An Inconvenient Arrangement

Chapter 54: Sylvie and Rafe

There was something very wrong with Raphael, Sylvie finally allowed herself to think that thought after nearly a week of rationalizing his sudden shift in demeanor in her head. Her playful, smug lover had turned into a cold, distant man who barely spared her a glance.

When they had arrived in London, he had gone to meet his superior only to learn that his enemy had escaped holding. He'd come back, ordering them to pack because he was taking them to Carlisle with barely any explanation. He was barely eating, barely sleeping, and barely talking to her. He wasn't even joining her in bed! He preferred to ride out in the cold instead of joining them in the carriage.

It seemed as though he was completely shutting her out.

At first, she thought he had become afraid of the fact that he might have to marry her, but she had informed him of her courses and he had just turned ashen and gotten even colder than before. If it was not that then, perhaps he was thrown by this new complication in his investigation. But he'd never let his investigation affect his mood to this degree before.

While they had traveled, he came during the night when he thought her asleep, he sometimes placed a kiss on her head, sometimes lay beside her for a few moments, but he never stayed, nor tried to make any amorous touches.

She had asked him several times if something was bothering him but he kept denying it. However, he had claimed to not be in the mood for the third time in a row and Sylvie was beginning to feel very rejected. She had decided to try one last time tonight now that her courses were done and they had safely arrived in Carlisle. She slipped on the scandalous bit of nightwear he had gifted her, unable to look at herself in the mirror, and then shrugged on a robe above it, belting it at her waist. She padded down the hall – they were living in the family suite instead of the guest wing so that the guards only had a small area to secure- and entered his room without knocking. He barely acknowledged her, putting an assortment of weapons into a traveling case.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"I'm leaving for Fort William," he said without looking up. "Is there anything you need?"

"You were just going to leave without saying goodbye?" Sylvie demanded, her voice trembling a little from hurt. His recent coldness was one thing, but now he would remove her from the investigation too?

"And do I need to report all my actions to you?" His reply was so devoid of any emotion that it came across as condescension. "Why is that, Sylvie? Do you have some sort of claim over me?"

"You've kept me aware of everything so far. Thomas was my brother, I have a right to know. I am your friend, your lover. I am concerned for you."

"Ah, about that," he gave her a pitying smile that made dread churn deep in her stomach. "I think it's time we brought our little affair to a close, is it not?"

Oh god. It was happening. It was happening as she knew it would, yet it still hurt so damn much that she felt her throat begin to sting with the urge to cry.

"I-I don't understand."

He had been so sweet, so intense that day when he had gifted her the telescope. He had said he could never get enough of her, hadn't he? Was it so very easy to say those things in a fit passion without truly meaning them?

"Come now, Sylvie," he patted her hand patronizingly. "You're a school teacher from the country. I was going to get bored eventually, I've given you enough of a thrill haven't I?"

"Bored?" She whispered, willing her watering eyes not to overflow. "I see."

"Oh, Sylvie," he murmured, his voice sincerely gentle, his hand coming to cup her face. "This was the plan, wasn't it? We part ways eventually. We both move on, take lovers as we please. It wasn't going to last forever. In fact, they have a post in Italy for me that I intend to take."