Heiress In Blood

six

Delta was roaming the east wing of the manor when she heard angry footsteps behind her.

"Busy?" Coal asked.

"No." She said bitterly and instantly regretted it. That was no way to converse with an elderly man.

"I'm not here to defend Leda, if that's what you think." He said nonchalantly.

Delta stopped walking and turned to face him. "You know?"

"She told me. I like to think of myself as the councilor here." Coal said with a half smile.

"Oh." Was all Delta said. How embarrassing is it when an adult hears about your fights.

"I don't agree with her. Not at all. It was lady Withlock who invited you here and if anyone has a problem with that, they should speak to her directly."

Delta looked down and sighed. Being told you're wrong is one thing, but being told you were right is a type of pride Delta couldn't handle, or at least she chose not to.

"But I didn't come for that. Archer mentioned that the Ashbonds are returning from their journey and have been invited to have supper with us tomorrow evening. This could be your golden opportunity to prove to everyone - especially Leda - that you belong in a family like this."

Delta had so many questions to Coal's last line, but her mouth only uttered one word.

"How?"

Coal smiled with contentment and stretched out his hand. "Follow me. There is something I'd like to show you."

His bedroom door was just two metres away from where she had been standing. Coal welcomed her in and closed the door behind, startling Delta a bit.

His bedroom was all shades of brown, brightly lit by the sun and lanterns lit in each corner.

"So many candles, yet this castle is still as cold as ice." She mumbled.

"You want a jacket?" Coal asked.

"No." Delta said. "I didn't mean it literally."

In the corner of his room was a bulky set of drawers. Coal pulled out the second draw and removed a small box. Holding the box as delicately as an egg, he brought it up to Delta.

"This was my wife's." He said signalling to the thin gold chain lying in a bed of grass. The heart of the chain was a chunky piece of gold and grey rock, completely raw and void of any carvings.

"She was beautiful - Gloria. Despite all her good looks, my mother couldn't seem to hate her more. While we were from a wealthy family, she was as poor as a beggar, and not even royal blood. She was feisty - my Gloria. Whenever my mother would argue with her, she always had the perfect things to say back." Coal chuckled. "But she'd come back to me crying."

"Would you ever console her?" Delta found herself asking.

"Every time. Aftet the last argument with my mother, she was hysterical. I took her to the market, told her to buy anything her heart desired, and she chose this necklace. It was found amongst rusting tumblers and pots. She loved it, and so did I. When she would wear it, her skin seemed fairer and you could find golden speks in her blue eyes. She was a sight."

Delta could feel the sadness in her words. She couldn't help but ask. "Then what?"

"Then she put it on and came back home with me. She decided to change, to start behaving like royalty would and she never faught with my mother again. Maybe it's because she died two weeks later, but in those two weeks, no fights, no arguments."