Chapter 13
The Point Of No Return
As soon as the words had left her mouth, Rose regretted them. In an instant, all the warmth of the moment before vanished. Alexander withdrew his arm, turning away from her but not before she saw the fury on his face.
“I do not wish to speak of that night. I willnot speak of that night.” He spat the words as though they were poison, every muscle in him seemingly rigid with tension.
Rose felt her chest constrict.
Fool. You should not have been so careless.
She moved towards him, not sure what she meant to do. But the sound of voices stopped her.
“The twins,” Alexander murmured, his voice flat, his back still to her. “I will hide there and await them. The treasure is just through that archway. I suggest you wait there for the final confrontation.”
Without another word, he disappeared into a small alcove, obscured from view. Rose hesitated a moment before turning and walking in the direction he had pointed at.
As she walked through the archway, she saw a small table with a small wooden box on it. She moved towards it, seeing the intricate designs on the wood.
Did Alexander make this? Or did his father?
“You shall go no further!” Alexander’s voice drifted towards her, and she turned to face the archway. “You may have defeated the Black-Haired Maiden, but her skill is nothing compared to my own.”
“He does think a lot of himself, doesn’t he?” a voice murmured in Rose’s ear, making her jump.
She whirled around to find Olivia standing beside her, smiling mischievously. “Goodness, you scared me half to death. I thought the others ‘killed’ you?”
Olivia shook her head. “No, I simply led them on a merry, little goose chase before disappearing into the woods. Then I made my way here. I confess, I had expected Alexander to be waiting with you.”
Rose flushed, unsure how to explain what had happened moments ago.
Olivia tilted her head, opening her mouth as if she were going to ask more, when four figures appeared in the archway.
“You are no match for us, you fiend!” Marie swung her sword towards Alexander, feinting left and stabbing right.
The wood connected with his stomach, and he put a hand over it. “Agggghhhh! The pain!”
“Take that.” Natalie’s sword struck his shins, and he collapsed to the ground, crying out dramatically as he clutched at his invisible wounds.
“And that.” Peter brought his sword down on Alexander’s back.
Alexander tumbled forward. “Aaaah! I. Cannot… The pain… It. Is. Too. Much. I have. Failed. My Queen. I die.”
He clutched theatrically at his chest, curled into a ball, and feigned death. Rose watched the entire scene unfold, marveling at his exaggerated acting. At the way he let the children stab him and win the game.
How can he be so warm towards them?
As the three made their way towards her, Rose raised her sword and stood in front of the treasure, with Olivia at her side. Together, they cried out, running towards the children, allowing themselves to be cut down a moment later.
“You have killed me,” Rose yelled, clutching at her side and crumbling to the floor with a gurgle.
“You may claim your treasure. You have beaten us all.” Olivia slid to the ground, clutching Peter’s sword, and pretended to die.
Peter, Marie, and Natalie let out a cheer, laughing and hugging each other as they opened the treasure chest and exclaimed in delight. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw Alexander stand up and walk over to the celebrating trio.
“Well done! Why don’t you return to the house and show Mother your spoils?” Alexander smiled at the children, but Rose could see a hint of brittleness in his expression that had not been there before.
“I bet I’ll find Mother before you do!” Natalie yelled as she began to run out of the maze.
“You cheat!” Peter called after her.
Marie laughed but followed suit, waving goodbye to Rose and Olivia as she departed with the small box in her arms.
Olivia walked over to her brother. “What treasures did you give them this time?”
Alexander waved a hand vaguely. “A few bits and pieces. Some pretty river stones, a couple of books—nothing too extravagant.”
“You resisted the temptation to give them each six guineas?” Olivia nudged him on the shoulder.
Six guineas? I never even held such money at their age.
Rose looked at Alexander, who seemed to be deliberately avoiding her gaze. It stung.
“I did.” Alexander smiled at his sister. “I gave them each ten instead.”
“Ten guineas each?!” Olivia yelled.
Alexander laughed and then glanced at Rose, the warmth in his eyes vanishing in an instant. “It is my money, and I am sure you will help them spend it wisely. However, I have some matters to attend to. I fear I must leave you both. Good day.”
Rose opened her mouth to call out to him, but he had already disappeared through the archway and out of sight. She turned to Olivia, who was still standing utterly dumbfounded and staring after him.
“I take it your father was not as generous with the prizes he left for you?” Rose nudged her sister-in-law teasingly.
Olivia shook her head. “Father would give us money, but not so much as Alexander likes to give the twins and Marie. And Mother is far more relaxed with those three than she ever was with Alexander and me. Why, the last time we played, Peter bought and ate so many sweets that he was ill for a week. Natalie decided to bury her treasure and promptly forget where she had buried it, and Marie… well, I’m not sure what she did with hers.”
