All Chapters of When the Love Fades: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

He would return every hardship one by one.He would give her every comfort she had missed.That belief made all his choices feel justified.He deliberately declared her cursed so the world would reject her, calling it a test of whether she trusted him.He gave the lifesaving medicine to Margaret and let Harriet die because he believed he owed Cecilia, while promising himself he would be kinder next time.He married Cecilia and left Eleanor alone for thirty years because his chart said Eleanor would be his destined partner in another life.He believed his reasoning was sound and even imagined himself devoted.But he never considered one thing.Eleanor waited and kept faith for thirty years, only to receive his casual promise of another life.How could she feel anything except despair?Why would she ever choose him again?Silas closed his eyes.The blood had dried against his palm like evidence that could never be washed away."Prepare a horse," he said hoarsely.Fisk looke

Eleanor lowered her lashes, and her fingers curled.She knew the inevitable had arrived."If I may be bold," Ezra said to Gideon with a bow, "shouldn't this marriage end here? The house can settle a generous sum on her and arrange a respectable match somewhere else."Eleanor said nothing and looked quietly at Gideon.She had prepared herself to be expelled.As long as her mother remained safe and no one sent them back to Vanderwick, any destination would be acceptable."End it?" Gideon's rough voice carried unquestioned authority. "Who said anything about ending it?"He pushed himself more upright and stared at Ezra."She cared for me without rest for three months, and now that I'm awake you want to drive her out?"If she truly carried a deadly fate, I should be dead. Instead, I woke and can sit here speaking. Doesn't that make her my good fortune?"Ezra looked from Eleanor to Gideon and finally held his tongue.Gideon returned his attention to Eleanor."Do you want to marr

Gideon approached her without taking the bowl and turned toward the others."This is my wife, Eleanor Harcourt."His voice was quiet but absolute."She may share every matter that concerns me. You will not hide anything from her."The advisers exchanged looks. One said cautiously, "General, this touches all of us.""I said there is no need." Gideon's tone hardened. "If you can't trust her, you can't trust me."They studied one another, withdrew their hostility, and bowed. "Mrs. Harcourt."Eleanor nearly dropped the bowl.Gideon took it, drank the medicine in one swallow, and returned the empty bowl."Come with me."He led her from the study to the old elm in the rear garden."I said that to keep them from moving against you. Those men came through battle with me and trust almost no one. If you look like an outsider, they'll decide to get rid of you."I was protecting you," Gideon said. "But the choice remains yours.""What choice?""Leave." His voice was calm, as though d

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

"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