Secrets of the Crown

Chapter 8

It has now been seven days since the incident. During this time, I have received numerous lectures from my father, all of which are accurate. He said I was stubborn and uncooperative, and ordered me to leave my room for seven days and to leave the mansion for one month. This may appear to be excessive. However, I understand why my father had to do this.

I can't blame him for being angry. I couldn't say sorry enough but at the end of him scolding me, he hugged me and, thank the heavens, I was alright.

I've been pretty quiet lately. I've been reading books and getting letters from Luke every now and then. The thief who took me ended up going straight to jail, and because of that, the security around the capital has been really tight.

But just thinking about having nothing to do for a month drives me crazy.

"Lady Maud," Sophie called out behind my bedroom door. "I have brought new books for you."

"Come in," I said with a small smile, "just put them on the desk, I'll go through them later." Truth be told, I've had enough of reading books.

"I get the feeling you're not interested in books anymore. Can I get you anything else, Miss?"

Sophie was appointed by Father to keep an eye on me. She has been considerable since day one and keeps me company.

"How about you tell me a story?" I said.

His eyes narrowed. "I am not a storyteller, Miss," she said with a wry smile.

"From your experience, I mean. Anything you want to share." She didn’t answer and hesitated.

"I-I don't think I have anything interesting. I'm sorry," she said without looking at me.

"Sophie, how old are you?" Looking at her petite figure and young face. She must be just about the same age as me.

"I'm seventeen, miss."

I don't get to hang out with girls my age very often. I said, "You gotta have someone who makes your heart happy then," with a broad smile.

She looked up at me with a blush on her face. Although she refused to tell me everything, she did say that a childhood friend from the province had confessed to her before leaving to work for me for a month.

She still hasn't given him an answer. She said she'd tell him when she got back.

She came from a duke's villa in the province, a duke who was a friend of General Wiltone. He proposed bringing Sophie to take care of me.

It makes me sad somehow because Sophie and her childhood friend had to part because of work. Sophie assured me that the job was actually a blessing for her, due to the fact that he confessed that she was leaving.

I never really thought about love when I was growing up. I just did what I was told. I always knew that eventually I'd get married to someone my parents chose for me. It's part of being a lady.

Do I really get to choose who I love?

"I know I'm not in the position to ask, miss, but are you in love with someone too?" she shyly asked.

I don't know what I was thinking about, but I thought about Reed and Luke.

I just shook my head and put my hands to my face.

It's not that I'm not familiar with the concept of love, but what I do know is that the love she's referring to is different. They're around me because I made them pay attention to me to get what I want, but love isn't on my list of things to do.

"Oh! I nearly forgot," Sophie said, fumbling for something in her dress and pulling out an envelope. She handed me a letter with no name attached, but it did have my name written on it.

As soon as I opened the envelope, I became aware that it was from Reed. I glanced at Sophie, who was just waiting for me to tell her if something was wrong with the letter. "It's from a friend," I said. "I'd like to read it by myself."

She nods her head and smiles playfully and said before leaving, "Miss, it's obvious that it's from someone you care about."

I blushed. That wasn't my intention. I just wanted to read my letter alone.

This is Reed's first letter to me. He wanted to check in and see how I was doing after the accident and the punishment I got.

"Do your hands still hurt? I hope it didn't leave a scar."

I still have some bruising and some small scars on my hands. It's hard to explain why, but when I saw them again, it was like I was brought back to that moment.

That's when I noticed I had tears in my eyes. I held the letter close to my heart.

I wanted to write a letter back, but I didn't have the courage to do so. It felt like if I did, I wouldn't be able to stop crying.

I kept his letter and thought of writing back to him tomorrow.

The morning passed quickly, and all I could do was stare out the window. I was excited to get a letter from Reed, but the memory of the incident filled me with an uneasy feeling.

Sophie had just gone out of my room after getting me ready for the night. I didn't feel tired yet, so I sat up on my bed.

When I made the decision to find out who murdered my mother, I had no idea how hard it would be or how much it would take for me to do it. I thought just getting into the palace would be enough to get me started.

I've come to realise that I'm really weak. How can I take down the people who murdered my mom if I'm so weak?

I decided to go outside to the balcony. Now I'm thinking I should reevaluate my situation and come up with a better plan.

All of a sudden, I felt an embrace from behind me covering my mouth lightly, and I heard, "Don't scream. It's me," and I knew that it was Reed.

He spun me around and I could see the relief on his face. "W-What are you doing here?" I asked. His sudden visit took me by surprise.

"You haven't responded to my letter, so I wanted to make sure you're all right." Luke says Reed doesn't talk a lot, but maybe it's just when he's with him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were waiting for my response. I was meaning to write back tomorrow but—" We've only met once and I don't understand where his concern is coming from.

"I am the one who should apologize for arriving unexpectedly, Miss," he said. "I've seen what I needed to see. Please don't stress yourself too much. Then, I'll take my leave." He turned to walk away, but I caught hold of his robe to stop him from going.

"It's okay. I just... It's actually..."

There were so many things I wanted to say but my mouth wouldn't let me. My tears began to fall as I looked down on his robe that I was holding. The memory of him lifting out of that carriage just came back so suddenly. The feeling was so overwhelming.

"Dry your tears, Lady Maud. Regrettably, I am in no position to comfort you." His voice trembles.

"Then why are you here? Weren't you concerned about me?"

He remained silent. I knew he had not been sent by Luke. Luke had informed me in his letter that he would be away for a period of time due to matters he had to take care of.

"I am," he said, "but the prince and palace will not be pleased to know that I have visited the Lady in the middle of the night uninvited."

I clung to his robe as tight as I could, not wanting him to go.

"Will you still leave if I invite you?" my voice trembles.

I don't understand myself. I know I'm not supposed to do this, especially after meeting Luke for a marriage date. But I can't help myself.

Is it because I'm afraid?

Do I just need a friend to talk to?

"Please don't invite me. I will not be able to say no."

Perhaps he knew that I would invite him because he held my hand away from his robe before he left without even looking back.