“Perhaps she saved it?” Rose suggested as they began their walk towards the castle.
“Perhaps. Marie can be quite a sensible creature.” Olivia looked thoughtful.
Rose only half listened to Olivia as they walked towards the castle, trying to understand what had happened in the maze.
Was that the real Alexander?
She remembered the warmth of the moments they had shared. The way he had been with his younger siblings.
How can he be so warm in one moment and yet as cold as stone the next?
Rose frowned, thinking back to the moment at the ball all those months ago. She had been nervous—of course, she had. But Alexander had been perfectly gentlemanly, funny, and kind.
But you saw his fury.
Yet, she found herself wondering if it had truly been fury on his face or something else.
“Rose?” Olivia’s voice brought her back to the present.
Shaking her head as if to clear it, Rose gave her sister-in-law an apologetic smile. “Pardon, my mind was elsewhere. Pray, what did you say?”
“I was saying that we should change for supper.” Olivia gestured to a grandfather clock. “We have about an hour before the gong rings.”
Rose’s eyes widened. “Goodness, were we in the garden so long?”
It felt like no time at all.
Olivia laughed. “It is easy to get swept up in the game. It was lovely to see you play with the others with such camaraderie.”
“I enjoyed it. I hope we will have other adventures together.” Rose thought of the coldness in Alexander’s expression as he turned away from her. “It was lovely getting to see such a different side to you all.”
Olivia cast her a sidelong look. “I am glad you saw the softer side of my brother. That is the man I know and love.”
“I can see why. I had not realized he could be so…” Rose tried to find the right words.
Endearing? Funny? Creative?
“Silly.”
“He is a complete and utter fool, but he rarely lets others see that side of himself.” Olivia sighed. “But perhaps we shall see more of it.”
“I would like that,” Rose said, and found that she meant it.
Yet, her sense of foreboding only grew as she entered the dining room and didn’t spot her husband at the table. Everyone else was present as she took her seat.
“Some urgent business has come up, so he will not be joining us this evening,” the Dowager Duchess explained, smiling sadly.
Rose’s heart sank. “Oh.”
“But he will be present at breakfast tomorrow, won’t he?” Peter asked, his eyes round and hopeful.
The Dowager Duchess shook her head. “He said that he must return to London.”
“But Alexander said that he and Rose would be here for a fortnight at least!” Olivia looked furious.
“He said that only he will be returning to London.” The Dowager Duchess smiled kindly at Rose. “Unless, of course, you would like to return to London as well?”
Rose shook her head as her blood turned into ice. “I should like to stay.”
He is leaving. Tomorrow.
She saw her disappointment and sadness reflected on the faces of everyone around her. Something inside her snapped. The despair and loneliness that had threatened to overcome her were replaced by white-hot anger.
Standing up suddenly, she turned to the Dowager Duchess. “Pray, could you tell me where Alexander is currently? I must speak with him.”
“He was in the Eastern drawing room when I left him, though I suspect he will now be on his way to the stables to have the grooms prepare for his departure on the morrow.” The Dowager Duchess canted her head, curiosity in her eyes.
“Then I shall find him. Please accept my most sincere apologies for leaving supper in such haste.” Rose held the older woman’s gaze, fury still burning within her. “I do not think this can wait.”
The Dowager Duchess looked into Rose’s eyes, her lips pursed in thought as she nodded. “No, I daresay it cannot.”
Rose nodded back, and then left the room as quickly as she could manage without breaking into a run. She strode through the halls of the castle, out into the gardens, and towards the stables. It did not take her long to spot the silhouette of the Duke in the distance.
She quickened her pace, anger coursing through her veins.
How dare he do this? How dare he give me a glimpse of something warm and kind, only to snatch it away? I will not stand for it.
“Duke!” Rose called out as she drew closer to him. “Your Grace, I would like to speak with you.”
Alexander turned towards her, his face implacable. “Duchess.”
“You were not at supper.” Her heart hammered in her chest. “And the Dowager Duchess tells me you are to return to London on the morrow.”
“Yes. I feel it would be best that I take my leave.” Alexander looked as though he would turn away from her once more, but she would not let him.
“No.” Her voice was firm and flat, and it surprised her.
What am I doing?
“No?” Alexander raised an eyebrow, his voice devoid of any emotion.
“No.” Rose took a steadying breath. “I will not let you do this.”
The words were a challenge, and as she said them, she knew that she had reached the point of no return. Even as some part of her remembered the anger she had seen in his expression before, she would not take her words back.
She had issued a challenge. All she could do was await the answer.