. If she truly loved him, then they could make it official by having a private marriage. He wanted to think about how the marriage would be when he realized that he was getting ahead of himself. He had not confirmed her words first before going ahead to think about marriage.Beatrice could see the disbelief playing on Alexander's face. She too did not believe that she had said it. The admission had just come out of her mouth because she was tired of keeping her feelings at bay. Now that she had admitted her feelings there was no going back."Beatrice, are you serious about this? Do you truly love me? I need to know."" Alexander, I am serious about my statement and I say this from the bottom of my heart without any doubt whatsoever. I love you so much, Alexander."Beatrice fix
The Marquess and Marchioness lived in bliss and content throughout the whole week, feeding each other bites of food in the privacy of their chamber and staring at each other through lovey- dovey eyes at the dining table. However, they did not keep the love blossoming between them a secret and others at the table were able to notice the love flowing between them. Isaac simply looked at them and wished to find a woman would love him the way Lady Beatrice loved Lord Alexander. Victor was joyous about the love between her first son and her daughter - in - law. Love that she had feared was lost before. She beamed from ear to ear and prayed fervently in her heart for a grandchild soon. Annalise stared at the couple especially Beatrice with contempt although she tried to mask her true feelings by smiling at the couple whenever any of them caught her staring. She hated Beatrice for having the love of Alexander, something she had wanted since childhood when she and Alexander had played in the
Beatrice was shocked that Annalise could orchestrate this kind of thing and even use Lucia, Beatrice's personal maid as a pawn. She had always known that Annalise did not like her but she had no idea her hatred ran this deep. The worst was yet to come though. "My Lady, why I said that Miss Annalise expected a bad outcome from the event was because I heard her talking to herself the day after the ball. She talked about how she had learnt of the secret surrounding the Lady in the portrait of the great hall and Lord Alexander from Lady Victoria. According to what I heard her say, Miss Annalise wanted you to wear the dress to the ball while Lord Alexander was already there so that his tragc history with the owner of the main dress would make him angry and he would send you out of the hall, thereby embarrassing you in front of everyone. She wanted her plan to work and she wanted you to be disgraced. "Beatrice was amazed at what Annalise had planned for her. Luckily, the plan had backfire
Annalise had known as soon as she had seen Beatrice walking in front of Lucia and another maid that something was up. Her decision to follow them and eavesdrop on their conversation had been a quick one. On the way, she had been intercepted by Issac who had tried to make small talk with her. She had tried not to let her impatience show but he was talking too much that she had to make a quick decision. She'd had to excuse herself from him. Annalise did not even give him a moment to respond before she had hurried away to the direction of Alexander's chamber. I shall stay there one day, she promised herself. Annalise went to her own chamber to think about a way that she could present the information she had just learnt to Alexander and he would have no choice but to believe her without doubt. Back in the Marquess's chamber, Lucia was talking. "Lady Beatrice, now that I have heard your tale, I feel alright. I am not sick anymore. I am pleased that I did not destroy the union between you
Alexander was livid. His face was contorted with anger he had never felt before as he looked at Annalise. How dare this scheming girl take advantage of Beatrice and her situation? He had to give her a stern warning now not to speak of it to anyone else. "What is wrong with you? You are just spewing a load of garbage from your mouth in broad daylight. You must be out of your senses to even think of such a thing. Perhaps, you have begun to lose your mental functions. Do not speak of this untruth ever again. I do not want to hear it from your lips and if I hear it from anyone else, you will only have yourself to blame. Who would even believe you? What you have spewed forth from your mouth is nothing but nonsense and only a fool like yourself would certainly believe you," Alexander seethed, determined to protect Beatrice at all costs. Annalise remained adamant. "My Lord, I am certain of this. I heard it from her own mouth. That woman is an imposter in this keep and she needs to be sent
Beatrice took in a deep breath. She had not planned to tell Alexander about Annalise's bad act so soon. She had not wanted him to see her in a bad light but now that she had not stopped at her first attempt at perpertrating evil, perhaps it was time to expose her. Seeing that she was taking too much time to respond to his question, Alexander repeated it again. "Beatrice, what did that fool do the first time?" he asked, trying to quelch his anger. "The white dress I wanted to wear for the ball, it was Annalise that suggested it, only she did not tell me directly. She prodded Lucia to suggest it to me. I agreed and after Lucia saw you get angry about the dress on the night of the ball, the next day, she also overheard Annalise hallucinating about her failed plan when I did not put on the dress for the ball. According to Lucia, Annalise said she had heard about the tragic history you have with the main owner of the dress and she wanted you to disgrace me in front of everyone when you g
Beatrice was stunned beyond words. She had expected only a cruel remark from Sarah but the one she gave was not cruel. It was shocking in its simplicity. Sarah was really observant but Beatrice knew that she had to play it out masterfully."What a silly observation you have made, Sarah! My eyes are lighter in colour and they are brighter because of joy, the joy of love and my cheeks are rosier because because of these past weeks spent in Alexander's arms and heart. You said I look different. Yes, I do and it is because of the love and care that Alexander has been showing me. After my fall down the stairs, it was as if we fell in love all over again and everything has been blissful between us since then.""What a detailed explanation you have given me simply because I said you look different. I was just stating my observations. Is it a crime to do so?" Sarah asked. "Of course, it is not," Beatrice answered. "Let me confirm my observations from Suzanne and Joshua. Tell me, have the tw