Remember When

Chapter 28

After the men swore to assist me in finding my mother and ensure that the Duke was held accountable for his crimes, I returned to my room. I thought, in doing so, that I would have the opportunity to be alone. To think. To breathe.

As it turned out, I was not so fortunate.

"Where have you been?" Constance asked, confused and angry.

"To see my mother," I muttered quietly, taking a seat next to the window.

I had hoped that by occupying the seat farthest away from her that she would take the hint, but it appeared as though the universe was simply not on my side.

"And how did you manage to leave this room?" she asked in disbelief. "There was a guard stationed at the door. He just let you scurry out of here? Where did he go?"

I sighed, wrapping my arms around my legs and resting my head on my knees.

"Your brother knocked him out," I didn't bother to conceal the truth. "I'm not sure what happened to him after that."

"What?" she shrieked, her eyes widening.

"Nicholas is here? Why would he do such a thing? Where is he now?"

Closing my eyes, I tried my best to tune her out. But all I could visualize was his face, and I wasn't sure which was worse.

The pain in those beautiful dark blue eyes. The look on his face of pure and utter betrayal. His words. In that moment, he had regarded me as a Prince and future King. Not Mathew. He didn't trust me. Not that I expected him to. He barely knew me, and I him. Not anymore, at least.

As if this couldn't continuously get worse, women had thrown themselves at him pretending to be me. Had he believed any of them? Had they gotten through to him? How long had he had to endure their manipulation and deceit? From the way his father had treated me, I suspected quite often.

And my mother. My poor mother. Judging by the state of her room, I couldn't even fathom what the Duke had done to her. And poor, unsuspecting Sir Thompson as well.

The Duke was a sick and twisted man. If one could even refer to him as a man. 

It was clearer than ever that he craved power. He would do anything to ensure that he retained the title of Duke and dominion over Kentshire. He did not much care what happened to anybody else, including his own children. That monster would crush anybody in his path whom he perceived as a threat.

As much as I wanted to come up with a way to thwart the Duke's plans, I wasn't sure that I had much of a choice. Unless William was successful in locating my mother in the next twelve hours, my fate was sealed. I couldn't, wouldn't, risk her life. And I did not doubt that he would make good on his promise to end her life should I disobey his orders. At this point, he had nothing to lose. It was all or nothing.

"Are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" Constance's shrill voice rang through the air.

Picking myself up from the chair, I made towards the door.

"I'm going outside."

"B-but my father. He will be so irate if he finds out," the fear evident in her voice.

"He won't."

Her jaw dropped open in shock but she didn't bother stopping me. After all, there was no guard at the door. No Duke Mason barking orders. Who was to stop me now?

Making my way through the gardens, I soaked everything in. The sound of the owl in the distance. The moonlight shining across the cobblestones. The feel of the hedges as they brushed against my fingertips. The smell of the crisp, frigid night.