As we moved through the final swell of the music, I caught sight of Coral at the edge of the ballroom.
She was speaking to an older woman with black hair and some grey strands tucked beneath a lace veil and a shawl that matched the delicate blue of her teacup. Whatever they were discussing, made the woman smile into her drink.
Coral, animated as ever, nodded along. Then as if sensing my gaze, she glanced over her shoulder.
Her eyes met mine, she winked.
I bit down a grin.
"You and Coral," Darrell said lowly, eyes following mine. "Are just as you are when you were kids."
"Now, we're practically married," I replied with a small shrug.
He raised a brow, "Should I be jealous?"
"You should be grateful," I shot back. "She taught me how to curtsy without tripping."
His mouth twitched, "A worthy skill."
The music began to fade, the final notes floating invisible to the eye.
Darrell's hand slipped from my waist as we stepped back in unison, the weight of the dance lifting with the last chord.
"You can join the ladies," he said, softer than before. "You've done enough dazzling for one evening."
I looked at him still, unreadable and a mystery. Was he flirting with me?
"Are you wooing me, My lord?" I asked with a playful glint.
"You're already my wife, my lady," he gave a short, graceful bow, then turned and disappeared into a conversation with a duke and two military men in dark Sashes.
And I turned towards Coral. Towards warmth and cocoa and a place to breathe. She greeted me with open warmth, as always, drawing me into the small circle at the edge of the room. The older woman beside her looked regal, her face kind but commanding.
"Clara," Coral said, her hand resting on my arm. "I'd like you to meet the Baroness of Eastgate."
The Baroness smiled, her teacup cradled between lace–gloved fingers. "So this is the new lady Storm. Such a beauty. You've hosted us beautifully my dear. I'm on my third cup of cocoa and dangerously close to a fourth."
I let out a soft laugh. " That sounds like Highmere in the cold of winter. Could enough to freeze your breathe in your throat, the only cure was a mug of hot cocoa."
"A mug, you say?" She asked. "That's four of this teacups."
"And then we'd have about five mugs," I added.
The Baroness chuckled, clearly amused. "Sounds far more charming than Rosendal's frigid stares.
I smiled, eyes glinting. I then waved for a servant nearby, "a cup of hot cocoa please,"
The Baroness set her empty cup on the tray as the servant approached. "I knew I liked you," she said and gently excused herself into the crowd.
As she disappeared, someone else approached–less welcome, less warm.
Evelyn.
She stood poised, her dress clinging too closely, her lips painted just a touch too read. Her eyes glinted with nothing but hostility.
"Clara, darling," she said, syrupy sweet. "Might I steal you for a moment."
Coral's gaze sharpened at once, but I gave a slight nod signaling she could go.
Coral leaned in first, " if she tries something I'm within lunging distance."
I smiled, grateful. "Go, I'll survive."
Coral raised a brow then gracefully walked away.
Evelyn didn't waste a second. "I just have one question," she said, tilting her head. "Have.....you two consummated the marriage?"
I blinked the air stuttering around me. "I beg your pardon?"
"You heard me," she said with a too innocent shrug. "It's just.... I can't imagine him being very tender. You must feel like a guest in your bed."
My voice cooled, "is that what you came to ask me? Whether I sleep with my husband?"
"Curiosity," she replied, feigning a sigh. "For closure."
I straightened, cocoa forgotten in my hand. "I know about your obsession, Evelyn. I know about the poems and the letters.The way you watched him like something you were owed."
She stiffened just slightly.
"I'm not going to entertain it," I continued. "Not in whispered remarks nor in polite sabotage and certainly not in conversations like this."
For a beat, Evelyn said nothing.
Then she smiled, "so he hasn't told you anything?"
My jaw clenched.
"What's there to tell? Everyone knows of your desperate attempts, even Cerelith who's just laughing at your failed attempts."
The smile vanishes from her face, as she angrily stomps away.
I stood still a moment longer. My heart steady but my thoughts were running. I took a slow sip from the cup. The taste of hot cocoa lingered on my tongue. Evelyn words clawed at my thoughts like thorns. What was I supposed to know?
I slipped quietly towards the farthest corner of the room, where tall windows overlooked the garden and the lanterns outside flickered like distant stars.i needed a breath, silence or both.
But as I turned into the quiet alcove behind the drapes, I froze.
Voices. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but the voice that spoke arrested me completely.
Darrell.
He sounded a bit tired. "She's kind, she's doing everything right. And it's not her fault."
A pause.
"But?" A man's voice asked.
"She was a child when they left. I used to babysit her and Coral. Now I'm supposed to share a bed with her."
There was a beat of silence. Another of his military friends grunted in understanding.
"It's hard to play husband to someone I see like a sister."
The words rang through me.
Like a sister.
My chest tightened, the walls pressing in.
I stepped back–slow, careful –until the voices faded behind heavy velvet and the swell of music swallowed the rest.
The cocoa cup was still in my hand. I placed it carefully on a nearby tray. Then I turned back and walked straight to the noise and crowd I had tried to escape.
Lady Storm intercepted me before I made it far.
"There you are," she said smoothly, latching her hand onto my arm like a trained falcon would it's prey. "The countess of Grellmere has asked for an introduction, and the Lady Elston wants to compliment your floral arrangements."
I nodded mutely, letting myself be steered like a ship. I smiled, I curtsied, I said all the right things.
But inside I was unraveling. Wishing the ballroom would collapse. Wishing someone would shout fire. Wishing I could vanish beneath the drapes and never return.
All I wanted was for the day to end, so I could crawl out of this gown, out of this name and hide in the only place no one watched me.
Alone.