Page 27 of Lord of the Darkness

Her eyes met Benedict’s, and they both turned towards the door as a footman rushed in, followed by another man.

Ariana felt a chill rush through her, and her breath caught in her throat. The second man was a footman from Hazelworth Hall.

“Your Grace.” The footman came to her and bowed. “I regret that it is my duty to inform you that your father has gone to God, during the early hours of the morning.” He turned then to Benedict, “Lady Hazelworth asks, Your Grace, if you might come to attend on her and assist with the arrangements, as soon as possible.”

Benedict rose slowly, and came to stand beside Ariana, his hand resting on her shoulder. It was dearly needed reassurance. Her head was spinning, and she was sure that, if she tried to stand, she would fall instead. A strange grief filled her, not so much for the father he had been, but for the father he might have been, for the father she had never truly had, and now never could.

Around her, the world moved on as normal, yet inside her, everything had changed.

“Please inform Lady Hazelworth that we will be there very shortly. Have the priest and the undertaker been sent for? Or should I arrange that now?”

“The Butler has sent to inform them Your Grace.”

“Good. Stay long enough to take a warming drink, and then be on your way back to Lady Hazelworth, if you would.”

The man bowed, and left the room.

Silence surrounded them, full of words unspoken, until, after a few moments, Ariana turned in her chair, and leant her head against Benedict’s side.

He held her there as she cried for a short while, then she pulled herself up, forcing herself to cease crying. Her mother needed help, so there was no time for Ariana to dissolve.

As they hurried upstairs to change, and to gather what might be needed, Ariana allowed herself to wonder, for the first time, if her mother would be grief filled, or relieved that her father was now gone from this life.

How would she, Ariana, feel if Benedict was gone?

The thought slipped through her mind, like a shard of ice, and she knew then just how much she was coming to care for the man she had married, despite everything.