Chapter Thirteen

R hapsody secured a day pass from the school's registrar that afternoon, and after paying for the use of one of its carriages, she was quickly driven off to Bond Street, which as its name suggested, was a near-faithful replica of the shopping area of old.

While in the carriage, she mulled over Emily's strange reaction and wondered if the other girl also harbored feelings for the marquis. She would talk to Emily on the morrow, Rhapsody decided. Things like this often stood in the way of friendship so the sooner they spoke of it, the better.

Once in town, Rhapsody couldn't help making a little detour to buy a strawberry-flavored popsicle from a pink-themed stand before heading down to her favorite bookshop. Since she already knew what she wished to buy, it only took minutes to find the title she wished to gift her Master and have it wrapped prettily in gold paper with a red silk bow on top.

Upon stepping out of the shop, she heard someone call her name—-

"Lady Rhapsody?"

Whirling around, she was startled to find Lord Erou Damaschin grinning down at her. She had first met the golden-haired gentleman at her old school, and at that time, the nobleman-slash-enforcer had been madly in love with her friend Lady Zari.

"Good morning, Lord Damaschin."

"Are we not good enough friends to call each other by our names?" Erou teased.

A moment passed, and then Rhapsody said simply, "It is not proper." They were in Chalys after all, and Society here was much, much more conservative than it had been outside the kingdom.

Same old Rhapsody , Erou thought with amusement. It was nice to see that she remained frank as ever, but there were also things about her that had changed remarkably. She had always been beautiful, but more like a cold, porcelain doll. Now, however, Zari's friend looked more vibrant, with dark eyes that sparkled and alluring rosy lips that appeared as if they would only curve for the right man.

"Are you in the same school as Lady Zari's?" Although the official story was that Zari had been sent to boarding school in Switzerland, Erou's work as an enforcer made him privy to the truth, which was that Zari had been training hard to hone her skills as a soul seer.

He still carries a torch for her friend , Rhapsody thought. But out loud, all she said was, "I am a student of The Progressive."

"I see."

"And you, milord?" Rhapsody asked. "Are you here for work or pleasure?"

"I have an ongoing investigation in Sangre, and it has led me here."

Rhapsody nodded. That should do it, she thought. She had done as her Social Graces professors had taught her. When one engaged her in a conversation and asked questions, it was only polite to ask something in return. Now, she was free to leave—-

"Come join me for tea or coffee," Erou invited on a whim. "It would be nice to catch up."

Rhapsody's brows furrowed. This was not supposed to happen. But on the other hand, Lord Erou did mention about an investigation, and mayhaps this was a heaven-sent opportunity to kill two birds with one stone?

"Do you know anything about the missing tourist, milord?"

The question caught Erou off guard. "Why would you want to know about such matters?"

"That already answers my question," Rhapsody wisely interpreted. "Very well then, milord. I'd like to have tea with you if you could answer some questions..."

Over an hour had passed by the time Rhapsody climbed back into the school's carriage and was driven back to The Progressive. She had much to think about, after what Lord Erou had reluctantly disclosed.

Apparently, the papers hadn't everything right. While it was true the tourist - a Miss Geraldine Joyce from North Carolina - had been in Amstel Woods, it was not the last place she had been seen alive. From there, she had actually hired a hackney - something that no proper lady would risk, which was probably why it was not an angle the papers had considered - and was then seen being dropped off at Sixpence. It was the seediest part of town, one that locals avoided while at the same time attracting a constant influx of penny-pinching tourists.

She had lodgings in Sixpence Inn , Lord Erou had gone on to tell her, and was last seen by the manager taking the stairs to her room some minutes past supper time. But the next morning, the housekeeper had found the room empty, with no evidence of a struggle.

When the carriage came to a stop in front of the gates of the south tower, Rhapsody was surprised to have the door opened by none other than the marquis himself.

"Welcome back, milady." After helping his pet down, Mihail was about to ask where she had gone when he detected a rather undesirable scent clinging distastefully to her skin. A man. Even worse, a man who with a seeming obsession with the women of his family. First it had been Zari, his brother's heartkeeper, and now Rhapsody?

Rhapsody belatedly noticed the hardened expression on the marquis' face. "Master?"

"Is there anything you'd like to tell me, milady?" An icy black rage had started consuming him from within, and it controlled his thoughts and words. Even dictated the way his heart was thudding against his chest.

"There is a missing tourist—-"

"Aside from that."

"I bought you a gift—-"

"I don't give a damn if you bought me a fucking gift." It was like hearing another being speak using his own voice, his rage taking a life of its own. "So I am asking you one last time. Is there anything you wish to say?"

Rhapsody had a hard time thinking clearly. "You truly do not care that I bought you a gift?"

"Goddammit, Rhapsody."

Her heart threatened to break. It was only the second time he had called her name, but now...it didn't...it wasn't what it used to be.

"The g-gift—-" She stopped speaking when she saw the blaze of anger in the marquis' eyes.

The rage in him saw no reason. Why did she keep on harping about that fucking gift? Why wouldn't she just tell him she had been with Lord Erou? He hadn't thought to ask why she had suddenly needed to visit her therapist yesterday, but what if that boy was the reason? What if that was why she could not answer him now, knowing that heartkeeping forbade any words of dishonesty between them?

He felt like he was about to explode, and it was only when he actually started a threatening step towards his pet and saw Rhapsody flinch as if she believed he would hit her—-

NO!

It was like waking up from a nightmare, reality extinguishing the rage in a blinding instant, but in its ashes despair whipped out.

Was this , he realized sickly, how he would end up hurting her without meaning to?

Rhapsody was stunned when the marquis turned his back on her and began walking away.

"Master?"

She waited for him to look back. To return to her side. She waited the whole night just to see him again and know that things would be fine once more.

But he never did.

And it was then she knew.

This tremendous pain that couldn't be anything else...

This pain that came from nowhere to rip her world apart and have her heart break into pieces...

She knew now.

She had her answer.

But it was as Lady Aurora said, and Rhapsody wished with all her heart such a moment had never come.