Chapter 5

CHAPTER5

"Idid not willingly come to that dreadful man’s chamber, Alicia," Leah told her best friend and cousin, Alicia Finch, the Baroness of Lifton.

"Of course, I believe you," Alicia said softly, putting down the dainty teacup back onto a small table that separated the two young ladies.

Alicia had always been the more timid of the two, with the outlook that a lady should be shy and obedient, as those two qualities led to a happy, married life. She always hoped to obtain exactly that, but sometimes, finding the right man wo would provide that seemed to be an impossible feat. At the same time, Leah did not want to offend her friend, but quiet and pleasant was the last thing she ever wanted for herself. She needed much more to be truly happy, and she deserved to be happy. Everyone did.

"Father doesn’t," Leah sighed. "And he is forcing me to marry the duke." The very thought of marrying that man made her feel uneasy. "As if he wasn’t aware of this man’s reputation."

"You mean his parents’ death?" Alicia wondered.

"Yes, what else?" Leah frowned. "As if that in itself wasn’t enough."

"But those are mere speculations," Alicia pointed out. "Why on Earth would he murder his own parents?"

Leah shrugged. "I don’t know. I am not inside his mind. Perhaps he had a terrible row with his father. Perhaps he had done something we know nothing about, something so despicable that his parents threatened to cut him off and leave him penniless. Perhaps, he accidentally pushed his mother down the stairs, and his father did not want to cover it up, so he was forced to murder his father as well, so he made it look like an accident, that they died in the fire. See? There are many options here."

Alicia’s forehead furrowed, creating several deep lines which were not there a moment ago. "You should not let your imagination run wild, Leah."

"Well, now you sound just like Father," Leah was slightly offended, although she was certain that her friend only meant the best.

"I am merely saying that you always look at things from a certain extreme," Alicia pointed out gently, without any sign of scolding or judgment. "You know nothing about this young man. Have you ever given him the benefit of the doubt? Perhaps he is a decent man, who has had many misfortunes in his life. Not only has he lost his parents both at the same time, which is an additional tragedy, but there are also speculations that he had something to do with that. Imagine how he must feel because of that."

Leah pouted. She hated it when Alicia made so much sense. Of course, such a thing was possible. It was farfetched, but possible. Then again, her theories were also farfetched from a certain point of view. However, there were many unknowns still, and that made the duke a stranger, a dangerous one at that.

"Decent or not, I cannot help but wonder whether he had something to do with how I ended up in his chamber," Leah said pensively.

"Well, what is the last thing you remember?" Alicia leaned closer.

Leah thought about it for a moment, then replied. "I had dinner with Father. I remember having a slight headache, so I retired to my chamber immediately after dinner, whereas usually I read in the library a little. I got ready for bed and fell asleep at some point."

"Just that?" Alicia sounded disappointed. "Nothing else?"

"Nothing else," Leah shrugged. "That is why this whole thing is so preposterous. I did not walk over there on my own. I must have been taken there, but... how? By whom? And what about the fire?" She paused, then continued. "I think it might have something to do with my mother."

"With your mother?" Alicia was surprised. "Why?"

"I have been asking around, to see if perhaps Father and I missed some important clues regarding her death. You know I don’t think it was an accident."

"Leah–" Alicia started, but her voice trailed off. Leah knew what she would say. "You should let your mother rest in peace. What happened to her was... tragic. But life goes on. We cannot dwell on the past, because then we forget to live in the present."

"I know all that, Alicia," Leah replied.

She could not blame her cousin for thinking this way. Alicia always lacked that adventurous spirit which Leah and her mother seemed to possess. Alicia was more like Leah’s father. They were afraid of adventures. They always thought that something could go wrong, that adventures always led to trouble. Now with her mother gone, Leah knew that her father was afraid of losing her as well. That was why he had become so strict, so unwilling to compromise on anything. He was afraid, and he allowed that fear to govern his life. Leah promised herself that she would never allow that to happen to her.

"I do not want to live in the present where I am married to a man who might or might not be a kidnapper, who might or might not be involved in his parents’ death. That is... too much," Leah shook her head, looking down at her lap, where she was cracking her fingers apprehensively.

"What do you plan on doing?" Alicia wondered, her voice down to a conspiratorial whisper.

Leah sniffled, then looked up. If there was anyone in the whole world whom she trusted completely, then it was Alicia. She was there for her when her mother died. Leah had spent many a night crying on Alicia’s shoulder. Her presence and friendship had been of undeniable help during her most difficult times. Besides, she might need some help, so she had to reveal her plan to Alicia.

"I cannot stay here," Leah admitted, inhaling deeply.

