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Chapter 5

Author: Solace Gale
Silas stared at her. "Eleanor, I want an explanation."

She started to answer, then saw her father deliberately glance toward the door.

Her heart sank. That morning, she had used the Harcourt name to arrange her mother's departure.

If anyone discovered her contact with the Harcourt family, the exchanged marriage would be exposed and her mother would remain trapped.

She lowered her eyes and forced her voice to remain calm. "I wasn't meeting anyone. I sold them to pay for Mother's medicine."

Disappointment and fury churned in Silas's eyes as though she had told an absurd joke.

"You pawned them? Do you think I'm some green boy you can talk in circles?

"You treasured everything I gave you. You embroidered handkerchiefs and purses only for people close to you."

Before meeting him, she sold embroidery to support herself, but stopped afterward.

Silas appeared restrained and distant, but was possessive enough to hate seeing anything made by her on another person.

During the thirty years of her previous life, Eleanor carried bodies for local officials and washed clothes through winter until her hands split.

Selling embroidery had been the most respectable work she found.

"No answer?" Silas's jaw tightened. "Do you understand what an accusation of improper relations means?

"Under the law, you'll be punished heavily. Our engagement could also end immediately."

Eleanor only shook her head and remained silent.

Cecilia moved closer. "Silas, Eleanor has hurt you. Let me discipline her for you."

Edwin added coldly, "The girl's unfit for Mr. Wycliffe. We should replace her in the match openly."

Eleanor closed her eyes and waited for punishment, but a warm hand steadied her arm.

Silas wrapped his dark coat around her soaked shoulders, his voice hard.

"Take my future wife inside and give her dry clothes. Prepare the carriage for the royal banquet."

Everyone froze, and Eleanor looked at him in disbelief.

Silas avoided her gaze and looked instead at Cecilia when she tried to interfere.

"She's under my protection. I decide what happens to her.

"No one in the Kingdom has authority to challenge my decision."

An hour later, Eleanor sat inside the carriage in clean clothing with her hair arranged again.

They traveled toward the palace.

She finally asked, "Why?"

Silas rested with his eyes closed and did not answer.

After they arrived, he never spoke directly to her, yet remained as attentive as always.

He took her hand and seated her in the honored gallery beside him, where officials bowed to them together.

When a careless attendant rushed too close, Silas pulled her safely against his side.

He had cold wine removed from her place and replaced with hot tea.

Something rose in Eleanor that she could not name.

Silas ordinarily tolerated no stain on trust and never let a suspected betrayal pass.

Yet he forced down his anger and behaved as though nothing had happened.

Perhaps he truly meant what he said in the previous life. Perhaps he wanted to compensate her.

As the thought formed, every candle in the banquet hall went dark.

Guests cried out, guards shouted to protect the King, and even the King turned pale.

Only Silas remained composed. He walked slowly to the platform and ordered the candles relit.

He closed his eyes, meditated, and then spoke calmly.

"Do not be afraid. Someone carrying a destructive fate entered this gathering and disturbed the harmony of the palace."

No one dared breathe as every face turned toward Silas.

Eleanor suddenly felt dread.

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  • When the Love Fades   Chapter 21

    "Let me go."Otherwise you can stand there and watch me die."Just as you watched me collapse in blood on our wedding night in the previous life."Something went out of Silas's face. His grip loosened, tightened again, and turned his knuckles white.The room went silent except for the steady tick of the clock counting down the hour.After a long time, he released her."All right." There was almost nothing left of his voice. "I'll let you go."Eleanor turned and ran without looking back.By the time she reached Gideon's former soldiers, the execution ground was surrounded.Noon approached, and the official in charge had already lifted the signal flag."Forward." Eleanor rode at the front as several dozen loyal soldiers struck the royal guards.Through the chaos, she saw Gideon bound in the center. His hair hung loose and blood covered him, but his back remained straight.Gideon looked up at the disturbance and found Eleanor searching for him.Shock became fury, and he shout

