Chasing Cecilia

CHAPTER 5

Cecilia:                                                   

"Ill-favoured definitely." The words spoken by Rory wafted through the forest towards me followed by laughter, I pushed my heels more forcefully into Shadow, urging him to reach the opening in the forest faster. I knew the comment was directed at me from the way it rolled off his tongue so languidly.

I had decided to put our differences behind us and at least be civil with him seeing as I was going to be stuck with him for the rest of my life, but he obviously had no intentions of making me feel welcome. I pulled back heavily on my reins as we broke through into the pretty clearing.

A cloud of  dust floated up around Shadow and I as his large hooves pushed into the dry soil. The flecks of dirt turned a copper colour as the light hit them, remaining levitated in front of me a moment longer before dispersing.

As the cloud disappeared from before me the faces of my friends and soon-to-be-husband appeared in front of me. I felt like I was about to empty my stomach as the thought entered my mind for the first time, announcing its ugly and unwanted presence clearly in my head. Husband, the word left a fowl aftertaste in my mouth yet I found my eyes settling unconsciously on the lounging figure of Rory.

I noticed that his gaze was trained on me and I squirmed slightly under the heavy scrutinisation. I felt like a piece of meat on a butchers stall at the market being examined by someone about to make a purchase. I had been sold. Sold by my own father. I knew if my mother were watching she would tell me to be strong, to keep going and to be the best wife and duchess that I could be, I had to at least try to honour what she would have wanted.

Our eyes then locked, blue on brown, and I felt mine widen at the darkness of his irises. His usual bronze coloured eyes had dimmed to a deep mahogany. They reminded me momentarily of my father as an image of his eyes flashed before my face, I quickly erased the picture clinging to the broken ribs of my mind as I reminded myself that he was not my father.

Rory was not my father. A voice nagged in the back of my brain telling me I didn't know him, didn't know what he was capable of, he could be just like my father, I belonged to him according to society. I let out an involuntary shiver but vowed to not let those thoughts plague me any longer, I would have to view Rory as a means to detach myself from my father, selfish as it may be.

I would be the strong woman I knew I was and, with those worries pushed to the back of my mind for now, I decided to put my best foot forward. With that final thought, I gave him a gentle nod of my head. I watched as his face turned into an unpleasant scowl, his brow creasing and his bottom lip curling down slightly. I felt a small stab at his immediate dismissal of me, was he not willing to try and make this work as best we could? I wasn't naive enough to think a friendship betweeen us would instantly bloom, but was it so impossible a thought that we might be able to co-exist civilly?

Maybe I had been optimistic to think he would change his ways towards me, after his previous comment I should hardly be surprised with his reaction. He looked much more attractive when he didn't frown though. The thought passed through my head so fast I barely processed it. I almost choked at the idea of him being anything close to attractive, I mean this was Rory of all People! He was a repugnant moron who had bullied me for as long as I could remember, he was most definitely not attractive, he was irrefutably the most unbecoming of men both in looks and personality.

Even so, I found myself sneaking another a glance at his tall figure stretched lazily against the ground, his back resting on the trunk of an old horse chestnut tree as his horse stood to the side of him chomping happily on the lush grass.