She glanced at the window. The soft summer breeze spilled in, bringing with it fragrances from the garden, which her mother had tended to with such care and love while she was alive. The thought brought tears to Leah’s eyes.

"I will escape to Scotland," Leah finally revealed. "Mother’s sister lives there, Aunt Bedelia. I have her address somewhere among Mother’s things. I just need to find it and arrange the whole trip."

"You will go alone?" Alicia gasped.

"Well, that is the point of escape," Leah could not help but chuckle.

"Aren’t you afraid of traveling alone?" Alicia asked, sounding shocked that Leah was even considering such a feat.

"I am more afraid of spending my life with someone who is not who he claims to be," Leah confessed.

"But have you even spoken to the duke?" Alicia was adamant. It was more than just a selfish desire not to lose her best friend, Leah knew that much.

"You cannot speak normally to that man," Leah rolled eyes. "I tried to, but he immediately accused me of not taking this whole thing seriously enough. He basically said that I trapped him into this marriage."

"You trapped him?" Alicia repeated in disbelief.

"Imagine that," Leah chuckled again. Even though the burden of this situation still lay heavily upon her, Leah welcomed the fact that Alicia was by her side now, and at least, she was having fun. She would be crossing more serious bridges when she got to them. "You know, I do believe he thinks I did this on purpose. That is climbed into his chamber, through the window or something, and that I planned on forcing him to marry me."

"Why, that is preposterous!" Alicia exclaimed, unable to hide her own amusement at this theory.

"I know, right?" Leah laughed loudly. "Do you see now? I know that I didn’t go there on my own. So, he must have taken me there somehow, without my consent."

"Are you certain it was him?"

"I mean, who else could it be?" Leah shrugged. "Who else would go through the trouble of taking a lady to a gentleman’s chamber? And more importantly, why?"

"I do not know," Alicia shook her head incredulously. "This is all far to convoluted for my taste."

"For mine as well, and I do like a good adventure," Leah chuckled. Then, she suddenly turned grave. "But in all seriousness, I cannot stay here. Father won’t listen to me. The duke is adamant on this wedding taking place as soon as possible. I have to plan my escape within the next couple of days."

"That soon?" Alicia gasped.

"I know," Leah said compassionately, getting up and walking over to her friend. She took a seat by her side and enveloped Alicia into a loving embrace, which her friend reciprocated. The two girls remained like that, hugging, for a very long time, with neither of them unwilling to let go. Leah almost felt as if this would be the last time they would embrace, and she wanted to make it last as long as possible.

At that moment, the door burst open, and her father appeared. The girls tore each other away from their embrace. Leah could immediately tell that her father did not come in here to inquire about Alicia and her family.

"I thought you were a reasonable young lady, Leah," her father said, his entire face shadowed by an invisible cloud that seemed to hang right above his head as he spoke. "But I see now that I was wrong."

"What are you talking about, Father?" Leah asked, looking at Alicia then back at her father.

"You will go nowhere," he finally said. "Your plan of escaping to Scotland shall never take place. I shall make sure of it. From now on, you are not to leave this Manor unattended. In fact, even the garden is off limits, unless someone is with you. Understood!?"

Leah could not understand what just happened. Only Alicia knew of her plans, and she had only learned of them in the last couple of minutes. There was no way she could have told Leah’s father about any of that, unless her father was standing by the door, listening in, which was completely unlike him. He had become overly protective, but he knew there was a line of privacy not to be crossed.

Then, Leah realized something. The window was open. Was it possible that some of the servants were tending to the garden, and they overheard her talking to Alicia, then felt obliged to go to her father? It was possible.

"Am I understood, Leah!?" her father thundered once again, his voice on the verge of breaking. She could hear fear in there, intertwined with concern and love. He did not want to lose her, like he lost her mother. But he was going about it the wrong way.

Still, the only thing Leah could do right now was oblige. "Yes, Father," she said obediently, looking down at her feet.

She expected him to say something else, to reassert his dominance over her, over this situation, but he said nothing else. He merely turned around, left the room and slammed the door behind him. Leah’s heart was beating wildly inside her chest, threatening to jump out and leave the confines of her body.

Her eyes locked with Alicia’s. Neither of the two girls knew what to say to each other. Words were superfluous. There was nothing but pain, and a deep, dark chasm that Leah felt she had fallen into, without any means of surfacing again.

Then, as if able to read her friend’s mind, Alicia wrapped her arms around Leah again, bringing her closer into an embrace once more. This was not the solution to her problems. Far from it. But it felt good to be understood, to be unconditionally loved and to know that perhaps, somewhere along the line, Leah would be able to find a way out.