  • When the Love Fades   Chapter 20

    "Stay here as my wife. Stop thinking about him, and never say his name again."Behave, and I'll keep him alive. If you go on fighting me..."He did not finish, but Eleanor understood."You're despicable." Her voice shook.Silas did not deny it. He stood and paused at the door."Drink the porridge while it's warm. Tomorrow, I'll plant a pear tree in the courtyard. You once said you liked them."The door closed.Eleanor sat in darkness for a long time before lifting the bowl.The porridge was cold, but she swallowed it spoon by spoon.If she died, no one would protect Gideon.The next morning, she opened the window and saw a young pear tree in the courtyard.She watched it for a long time.Years earlier, she told Silas she wanted a pear tree beside their home.In spring, every branch would turn white, and the wind would scatter petals across their shoulders.He smiled and promised. She waited thirty years, but the tree never appeared.Now she had stopped waiting, and he fi

  • When the Love Fades   Chapter 19

    "Official order."General Gideon Harcourt and Seer Silas Wycliffe, receive the command of His Majesty."The courier opened the document and read aloud."With the frontier stabilized, General Gideon Harcourt shall return at once to Vanderwick and report to His Majesty. Seer Silas Wycliffe will accompany him. Mrs. Harcourt will also travel to the capital."Three days later, three carriages left Harcourt Residence and headed east.Silas changed the planned river route at the last moment, claiming that armed thieves threatened the waterway.The land route was rough, and Eleanor felt every violent movement of the wheels.Gideon rode outside and occasionally lifted the curtain to give brief reports."Vanderwick could be dangerous."At sunset on the third day, he passed her a piece of bread and lowered his voice."If anything happens, say Harriet isn't traveling with us. My men will take you south."Eleanor held the bread with cold fingers. "Does the King mean to kill you?""I don

  • When the Love Fades   Chapter 18

    Silas reacted instantly and twisted aside, but the bolt grazed his arm and darkened his sleeve with blood.He threw Eleanor away, and she fell into a broad, steady embrace.Gideon caught her with one arm.Silas stood three steps away and stared at Gideon's face in open shock."You're awake?"You shouldn't... How did you wake so soon?"Gideon ignored the question and moved Eleanor behind him.Silas quickly restored his controlled expression.His gaze moved over Gideon and stopped on the fully armed soldiers behind him."Why didn't you report your recovery to the King?"The frontier is quiet, yet your soldiers train day and night. What exactly are you preparing?"Gideon remained calm. "My report left three days ago and hasn't reached Vanderwick yet. I was unconscious for so long, and our defenses weakened. Training soldiers and restoring the frontier is my duty. Why do you insist it means something else?"Silas had no immediate answer."In that case, I'm here on an inspectio

  • When the Love Fades   Chapter 17

    Eleanor froze.A general would never be too poor to have a dry bed.She looked at him. His gaze wandered, and the tips of his ears were red.She did not expose him. She moved inward and left half the bed open."You're my husband already. Sharing a bed is only natural."Gideon visibly relaxed and lay carefully along the edge, leaving a full person's width between them.The blankets carried the faint herbal scent of her skin, and he remained rigid for a long time.Eleanor extinguished the candles.In the darkness, his breathing sounded steady and strong."Eleanor," he said."Yes?""Thank you."He was not thanking her for marriage. He was thanking her for showing him that warmth and light still existed in the world.Afterward, before leaving for morning drills, Gideon placed a light kiss on her forehead.When she woke, a wildflower rested beside her pillow, sometimes a dandelion and sometimes a tiny white bloom still wet with dew.When she asked where he found them, he said

  • When the Love Fades   Chapter 16

    Everywhere she looked, people were wasting away.Children with enormous eyes crowded into drafty shacks beside the elderly and sick.She watched one woman give the last bit of food to her feverish mother-in-law while chewing bark herself.A tax officer whipped the woman, who did not dare move and only shielded the child in her arms.Eleanor returned without describing what she had seen and quietly opened the estate warehouse."Mrs. Harcourt," Ezra said anxiously, "we're short of feathers for the fletching, and the next supply won't get here in time."Eleanor had already rolled up her sleeves.She gathered the servants and taught them to sort feathers and tie fletching.Harriet, still weak, sat in the corner threading needles.The women were restrained at first, but after Eleanor demonstrated the work herself, conversation and laughter made the labor faster.Gideon watched from the covered walkway.Her head was lowered, and sunset softened the determination in her profile.W

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