Ordained

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty Seven

With Cassius spending much of his time in his office, stewards forming a steady stream of foot traffic as they moved in and out of the room; Emmeline decided to leave the manor. It was suffocating staying within the house and grounds all day, and she longed to have some distance between herself and the manor that once again felt so oppressive. Carmen had forbidden her to visit the nearby town before, not wanting people to see her son's unworthy and unwanted pair. It felt almost like an act of revenge to ride Artemis into the town, with Clementine and Gregor, her guard, at her heels.

Word of the duke's ordained pair had obviously been a subject of much interest because when she rode into town she found herself practically mobbed. The street vendors rushed to introduce themselves, people lent out of their windows to look and wave. In every shop she visited the owner would try and give her things for free. In the café where she stopped for lunch, half the town seemed to follow her inside, filling every table at once and making the owner flush with delight. Clementine buzzed from the attention, staying dutifully at Emmeline's side, whereas Gregor prickled like a cat.

"The people have been eager to see you for themselves. Normally the duke would hold a parade to introduce his new bride, but as you and his grace are not yet engaged...." Clementine trailed off following a sharp look from Gregor.

"I see." Emmeline nodded quietly.

The town itself was charming, the architecture reminded her of a village of gingerbread houses. After months of distantly watching the lights of the town from the manor grounds, it was novel to look around. Not that she really had a chance to look around freely, being stopped every few steps by someone desperate to introduce themselves to their new grand duchess. With each smile she returned, each hand she shook, each polite laugh after a nervous joke, she could feel herself hardening. It was one thing to drift aimlessly around Marcellus Manor, retracing her steps day after day without any real progress or resolution. There she could almost forget her situation. She could fill her days with petty amusements like flowers, riding, reading, to distract herself from the purgatory she and Cassius found themselves in. It had been a mistake to go. She told herself as Gregor helped her back onto her horse. The ride back to the Manor was silent. Emmeline was in no mood to talk, and both Gregor and Clementine seemed to recognise that.

...

Emmeline knew Cassius wanted to ask her about her trip into town. She had seen Gregor leave his study earlier and was confident that her guard had been reporting back to his liege lord. Not that she blamed Gregor, he was simply following orders and as long as those orders didn't prevent her from doing as she pleased she would continue to have no objection to the hulking mass following her around.

She ate her food in quick mouthfuls, not really tasting what she was eating in her haste to get away from the table. After her trip into town she didn't want to sit across from the man who she had such mixed feelings for. It was better to hide away until she could think things through and calm down.

"A letter arrived for you." Cassius said, breaking the silence that had stagnated into an awkwardness that felt like a new normality. Emmeline lifted her gaze to meet his eye but said nothing.

Gods, his eyes were so blue, she felt like part of her had forgotten just how blue those eyes were. A servant took the letter from his hand and walked the length of the table to give it to her. It would've been polite to either wait and open the letter later or at least read it aloud but the contents stunned her so much she did neither.

Dropping her fork it clattered loudly in the soundless room. Almost at once the sound of Cassius' scraping chair legs shattered the quiet again as he rushed to her side. "Emmie what is it?"

She ignored him, her eyes racing over the words again. It was Atticus, his handwriting messy and unsteady as he had written the words:

Emmie,

My Olive has passed away. She had a cold but we didn't think it was anything serious but -" There was a smudge on the ink. Had Atticus been crying? Her own tears were welling up, spilling down her cheeks as she read. "-she took a turn and is gone. There is much to do but the funeral is set for the 30th, a week and a day from when I am writing this. I know your duchy must need you but if you could attend it would mean a great deal. Olive was very fond of you and -"

Emmeline didn't bother reading the rest of the letter, throwing it down she took off towards her chambers at top speed. Behind her Cassius called her name in surprise, but she didn't answer him. Her brother needed her, right away.

...

Clementine was ordering women about as Emmeline's possessions were hastily packed into trunks. Cassius could hear the commotion before he had even reached the room; his entire life he had always hated the muted atmosphere of quiet that hung over the manor. It was like the carpets themselves seemed to suck any noise out of the air, Emmeline being the only person seemingly immune to this deaden hush. For days he had been trying to work out what to say to her; things couldn't continue on this way. If he could just work out how to remedy things between them then they could be happy. The ring box was still in his pocket, he kept it with him always both a horrible reminder of how close to happiness he had been and a symbol of hope that perhaps he might one day be able to give her the ring he had intended to give her months ago.

His hand rested on the box in his pocket as he knocked on the doors to her chambers. A maid he didn't recognise opened it, bowing and hurrying away. Emmeline turned to see who it was but didn't greet him.

"You are going to be with Atticus." He stated, the letter she had abandoned held loosely in his hand. Emmeline's eyes narrowed on the letter, clearly displeased he had read it, and nodded.

"My family needs me." She replied flatly, returning her attention to her staff and dropping his gaze.

Cassius couldn't stop himself, reaching for her he closed his hand around her arm gently. "How long will you be gone?" There was a traitorous tone of weakness in his voice, it betrayed him. He didn't want to sound desperate, didn't want Emmeline to feel guilty about going. She tugged her arm out of his grip, the scent of her perfume hitting him as her hair flicked from the gesture.

"I don't know. I imagine it may be some time." Her tone was cool as she took two steps away from him. He frowned and her answering expression told him she was in no mood to speak to him.

Turning on his heel he almost made it out of the door before his own weakness betrayed him again. "Are you leaving me?" He breathed, feeling like every word caught in his throat.

Emmeline didn't reply at once, although the staff in the room had suddenly quietened down considerably. He could bare to turn and see her face, couldn't bare to see the dislike in her eyes.

"I need some time away." She admitted after a long moment.

Cassius didn't say anything, slamming her chamber doors closed behind him with more force than was necessary. 

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

Author's Note:

I promise, this makes me just as sad as it does you.

S x