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Chapter Twenty-Five
Elsewhere, the Duke of Davenport was drinking himself into oblivion. Ever since he had come home after the enlightening conversation he had with Carmen’s husband, he found himself unable to put it out of his head. “How could you be so, so foolish?” he muttered to himself. The answer was simple. He was the biggest fool to exist on this planet.
He had trusted her. He had cared enough to set his apprehensions aside and go look for her. He had even thought to…He took out the ring box from his pocket and slammed it against the wall. The ring ejected out of it and rolled away. Very well, he had no use for it anymore.
His knees sank against the cold, hard floor and he felt like sinking into utter oblivion, one where Carmen’s thoughts didn’t plague him like a song trying to bury itself in him. Rage unlike anything before filled him and tears streaked down his cheeks. He cried for the woman who had lied and cheated on him and yet he still loved her. Yes, he loved her. He had avoided putting a name to the emotion when he had come inside her and an exuberant delight had filled his body, unlike anything before. He had felt it when he had stormed out of his house in a rage and in pain. And maybe he had felt it even before then, the first time he laid eyes on her on the street when she had raised her chin defiantly at him.
He loved her. And he had lost her even before he had found her. She belonged to someone else, always had. He closed his eyes and the smell of her still clung to him, overwhelming him. He had never loved before and now that he had, it had made a fool of him. He spent the rest of the night in his study and didn’t get out of the chaise even as dawn arose beyond the heavy curtains of the room.
“Papa?” he heard Nora call out. A small hand landed on his shoulder. “Are you sick?”
“I’m fine,” he said hoarsely. He had a terrible headache that sat squarely between his eyes. He had no idea how many hours had passed since he sat in this manner.
“Miss Black didn’t show up for our lessons today. She had promised me that she would come to see me first thing in the morning and she looked quite distressed yesterday. She was asking me all sorts of questions about my pendant. Do you know where she is?”
“No,” Arthur said flatly. “And I don’t wish to discuss her anymore. She is no longer welcome to our house.”
“I beg your pardon?” Nora exclaimed. “Why can’t she come here anymore? I want to see her. I love her, Papa.”
At Nora’s words something inside him snapped. “Am I not enough for you? Why do you need her?”
Nora’s eyes filled with tears at his sharp tone. “Why are you being so mean to me?”
He didn’t have time or patience to deal with his daughter. “Go and finish your lessons with Mrs. Cooper. I have no answer for your questions.” He closed his eyes and turned his head away. A few moments later, he could hear her pad out of the room. He felt guilty for being harsh to her but it was time she got used to Carmen’s absence.
Another hour or so passed. Arthur concentrated on the ticking of the clock placed on the mantel. He looked at his late wife’s portrait and said to himself. “Things would have been simpler had you been alive. But would I have loved you?” The answer was no. Things wouldn’t have been the same. He had it easy with her, she was the perfect companion. But even when times grew difficult with Carmen, he didn’t want to change time between them. Now she would never be his.
A few moments later, Ramon entered the study. “Your Grace,” he said. “There is a woman here. She claims she is Miss Black’s friend. She is going away and wanted to return something to her.”
Arthur’s eyes flew open. Carmen was going away? “Send her away,” he said.
“She is being insistent,” Ramon said. “She said Miss Black has promised never to see Lady Nora again and that’s why she sent her friend here in turn.”
“Fine,” Arthur said. “She can meet her but keep a close eye on them and escort her out of the house as soon as she is done.”
“Yes of course, Your Grace,” Ramon said. He left after small bow and returned only a quarter of an hour later to inform Arthur that the lady had left. Arthur was supposed to feel relieved. Carmen was doing exactly what he had asked her to do and staying out of his and Nora’s life. Then why did he feel a wave of sadness wash over him?
Hadn’t she spoken of him as the man that had hurt her? The man she had escaped from with her life? Was she lying about all of that? His eyes closed and he thought back to the events of last night and unwittingly something went off at the back of the head. A glint of something sinister quickly hidden inside the man’s coat pocket.
Arthur’s eyes flew open. The man had pulled a gun on Carmen. Reeling from the sudden realization, he suddenly stood up. He felt dizzy after all the alcohol he had partaken last night. He knew he had to think clearly so he rushed to his chambers and washed his face in the basin. The fog around his mind cleared and he could see everything clearly.
If the man was truly her husband, why did he feel the need to threaten her? Something was terribly wrong. He cursed himself for not realizing that now, choosing to believe her silence as her answer when in truth she was trying to protect him. He had to go find her immediately, before it was too late.
He strode out of his room, calling for Ramon who came rushing towards him. He looked agitated. “Your Grace, I can’t seem to find Lady Nora anywhere. She has simply vanished.”
“I beg your pardon?” Arthur asked, his heart stuttering.
“Mrs. Cooper said she stepped out of the room for a few minutes when she came back, Lady Nora had vanished.”
“Where could she have gone?” Arthur asked in panic.
He got the answer to that soon enough when Mrs. Cooper rushed towards them with a note waving in her hand. “I found this in the study room.”
Arthur snatched it out of her hand and quickly scanned the contents.
Dear Papa, I’m hurt and betrayed that you didn’t tell me the truth. Miss Black is my mother. Her friend gave me back the missing piece of my pendant and I know the truth now. She’s going away and I need to see her before she goes away and convince her otherwise. I know you’re angry at her for some reason and will not let me see her so I must go alone. I have to know what the truth is.
Arthur’s blood ran cold. This wasn’t Carmen’s doing. He turned to Ramon. “What did you say was this woman’s name?”
