What Happens By Candlelight

Chapter Twenty-Three: Another Spy

The snow was slowly beginning to melt when February was coming to an end. 

The first of March is tomorrow, which means the skirmishes will begin once more.

The letter I sent was not met with a reply, which worried me tremendously. Did they receive it? Did they think it credible? Do they still trust me? What more could they possibly ask for?

"Miss Christina!" Timothy was quick to hug me in greeting. His arms wrapped around my seated form, keeping their firm grasp in place as I turned to inspect him. "Father has given us permission to take a day trip to our cabin! Won't you come with us?"

"Us?"

Sabrina came into the room a moment later, her older sister following behind with a scowl. "The four of us have permission to go, as well as several low ranking officers."

I thought over it. I could either stay here and do nothing but sit around and stress over the importance of the letter I sent, or I could get out of the plantation for the day and deal with Madeline's hatred. Not to mention Timothy would ware me thin, and Sabrina will probably talk my ear off.

"I suppose," I stood up, gently fixing my skirts. "It would be nice to get out of the house for a bit. I've seen nothing but these walls for almost eight months."

Timothy cheered as he grabbed my hands and began to lead me away. "You can ride on my horse with me! You'll love Maximilian so much! He's fast and strong! He got me all the way here from up north!"

Sabrina and her sister disappeared, grabbing their shawls and gloves. I needed to do the same, but Timothy refused to let my hands go. "Timmy, I need to get my shawl. Can I go do that and meet you out front?"

He pouted, not releasing me. "But Madeline said she didn't want you to come. What if she tries to leave you behind?"

So the spoiled brat was saying things in front of her brother? Now I definitely needed to have a word with her.

The front entrance was colder than the rest of the house, but someone was already waiting for Timothy with his hat, coat, and gloves. Apparently, an extra pair of ride gloves had been left out for me, along with specific instructions to not let Timothy guide the horse.

"He likes to go fast. Too fast," the butler made a face, seemingly having experienced the boys rash behaviors in the past. "We don't have enough horses to spare, so we'd like you to ride with him and keep him under control."

The man handed me the gloves with a grimace but cleared his face into a neutral expression as I took them into my own hands. "I shall take your advice into consideration when steering the mare."

The man briskly walked away, disappearing down another hallway. Steadily, I fixed the gloves on my fingers, finding them to be quite snug. I flexed the limbs, hoping to keep a good grip on the reigns. 

As I was focusing on that, a fabric was being loosely wrapped around my neck and shoulders. I hardly had time to jump before the person spoke.

"Honestly, it's freezing out there and you plan to go like that?" Gabriel smiled at my shocked face as if he was just realizing how often he sneaks up on me. "Hello, darling. A good day for a trip, isn't it?"

Nodding, I lowered my gaze elsewhere, finding his eyes to have a different look than usual. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but I'm not sure if I liked it. "Yes, it seems to be a good enough day. Are you going with us?"

"As much as I would love to, I have work to do," there was a pause as if he was contemplating his next words. "We're preparing to move soon, it won't be much longer."