Chapter 5
It was Duke Alaric of Northmarch.
He stood at the entrance of the scriptorium, clad in a tailored dark cloak embroidered with silver threads, a quiet authority radiating from him without the need to speak a word.
He stopped inside with measured grace, hands clasped behind his back, his cool gaze drifting across the counter until it landed on the stack of vellumn…
“You like this parchment?” he asked, his voice low and ever
It was the first time I’d ever spoken to him face to face–and of all places, it had to be here. My cheeks flushed as 1 lowered my gaze and murmured, “Yes, my lord. I thought. I’d gift it to you.‘
A smile ghosted across his face. That ley expression of his, always so unreadable, softened into something startlingly warm–and just like that, the entire room fell silent, caught off guard.
He tapped the lid of the box gently. “Wrap it up for Lady Cecilia. And from now on, anything she wants–put it on my account.”
Gasps spread through the gathered nobles like wildfire.
No one could understand what the Duke Alaric was doing here or why he was publicly offering to cover the expenses of a young noblewoman not yet
married to him
Edward stood frozen. Before he could speak, the Duke turned his gaze on him. “Is this how I raised you to greet your elders? No bow, no decorum?” The prince’s face tightened as he finally dipped into a shallow bow. “My lord uncle.”
Duke Alaric stepped beside me, a quiet shield between me and the crowd. “The royal decree confirming our engagement will be issued tomorrow. From this day forward, you will address Lady Cecilia with the respect due her rank.”
He paused just long enough for the weight of his next words to settle
“Next time you see her, Edward, I expect you to greet her properly–Lady Cecilia, the future Duchess of Northmarch. And, as your uncle’s betrothed… your future aunt by marriage”
The prince recoiled. “Duchess of Northmarch? What are you talking about?” he snapped. “She was supposed to be my bride!”
I cut in before the Duke could respond. “Your Highness, you were the one who personally annulled our betrothal before the Queen. You named Lady Rowena your bride. Have you forgotten already?”
Edward’s eyes burned with frustration. “I would’ve still kept you close, Cecilia. You could’ve had a title, a position–even if you weren’t my wife. But you had to turn it into a spectacle. You have to drag my uncle into this charade just to provoke me
I laughed sharply. “Do you truly think House Croyden would let its daughters be offered like bargaining chips? We are not afterthoughts, Edward. Nor pawis to be shuttled around when your plans fall through.”
If you believed I’d be grateful for your affection, then you clearly know nothing about my family–or me. I’ve already said it, and I’ll say it again: I will aiver be your wile. Who I quarry is none of your concert ‘
Alaric’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Edward, but before he could speak, Rowena leaned in against Edward, her voice sugar–sweet and tinged with
“You promised me you’d take no other woman. Not even as a companion, remember? You said the royal household would be mine alone.” “I won’t allow her in stop foot into your life again,” she pouted. “If you want me, it’s me and no one else.”
Alaric let out a cold, amused math–barely more than a scott. Clearly, he had little patience for lovers bickering in public like village drama players. He turned to me with a gentleman’s courtesy “Come. Let’s visit the Silvershade Emporium. I hear they’ve just received a new ruby set fit for a bride. I’d like to pit it to you, if it suits your taste ”
Just as we reached the door, he turned back.
“Ob, and Edward,” Alaric said without looking at him, “since you’ve chosen to wed Lady Bowen, her debts are now your responsibility.”
*She claimed she wished to purchase the entire vellum stock of this establishment. And it she says she will… well, it’s time you learned to make her boasts
With that, he helped me into the carriage and closed the door beland us
Inside the scriptorium, Edward stood frozen, watching, i
the shopkeeper bring out crate after crate of high–quality vellum,
on
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Experience intelligent e
One thousand three hundred gold crowns,” the man mumbled, sweat beading down his brow.
Edward’s expression darkened. “All this–what were you thinking?”
Rowena crossed her arms. “Cecilia acts so superior. Always playing the refined lady. So I wanted to beat her at her own game. What, should I have just let her take everything like she’s better than me?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you have any idea how expensive that paper is?”
Her expression crumbled. “So now I’m not refined enough for you? Is that it? You’re mad because I don’t read poetry or play the harp like those pampered noble daughters?”
“Or is it that you saw her walking away with another man and now you can’t stand it?“:
“Rowenn, that’s not what I-”
Before he could finish, she lashed out. The riding crop snapped through the air and sliced across the back of his hand, leaving a thin line of blood in its
walke
She froze the moment it landed.
So did everyone else.
For a moment, she looked stunned–guilty even–but pride quicly overrode her fear. With a defiant toss of her head, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the shop,
No one dared speak?
Edward stood in the center of the scriptorium, hand bleeding, face like thunder. He didn’t say a word as he strode out the door.
But by nightfall, the whole of Eboncourt had heard two things:
Lady Rowens of House Southwell had struck the Prince with a whip
And Lady Cecilia of House Croyden had been publicly claimed as the future Duchess of Northmarch by the Duke himself.
The capital would not be sleeping easy tonight.
