Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

R ather valiantly, Matthew released one of the horses from the carriage, securing Juliet’s tiny form on the large steed. Connecting the horse’s reins to his own steed’s reins, Matthew scooped his arms beneath Alicia, and swept her off her feet. It only lasted a second, because he set her down on the very front of his horse’s saddle. Matthew jumped on afterwards, being careful not to bump into her.

The ride back to Garvey was a quiet one. Alicia pressed against Matthew’s chest as she rode side saddle. He kept his gaze straight forward, holding tightly to the reins, and keeping a watchful eye on Juliet lingering nearby.

“Matthew,” Alicia said once the manor came into view, “what will you do with her?”

“Do you refer to Miss Ayles?” he asked, the venom heavy in his voice.

“What will you do?”

“I will send for the constabulary right away,” he replied.

“And?”

Matthew looked down at her with a raised brow, an amused smile slipping onto his lips. “What makes you think there’s an ‘and’?”

“You aren’t that hard to figure out.”

“Really?”

Alicia bumped her shoulder into him, feeling a blush crawl across her nose. “Answer my question, Matthew. What happens when we enter Garvey?”

He sighed tiredly. “She will be arrested, Alicia. What she has done is despicable.”

“Writing fraudulent letters doesn’t seem that bad,” she said quietly, referring to the letter the governess gave to Matthew as well as the one supposedly from Owen. “It brought no physical harm.”

“Don’t let your kindness make you ignorant,” Matthew said, speaking gently in the small amount of space between them. “You offer her much more than she deserves.”

“If I don’t, who else will?”

Matthew kept his lips pressed together in a firm line as they came upon Garvey’s front steps. Before he could pull the horse to a stop, Mr. Livingston had already rushed down the stairs, a worried look on his pinched face.

“Your Grace!” the older man shouted, waving his hands over his head. “Your Grace!”

The duke slid off the horse, reaching up to take Alicia by the waist, and lowering her off the steed. Juliet was next, her small frame looking like an ant when standing beside the horses.

“Mr. Livingston,” Matthew called out. “Come with me. We must fetch the fastest footman to run for the constabulary.”

“Constabulary?” Mr. Livingston repeated once he reached the bottom of the stairs, entirely out of breath. “What on earth for?”

“The governess, Mr. Livingston.” Matthew snapped his fingers, motioning for the butler to follow him. “With me, now.” As the pair began to march around the estate, Matthew glanced over his shoulder at Alicia. “Stay there, Alicia!”

Watching them walk off, Alicia paced along the steps.

“Your Grace,” Juliet said quietly, “you should rest.”

“I will not.”

“What else is there for you to do?”

Alicia glanced up at the manor. Despite the glare of the sun, seeing through all the windows proved not to be too difficult. The drawing room where Alicia and Matthew shared their dance had a wide window that faced the front of Garvey. Alicia felt her eyes clinging to it for some reason. Within a second, a shadow passed by.

“It’s her,” she breathed.

“Your Grace?”

“Miss Ayles,” Alicia said, taking a few steps. “I think I might know where she is.”

“But what about what the duke said? To stay here?”

“I cannot, Juliet!”

The girl flinched. “Why does it matter to you so much, Your Grace? She forged a letter that claimed your mother was in a grave state. She tried to create a divide in your newly minted marriage. How can you find forgiveness in light of that?”

“Every person deserves repentance,” Alicia softly said. “If that is what they want.”

Before Juliet could argue and keep her there any longer, Alicia lifted her skirts, and climbed the staircase that led up into Garvey.

Surprisingly, the manor looked empty on the inside. Dim light that streamed in from the windows lit up only the largest of spaces, while shadows took up the rest. Alicia ran through the halls, searching through every open door for a glimpse of the governess. She was only past the foyer, rounding towards the main staircase at the manor’s center, when a blur of red passed by, speeding towards the back doors.

“Miss Ayles!” Alicia shouted as she chased after her.

Rushed footsteps filled the manor as they ran, till the governess crashed through the doors leading into the gardens. Miss Ayles ran down the steps, carrying two cases that bulged with clothes. Alicia quickly followed.

