MDCF

23

But Alan wasn't angry at Siana or himself. His anger was solely for Viscount North because he had tried to take advantage of a woman who was in a difficult situation. He was indeed a very vile and abominable person.

To Siana, his anger, on her behalf, was touching. It somehow assured her that he cared so much about her. And it made her feel warm inside that there was someone who cared about her so much besides her parents, who were dead. She had felt too alone after her father's death and all the blunder regarding the debt. For the first time since then, she had a little hope. Perhaps she could make a life for herself together with Alan. Maybe even a happy one.

Alan took a deep breath to calm himself. "You should keep the money," he said.

"What?" said Siana, "But wouldn't it be better to use it to pay the debt. That was what it was for anyway. It will make things easier."

"It's your inheritance," he said, "Your debt is mine now. I will pay it. You don't need to worry about it at all. You should keep the money. Do something you have always wanted to do with it."

Inheritance... It was true that Siana had nothing but the mansion left from her father. And she had sold it, so this money was all she had left of her supposed inheritance. She wondered if it was okay to keep it.

"Are you sure?" asked Siana.

"Of course," said Alan.

"I...um... thank you," she said.

Alan smiled warmly. "No need," he said, "Let's go see your parents now. Are you ready?"

"Yes," said Siana, as she stood up accepting the hand he offered.

* * *

A carriage was already waiting at the entrance of the mansion. Alan helped her into the carriage. Siana sat in it, awkwardly. This was all so new to her. The cushions were very soft and fluffy. The carriage walls look pristine. Everything, starting from the carriage, to the cushions, even the horses looked expensive. So different from the one Siana usually rode.

"Do you like it?" asked Alan.

"Yes," said Siana, "It's very nice."

"It's yours," said Alan, "So that you can ride it wherever and whenever you want."

"What?!" said Siana, "I couldn't possibly... it's yours."

Alan chuckled. "All that is mine is now yours, Sia."

Siana wanted to protest, he was already doing too much for her. She wanted to argue that she could never accept so much when she had nothing in return to give him. But he lay himself on the carriage seat with his head on her lap. The surprise alone drove every other thought from her mind.

"Hm," he said, "This feels nice."

Siana sat stiffly, not knowing what to do. She looked at his blond hair splayed over her lap. "Well, don't get used to it," she said, "What are you going to do if the carriage comes upon a bumpy road and it rattles?"

"I don't mind."

Siana smiled and looked at his face. He looked so serene at that moment. She looked at his sharp features, his nose, his long eyebrows. He looked far from a soldier who had toiled and suffered in the battlefield. He looked like a noble aristocratic businessman.

But Siana knew better. Thinking about his scars made her heart hurt. Five years on the battlefield. Siana felt sorry for him. She was sad about all the adversities and miseries he had gone through.

Unlike her, who had been oblivious to his suffering, Alan had spent every day remembering her. Although it wasn't her who had sent him to the battlefield so she didn't really have to feel so guilty, she still felt bad that he had gone through so much and still he had remembered her fondly.