Once inside, Kaelen went to the study with my father, while my mother pulled me back to my old room.
“Daughter, tell me the truth. Is Kaelen truly good to you?”
Seeing the worry in her eyes, I quickly told her about our first meeting five years ago. After hearing the story, my mother nodded in
04:50
Chapter 2
Seeing the worry in her eyes, I quickly told her about our first meeting five years ago. After hearing the story, my mother nodded in satisfaction. “Kaelen is truly a man worthy of a lifetime. I am so glad you two did not miss your chance.”
“Mother, please rest easy. Your daughter will be happy. I noticed Lady Sylvia did not look well today. Are my stepsister and her hus- band not getting along?”
At the mention of Isabelle and Josh, my mother’s brow instinctively furrowed.
“If Isabelle had just accepted when Josh first proposed, she could have had a happy life. But she was not satisfied and had to aim higher, only to ruin her reputation and drag you down with her.”
“Josh married her out of gratitude for that one meal, but he does not love her. I hear they have yet to even consummate the marri- age. Lady Sylvia came to your father, begging him to pressure Josh to treat Isabelle well. But how can your father, the girl’s own father–in–law, interfere in such matters? Just you watch. Isabelle will cause a scene when she arrives today.”
No sooner had my mother finished speaking than the governess at the door announced respectfully that Lady Isabelle and Master Atreides were arguing at the gate.
18
By the time my mother and I arrived, Isabelle was weeping and berating Josh.
“Waaaah, Josh Atreides, you are heartless! You knew I was returning home on the same day as my sister, yet you prepared such shabby gifts! You did this deliberately, to throw my face on the ground and stomp on it!”
“If I had known you were so worthless, I never should have given you that food! I should have let you starve to death in the street! And your sickly mother! Not only can she not work, but she orders me around to do this and that. Who does she think she is?”
Josh, not having caught the King’s eye in this life, was only a minor seventh–rank official. In a few days, he would have to leave the capital for his new post. Isabelle, accustomed to the splendors of the city, naturally had no desire to go suffer with him in some
remote county.
Josh stood beside her in a worn, blue scholar’s robe, his hands clasped behind his back, his face a tight, silent mask.
Lady Sylvia, though she pitied her daughter’s suffering, did not dare say a word against Josh. If he hadn’t agreed to marry Isabelle, she would now be keeping company with nuns and candlelight. This hardship was temporary. As long as husband and wife were of one heart, their lives would improve.
She tried to persuade Isabelle to come inside and stop making a scene, but Isabelle refused to listen, her wails only growing louder. My mother gave a subtle look to two of her stoutest governesses. They understood at once, stepped forward, and without a word, dragged Isabelle into the estate.
I was about to follow when Josh called out from behind me.
“Eleonora… may I have a word? I recently had a dream. In the dream, we were…”
“Silence.” Before he could finish, I spun around, my voice sharp, cutting him off.