“Sophia!”

The governess only quickened her pace.

When Alicia felt like she would have to stop trying to chase after her, another figure stormed out into the gardens, taking incredibly long strides to reach Miss Ayles. Reaching out with a scarecrow-like arm, Renfield snagged Miss Ayles by the arm, yanking her back a few feet. She squealed, flinging the cases in the air as the groundskeeper steered her around, and back towards Alicia.

“Unhand me!” Miss Ayles was screaming, trying to pry the man’s fingers from her biceps.

“Miss Ayles,” Alicia said, trying to be calm despite her racing heart. “I only want to speak to you.”

The governess stared at her in a wild way. “Only speak?”

“Yes, I?—”

“Don’t you dare lie to me,” she spat. “I can see through your doe-eyed innocence.”

Alicia shook her head, taking a few more steps closer. “Please, Miss Ayles, I have no ill intentions,” she said. “I was never the one who committed the crimes you so freely did.”

“You did something far worse.”

“What could I have done?”

Miss Ayles lowered her gaze, anger and rage boiling beneath her eyes as tears threatened to spill over. “You ruined everything. ”

Alicia gaped at her. “I don’t understand.”

“That night,” Miss Ayles began, breathing deeply to speak through her tears, “the duke went to Benedict House because Lady Tollock refused to let him live it down. I heard him whine and complain all day about it, about the pressures of society and the ever-watching eye of the ton. He dreaded all the women who prowled the halls in search of a wealthy bachelor, like the duke.”

Miss Ayles tilted her head in a cruel way as she looked at Alicia. “And suddenly there was you ,” she sneered. “The beautiful and innocent lady who managed to keep him ensnared long enough in a library for the ton to witness the scandal. You.”

“Nothing that happened that night was on purpose, Sophia,” Alicia said, hoping to reason with the governess. “It was circumstance, and the duke knows that.”

“He doesn’t,” she argued, shaking her head rapidly. “I know him, and he doesn’t.”

“I don’t think you know him as well as you think.”

Sophia snarled at her. “You know nothing.”

“Please,” Alicia pleaded, “I’m giving you a second chance, Sophia.”

She narrowed her eyes skeptically. “What?”

“Show me that you are not inherently evil,” Alicia said. “I know you aren’t. You were scorned, left with no choice but to act in the way you did to achieve the things you wanted. You were human, and I can forgive you of that. All you need to do is show me.”

Sophia’s lips parted, a look of astonishment filling her face. “That’s all?”

“Yes,” Alicia breathed, almost reaching for her. “That’s all, Sophia.”

The governess looked down at her feet, her eyes searching. Hope brewed in Alicia’s chest, and she stepped closer, her lips spreading into an inviting smile.

“You’re a fool,” Sophia hissed.

Alicia’s hands dropped. “What?”

“You’re a damned fool . Did you really think I’d turn around, just like that?”

“I thought?—”

“You thought you were some mighty duchess, about to grant me a second chance by the grace of your heart?” Sophia sneered, tears streaking down her face. “You can never be a duchess. You will fail. No matter how hard you try.”

“Sophia Ayles!”

Before she could finish, Matthew came marching towards them with the constable in tow. He came to Alicia at once, reaching to pull her into his chest. Alicia let him, feeling limp and weightless in his arms.

“You will be coming with me,” the constable demanded, taking her from Renfield’s grasp.

The governess cried silently as she was taken away.

“I thought I told you to stay,” Matthew spoke into her hair.

She pressed her face into his chest. “Everyone deserves second chances.”

He squeezed his arms around her. “You are kinder than me.”

Stepping up on her toes, Alicia pressed a soft kiss against his cheek. “Don’t worry, my dear,” she whispered, a smile curling up at her lip, “we’ve got the rest of our lives to work on that.”

“The rest of our lives,” Matthew mused. “I quite enjoy the sound of that.”

“Do you?”

“I do.”

Alicia smiled and raised her face to him.

And the rest of their lives it was.