His Undoing

Chapter Four

SALVEN PORT,

September, 2003

On the first sight of morning light, Julia was wide awake from her sleep and was already  in her usual dress code. She had her hair tied up tight in a high bun, her long skirt was flawlessly touching the ground with no wrinkles and her cardigan was appropriately buttoned up to her long slender neck.

She did a quick final touch to her appearance and immediately walked out of her room to her uncle’s. She knew she wasn’t going to see Henry anytime soon as he had got out of the house angry and furious, but she still hoped he would return and have a chat with her about their arrangement.

As she made her way down the glorious staircase, she was surprised to see all the servants up and about, dusting and polishing the house. She greeted them warmly as they passed her and was surprised of how formally they addressed her by her last name. Back home, everyone greeted each other by the first names and by hearing this, it made her feel a bit uncomfortable. But nevertheless, she smiled warmly.

As she finally approached her uncle’s bed chamber, she couldn’t help but smile as she saw his welcoming and calm face. He seemed busy as he was lighting the fireplace that was placed straight from his large, king sized bed.

She walked inside his room, not knowing how to get his attention. She shuffled around the entrance of the room to make noise, but he was still busy lightening up the fireplace. Finally as she lost all her patience, she cleared her throat.

Immediately, her uncle’s head snapped from his task and a smile formed on his lips as he stared at her face. He placed down the long lighter on the small table that was beside the fireplace and waved for her to come closer.

She happily obliged and kissed him on the cheeks as she got a great view of his handsome face when she was few inches away from him.

“How are you feeling, uncle?” she asked as she sat on the opposite side of him. He nodded his head and stretched his long legs in front of him.

“Much better, darling. Did you have a goodnight sleep? I hope you were comfortable enough.” He asked as worried lines covered his aged face. She abruptly shook her head and gave a small laugh.

“Oh uncle, I had the best sleep ever. Those beds are so comfortable, what are those mattresses made of?” she asked amusingly. Even though she had lied about the first part, as she barely got any sleep after seeing Henry’s encounter with his father, but she still couldn’t lie and make him more concerned.

In return, he gave out a loud laugh of his own and shook his head. “You are just so refreshing to listen to, my darling. The mattresses are just as same as anywhere, but they are a bit expensive than the other ones in the market, but nonetheless, they are the same”.

Seeing him in a great mood, she decided that it was the best moment to talk about Henry. She nodded her head in response and moved a bit uncomfortably on her seat not knowing how to start the conversation. Rustam stared at her still with the kind smile, and it encouraged her confidence to open up.

She cleared up her throat and gave a nervous smile. “Last night, I saw Henry talking with you, uncle.” Rustam’s smile immediately faltered and it was his turn to shift uncomfortably on his seat.

“You saw us?” he questioned and Julia nodded her head slowly.

“Alright, then you might have some questions as to why he left so abruptly from the house?” Immediately Julia nodded her head. Rustam cleared his throat and looked around the room nervously. This made Julia very worried. She didn’t know what he was going to explain about his son, but it sure looked bad from the expressions he was giving away.