Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 49: Growing relationship (1)
Ophelia explored the mansion with Thomas and Alice not far behind her.
Though the castle was grand, Ophelia preferred the mansion. It wasn’t too spacious to make her feel lonely, and there were not as many servants around to judge her.
"How often does the Hastings stay here?" Ophelia asked, curious.
"Lord Hastings stays here whenever he visits the king, but there are other Hastings and their spouses to make use of it. Lady Cecilia used to frequent the capital often, so some consider it to be her home," Thomas answered.
"I see. There are no portraits of the family anywhere. How odd," Ophelia noticed.
"After Lord Hastings’ father died, Lady Cecilia had all the portraits taken down. They have yet to put them back up."
"Is that what Lord Hastings wants? He seems to look up to his father. At least one portrait should be up," Ophelia said, but she knew it wasn’t her place to intervene. "Has anyone thought to ask him what he wanted?"
Alice shared a look with Thomas, then replied, "It is not our place to ask. If we spoke up, Lady Cecilia would have been angry and sent us out of the castle. We cannot lose our work."
"Yet you would misbehave so often. It couldn’t be that you are truly concerned about losing your work," said Ophelia.
Alice took a deep breath, building the courage to do something that wasn’t easy. "I’m sorry," she loudly apologised.
Ophelia jumped, startled by what Alice proclaimed. "Thomas, keep her from me," she said, still yet to dismiss the thought that something had overcome Alice.
Thomas placed his sword before Alice. "Don’t approach the lady."
Alice dramatically dropped to her knees. "I am sorry for all that I did, Lady Hastings. I was foolish and did many careless things. Punish me if you will, but please, give me another chance. I can be loyal to you."
"There’s something wrong here, and I don’t like it. Tell me, what pushed you to do this?" Ophelia ordered Alice.
Alice avoided Ophelia’s gaze. Could she say that Lord Hastings threatened to kill her? That her life was now in Ophelia’s hands?
Alice thought of how Ophelia, at this point, would not want to save her.
Alice bit her lip. She needed to keep apologising until Ophelia forgave her. If she were lucky, Ophelia would be gullible and take pity on her.
"You’re desperate," Ophelia noted, a smile rising. "You started acting like this after Cecilia left. Are you playing nice because your support is gone? No," Ophelia dismissed that thought. "Did Victoria set you up for something? I know you want to work for her, and I will allow it-"
"No!" Alice exclaimed. "I have been tasked to work for you, and I want to see it through to the end."
Ophelia started to get the feeling it had nothing to do with Victoria. Someone terrified Alice and Ophelia could only think of one last person.
Ophelia noticed a figure approaching where they stood. "Lord Hastings is coming," she said, keeping a close eye on Alice.
Ophelia didn’t miss the fear in Alice’s eyes and the way she panicked.
It was Dante who scared Alice, but why?
"You may leave. I will finish the tour with my husband," Ophelia informed the pair.
Alice gladly got to her feet so she could leave before Dante came too close.
Thomas lingered for a moment to bow before Dante before he found a spot to wait until Ophelia needed him.
"Why are you staring at me like that, Ophelia?" Dante asked, staring right back.
"I’m trying to figure out how to know if you are in a good mood or not. You always appear angry to me," Ophelia said, looking away from Dante. "Like this," Ophelia said, mimicking Dante’s scowl.
"Angry? Am I not relaxed around you? Do I not smile with you?"
"You do, but I am not fond of your smile," Ophelia replied.
Dante chuckled. "What is wrong with my smile? I’ve been told many times that I have a beautiful smile."
"Well, I don’t like it. When you smile, you annoy me. Something silly comes out of your mouth, like right now, you are thinking of something to bother me with. If you keep this up, I am going to stab you one day," Ophelia said, but Dante didn’t seem to take her words seriously.
"You are too easy to provoke. Now, what is it that you want from me?"
"I was thinking of my brother. For one night, can’t you allow the Valthorns to visit your castle-’
"No," Dante flatly denied the request. "Your stepfather is still my enemy, and we both know the only reason Joel would visit my castle would be to launch a secret attack. Unless it is for a grand celebration ordered by the king, the two houses will not meet."
"I don’t want my brother to die. If he stays there for too long, he will die. I was the only reason he stayed alive for so long. My mother won’t care to keep him well because he is sick. He is a waste in Joel’s eyes," Ophelia said, desperate to have Theo escape.
"I am going to find a way to get your brother to your side, but it will not be easy. They know he is your weakness, so he will be well guarded. You will have to trust me that I have not forgotten your brother," said Dante.
Ophelia couldn’t be calm whilst knowing that Theo was still in danger. With no one on her side in the Valthorn castle, there was no way of knowing if Theo was well.
"Now would be the best time to take him from the castle. They are all here, and I know my way around the Valthorn castle to get him. I could lift him and take him far away," Ophelia said, though she knew it was no easy plan.
"It is too risky. I have men living around Joel’s castle. I will have them send word about your brother and plot to take him away," Dante offered.
Ophelia looked up at Dante, surprised that he revealed he had spies.
"What is it now?" Dante asked as Ophelia stared at him again.
"You just revealed that you have spies in Joel’s castle," Ophelia said, even more surprised that Dante did not realise his mistake.
"So? Who will you speak to? Joel? Nigel?"
"No," Ophelia said, looking away from Dante. "I hope your spies kill both of them. They should get my brother out, then kill Joel and his son. You," Ophelia stopped in her tracks. "You won’t free my brother and hold him against me will, you?"
"No," Dante promised.
