Ordained

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty Two

Emmeline did her best to appear normal in the two days after the feast. It took a seemingly enormous amount of effort just to smile, to let Cassius hold her hand, to appear interested when people spoke to her. The result was that each night she collapsed heavily into bed, sighing an entire day's worth of angst out in one long weary breath.

Cassius had stayed beside her and while a large part of her was pleased, a small and bitter part of her wished he would go away.

"We should return home." He said airly, carefully.

Emmeline felt Clementine pause in the act of undoing her hair, a nervous look on her maid's face as Emmeline watched her in the mirror. Their eyes met for the briefest second and the two women shared a moment of understanding. Emmeline was not returning to the townhouse until Carmen was gone.

"Where is your mother staying?" She replied, her voice guarded.

She heard Cassius' muffled groan. "Carmen will be removed from all our homes after the trial tomorrow."

Emmeline shook her head gently, closing her eyes to gather her strength for a second. "A trial for the wrong person." She muttered, reaching forwards for her pot of face cream. Clementine always tried to put these things on for her, but Emmeline insisted on doing it herself. Dipping the tips of her finger into the tiny glass jar she dabbed the sweet smelling lotion on her skin before rubbing in with slow circular motions.

"Emmeline, how can we move past this?" He asked after a long while. She just shrugged, they both knew what she wanted, she wanted Carmen to be held responsible but that couldn't happen, leaving them at an impasse. His temper flaring Cassius got roughly to his feet, grabbing his jacket back off the chaise.

"Where are you going?" She asked, hating that she both wanted him to leave and wanted him to stay.

"Home. Just because you refuse to sleep there doesn't mean I feel the same."

Part of her knew what she wanted to say. She wanted to tell him to stay, that she knew she was being unreasonable, that she knew she was redirecting her anger at Carmen towards him and that it wasn't rational. She wanted to tell him she loved him, that she just needed a little time to get past this, that she wanted him to hold her. None of those words came out though, instead that remained unverbalised on her tongue as he slammed the door shut behind him.

Emmeline didn't bother chasing him.

...

The morning of the trial, Emmeline was alone. Cassius hadn't bothered to return to fetch her so she ate alone, she dressed alone, she walked to the carriage alone. Ariana came to a hurried halt at her side as one of the palace carriage came to a stop before them. "Emmeline, I have been searching for you." She gasped, slightly out of breath. "We- we will go together. Today, we will stay close to one another." She nodded, waiting for Emmeline to agree, and smiling gently when she did.

During the carriage ride Ariana warned her of what they were about to face. She had explained what was expected of them, how they were to behave. Emmeline absorbed the information in silence, fiddling with the beading on her muted green gown. Ariana's hand covered hers, stopping her fussing. "It will be okay. I shall be with you." She promised, squeezing her fingers softly for a second.

"Thank you." Emmeline replied, her voice like a wisp in the wind. 

...

The trial had her shaking. Ariana had held her arm tightly the entire time, rubbing soothing circles into her skin. Emmeline was so grateful for the support, the weight of everyone's eyes on her threatening to crush her as she fought to keep her head held high. She had been warned beforehand what to expect but that hadn't made it any easier to see Ms Frances' swinging from the scaffold. The sight had made her stomach churn, her breakfast threatening to resurface.

On her left Cassius stared on impassive, his face a perfect mask of indifference. On his left sat his mother. Emmeline had almost walked off the dais when she had arrived to find her there, but Ariana had held her firm, whispering reassurances in her ear. The Grand Duke and his mother had arrived together and Emmeline felt her insides positively boiling at the insult. As if it called to her, Emmeline couldn't keep her eyes off Carmen's face, her gaze flickering to her every few minutes. It might have been fear, or perhaps just the sheer disbelief that she could sit there so unbothered, but she found herself unable to resist staring at her attempted murderer. Carmen watched on unaffected as her maid, who had served her loyally for decades, faced her death. Emmeline wasn't sure what she had expected, sadness or maybe even tears? What she hadn't expected though was the dowager duchess to be completely unfazed, halfway through the proceedings she even moved her attention onto her nails, studying the painted design and brushing off a speck of dust.

Was even this so beneath her that it didn't warrant her attention? Emmeline couldn't speak, her emotions choking her as she sat there physically shaking with rage. Ariana squeezed her arm a little tighter, pulling her head to rest on her shoulder in a move so sisterly Emmeline couldn't help but comply.

"Shh. It'll be over soon. You are doing so well." She breathed for only her to hear.

Emily and Lavender had been barred from attending the hanging, their husbands both not wanting them to see such a gory spectacle. Emmeline hadn't had a choice, as the victim and the consort of the Grand Duke, she had to attend along with the rest of the royal family. Gratitude for Ariana's affection swelled in her, almost chasing away her anger for a moment, almost.

"Thank you." She whispered back.

Ariana smiled, hugging her sideways for a few seconds before letting her go. The pair went back to their previous postures of rigid indifference as was expected, but they kept holding hands, squeezing each other tightly as the maid let out a garbled cry, making Emmeline wince.

The sound of Ms Frances' final cry repeated in her mind long after they had returned to the palace. Had she sounded like that when Frances' hands had been around her throat? Frances hadn't been innocent by any means, but it still felt wrong that she had faced the gallows alone, her co-conspirator watching on from the dais.  

When they arrived back a messenger from the King was waiting for her. "It is the King's wish that you will return to the Marcellus Townhouse to be with your ordained pair." Emmeline had held Ariana's hand tight whilst the man relayed his message. Virgil's order was clear, stop hiding in the palace and return to Cassius.

..............

Author's Notes:

I hate this.

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S x