Chapter 28 #2
He closed his eyes and silently blamed himself. He had caused Rosalind’s worry and Theodora’s suffering. He folded the letter and set it aside, rubbing his temples. He needed to think and breathe. He needed—
A knock at the door interrupted him.
“Your Grace,” the butler said from the hall, “you have visitors.”
Alexander frowned. “At this time?”
“Yes, Your Grace. The Duke and Duchess of Wutherton.”
Alexander blinked.
Spencer and Anna? At Wiltshire? Without warning?
Something was wrong if they have travelled all this way.
“Send them in at once,” he said, straightening in his chair.
Mr. Carson opened the door and Anna stormed in first with a thunderous expression. With one hand laid protectively over her swollen abdomen, she already looked like a mother who was ready to defend her child. Spencer followed closely behind her and gave him an apologetic look.
“I cannot believe you,” Anna snapped and did not bother with greetings.
Alexander stared at her dumbfounded. “Good evening to you too.”
“No,” she said sharply. “You do not deserve to be greeted warmly. Not tonight.”
Spencer cleared his throat. “Anna—”
“No,” she said again, cutting him off. “I am furious. Absolutely furious! I knew you were a rake, but I never expected you to be such a…such a…rake!”
“I beg your pardon?” But Alexander knew why she was there. “Is this about Theodora?”
Anna scoffed. “Is this about Theodora? Is this about Theodora he asks!” Spencer shrugged at his wife. “Of course it is about her!”
Alexander’s muscles coil with tension. He immediately sensed that something was wrong.
“What has happened?”
“Because of you…” Anna pointed a finger at him and raised a brow. “I may never see my friend again!”
Alexander’s stomach dropped. “Anna, is Theodora all right?”
“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know,” Anna retorted. “Don’t you dare pretend.”
“Honey, I do not think he is pretending.” Spencer finally spoke.
Anna squinted at Alexander.
“What is going on?” he repeated.
Her eyes were blazing but she seemed to calm down a bit.
“Theodora is leaving tomorrow.”
“Leaving? Where is she going?”
“To a convent,” Anna said. Each word landed like a blow to his gut. “Her father is sending her away tomorrow.”
The room seemed to tilt, and Alexander was not sure if it was the alcohol or sudden dread that filled his heart. He steadied himself against a mantle.
“No. No, that cannot be.” He shook his head.
Anna crossed her arms. “You truly did not know about this?”
Spencer stepped forward, speaking gentler. “We thought you knew.”
Alexander shook his head, stunned. “I did not. I—Rosalind has been writing and she has not received any letters from her. I thought—”
“You thought she was ignoring you?” Anna demanded. “Or that she was fine? But she is not fine. She is being exiled because of you.”
Alexander’s pulse hammered in his ears. “Why did she not tell me?”
Anna threw her hands up. “Because you ran away! You left her to deal with the consequences alone!”
Spencer placed a hand on his wife’s arm. “Anna, enough.”
“He left her,” she said, voice trembling. “He needs to hear it. He needs to understand what he has done.”
Alexander pressed a hand to his forehead. “I did not know. I swear I did not know!”
Anna’s anger faltered for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by something like pity. “Well… now you do.”
Alexander’s mind raced with images of Theodora laughing, teasing him. He remembered the way her eyes lit up when she learned something new. But then he imagined her face when he rejected her. She had looked at him like he had broken something precious.
“You said that she is leaving tomorrow?” He exited the study, walked across the foyer, and grabbed his coat from a nearby chair.
“Yes,” Anna said exasperatedly.
Spencer stepped towards him and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Alexander… what are you going to do?”
He did not answer right away because he didn’t even know the answer himself.
His body moved before his mind caught up.
Anna watched him, and her expression softened.
“You are going to her,” she said quietly.
“I have to. You were right, Anna. This is my fault.” He turned to Spencer. “Can you stay here tonight? Rosalind is asleep and I do not want to wake her.”
“Of course, my friend.” Spencer smiled at him as he walked towards the door. He was already halfway there.
But Anna was not finished.
“Alexander!” She called his name sharply.
He stopped.
“You do not know what she has been through and what he has done to her. Her father has been cruel and unforgiving. He blames her for everything.”
Alexander’s jaw clenched. “I never meant—”
“I know,” Anna interrupted him. “But intentions do not matter. Not now. What matters is that she believes you abandoned her. And she is being punished for it.”
Alexander felt something inside him crack.
Anna continued, “She has resigned herself to this life that awaits her. Theodora thinks she deserves this. She thinks the convent is her fate and that you do not want her.”
Alexander’s gaze dropped. “I did not say that. I just did not want to get married.”
“You walked away and that said a lot.”
He closed his eyes.
Spencer cut in. “Alexander… what Anna is trying to say is that you have one day. One. If you want to fix this, you need to leave now but that is not important. What is important is what you are going to say to her when you get there.”
Alexander thought about it for a second then held up a finger.
“Excuse me for one second.”
He ran through the corridor, and up a staircase until he reached his parents’ chambers.
Alexander had not entered it since the time they passed away.
He took a deep breath in and grabbed the handle, pushing the door with great force.
The scent of the room immediately brought back their memories but there was no time to reminisce.
Alexander went to his mother’s dressing table; he admired her portrait before he took out the key from his pocket and opened the first drawer.
He smiled as he looked down. “There it is.”