Semua Bab The War Bride : Bab 31 - Bab 38

Julian was fast asleep when we stepped inside Coral's chambers. His tiny chest rising and falling with the gentlest of rhythms. He looked peaceful, utterly untouched by the chaos he'd narrowly escaped.Coral's face softened the instant she saw him.The maid stood from her chair near the cot and offered a smile. "He just fed, my lady. I tucked him in moments ago."Coral nodded and moved slowly towards her bed. "Thank you. You may leave us."The maid gave a curtsy and slipped out quietly.I crossed to the other side of the room, watching as Coral eased herself onto the edge of the bed. Her fingers rubbed absently at her temples.I spoke first, "He might not know."She looked up at me, her voice not convinced. "He might."Her hands dropped to her lap as she stared at Julian, wrapped safely in linens of soft blue and ivory."Perhaps he found him," she murmured. "Or maybe it was Lady Annalise....am scared, Cici."I sat beside her. "Then I'll find out. See if he's guessing or he knows."She

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 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

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