Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 114: Silence (3)

Ophelia walked outside the mansion and went right to the carriage.

Despite all the drama that occurred and run-ins with people she didn’t care for, the visit to the capital went well, so Ophelia wanted to end it on a more positive note.

Thomas opened the carriage door for Ophelia and offered his hand to help her. He took notice of Dante’s arrival, and since Ophelia didn’t bat an eye at her husband, Thomas assumed she didn’t want to speak.

Thomas closed the door before Dante approached. "Lady Hastings doesn’t want to be disturbed by anyone," he informed Dante.

"I don’t count as one of the people she doesn’t want disturbing her. I won’t be long. Thomas," Dante said, looking down at the sword Thomas placed to his chest. "You have gotten quite bold since I placed you at her side."

"You said that I am to be loyal to her, so I will do so. She doesn’t want to be disturbed at the moment, so I think it is best you leave her be. When she wants silence, we must leave her," said Thomas.

"You seem to know her so well. So be it," Dante said, looking into the carriage.

Ophelia didn’t bother to look in his direction. She was more fixated on looking out of the window at the men loading the trunks on the carts and carriages.

"We are departing shortly. Find her maid," said Dante.

Thomas nodded and kept his hand on the door. He waited for Dante to leave to release it.

Inside the carriage, Ophelia was unaware of the conversation Dante had with Thomas since she was lost in her thoughts. There was much she had to plan for Theo’s arrival to make it special, and even more she had to do as Lady Hastings.

’I have a lot to learn,’ Ophelia thought.

For now, Ophelia was Lady Hastings, and when she returned to the castle, she wanted to carry out her duties. It shouldn’t take Dante to need to speak to the servants; it was her duty to have them in order.

’It would be one less problem for him to oversee,’ Ophelia thought, trying to take away some of the burden on Dante’s shoulders.

Ophelia’s gaze fell onto Dante as he ordered the men around. She had not seen him since she left his chamber.

Ophelia wanted to speak to Dante again, but she didn’t want to disturb him.

"I have come in time," Alice said as she opened the door. " Lady Hastings? Lady Hastings?"

Ophelia looked away from Dante to Alice. "Yes? I apologise. I was distracted. What do you need?"

"I wanted you to know that I have returned. Will Lord Hastings be sitting with us?" Alice asked, wishing he would not.

"It appears not," Ophelia said, watching as Dante mounted a horse. "He will be leading the way."

"Thank goodness. With Lord Hastings to the front of us, no one would bother getting in our way. In no time, we shall be back at the castle. I can’t wait to be back on familiar land. I hope we stop at the same inn we passed on the way here. I overheard the pies are good," Alice said.

"Pies? If we are lucky, we can have a bite. I ask that you be quiet for a moment. I have much to think about, and it is already overwhelming," Ophelia said, rubbing her forehead.

"Of course," Alice softly answered.

Once everyone found themselves on a horse or carriage, Dante led the way out of the mansion and soon, out of the town.

Their departure was reported to the palace, but it was too late for Edward to intervene to keep them in the capital.

Along the way, Ophelia kept glancing at Dante. Not once had Dante drifted back to be at the side of her carriage so they could speak.

Ophelia tried not to think anything of it.

There was danger all around, so Dante had to stay alert, but a small moment to speak couldn’t hurt.

Ophelia looked away from Dante before she upset herself. There was nothing else to do once her planning was all done.

Alice fell asleep, and Thomas was busy looking out for danger.

Ophelia didn’t have any other choice but to go to sleep to make the trip home go faster.

Many hours into the trip, Ophelia woke up when the carriage was no longer moving and saw that the sky had changed to night. The carriage door was closed, with her being the only one inside.

Ophelia opened the door herself and stepped out.

Dante was sitting close to the carriage, poking at a fire he started.

"Why didn’t you wake me?" Ophelia asked as she walked to sit beside Dante. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"It’s best to let you sleep when you can. Your dinner will soon come, but you won’t be able to bathe tonight. You’ll be able to change in the morning and have a warm bath when we reach an inn. You can have water to drink," Dante said, offering Ophelia a cup he had for his water.

"Thank you, but I am not thirsty," said Ophelia.

"What changed for you to be speaking to me now?"

"When wasn’t I speaking to you? You were the one riding to the front and not coming to my carriage," Ophelia pointed out.

Dante looked at Ophelia, puzzled about how she came to that conclusion. "You thought I was avoiding you? I came to your carriage when we were leaving the mansion, and Thomas said that you didn’t want to be disturbed. You didn’t look my way."

"You did? I did not notice. I would have welcomed you coming to speak to me. I was thinking of what Victoria said and of my brother. I truly wasn’t being silent on purpose. We are both silly," Ophelia chuckled, realising their mistake. "We both thought the other was being silent on purpose."

"So it seems," Dante replied, his mood lightening up.

"I didn’t want to disturb you while you were leading the knights. I was serious when I said what happened this morning about your secret didn’t affect the time we spent together in the capital. I want to continue as we are now without taking any steps back," said Ophelia.

Ophelia knew it wouldn’t be fair to be upset about Dante’s secret since there was plenty about herself that she hadn’t shared.

"I have decided to take your advice to work toward opening up to you about what I hide. You have surprised me in many ways, so I can trust you won’t leave my side. Until I am ready to tell you, I will distract you with food. I packed pastries for you to eat during the ride," Dante said, revealing a bag he had been waiting to hand Ophelia.

Ophelia accepted the gift. "How thoughtful and wise of you. This is part of why I’ll continue to be so close to you. You deliver food."