Night of Eden 55

 Chapter 55

***

"Why aren't you eating?"

The tip of the fork that had been wandering around froze. Dana cautiously lifted her head and made eye contact with the man across from her.

"It doesn't fit your taste?"

She looked back down at the thick cut of meat. The ripe flesh was succulent and juicy, and the freshly baked bread wafted a savory, buttery aroma.

The other food on the plate was just as good. There were asparagus and well-seared tongue flounder, the finest lamb and flavorful mushrooms, and some dishes that most people would never eat in their lifetime.

"How about this?"

He pushed another bowl toward Dana. The scent of truffles wafted through the air, but she had no desire to eat it.

Before she could take it, something else was handed to her.

This time, wine.

Dana stared at the bright red liquid in the glass.

Her stomach churned. Her head felt like it was going to explode.

"What am I supposed to do? Get down on my knees and apologize?"

Dana asked, setting her glass down. Theodore, savoring the flavor of the wine, glanced away.

"Tell me how I can make you less angry and stop forcing me to do these... strange things... Tell me."

Dana spoke deliberately stiffly, not wanting to appear weak.

"Anger? For this?"

Theodore pulled the letter from his inside jacket pocket.

"Do you think I'm doing this because I'm angry?"

He asked, unfolding the paper.

"Your handwriting has improved a lot, your vocabulary isn't bad, your sentences aren't bad, but what are you copying, is it someone else's letter?"

Dana's face flushed a shade of red beyond recognition.

"Oh, don't take it the wrong way. It's a compliment."

He muttered, his eyes scanning the words.

"There's a type of person who can't say a word, like a mute, but the words just flow. I know it when I see it. You're a wordsmith."

That couldn't have been a compliment.

No, even if it was, it had to have an ulterior motive, so Dana didn't listen.

"Have you ever heard of the word 'reward’?"

Theodore pointed somewhere on the table.

There was a beautifully wrapped box.

Dana’s dry lips parted in surprise as she realized what he meant.

"No, I can't take it...."

"Unwrap it."

The short word crushed her more than anything else. Twisting her fingers, she placed the napkin on the table and slowly rose to her feet.

She unwrapped the package to reveal a burgundy nib with a peacock feather.

"It's a plain quill," he said, "and I wouldn't say it's a burden, but you'll miss it terribly after a few scribbles."

He waved the fountain pen lightly.

"There's another one down there. Open that one, too."

Dana obeyed.

She lifted the lid of the flat wooden box to reveal an off-white sheet of paper with a grape vine design. Next to it was what looked like a crushed candle, and further down was a stamp with a wooden handle.

"I hear deer and butterflies are popular among the ladies these days."

Dana realized what it was.

It was a set of stationery favored by noblewomen.

Her trembling hand picked up the palm-sized envelope.

"If you have anything to say to me in the future, write it there, and don't leave it open again for everyone to see."

She snapped out of it as if she had been hit by a thunderbolt.

"No. This is... No."

Dana snapped the lid back on.

"You can't do this. You can't just casually do things....... like this."

She shook her head frantically, but looked straight at Theodore.

"I... I'm not like you, I can't be so shameless, so nonchalant... Like nothing happened.... I can't do that."

As soon as she finished speaking, she realized.

She realized why she was falling for his strange behavior again.

It wasn't just a lack of words. She'd been ignoring one very deadly event, and it was the cause of all this.

"That day...."

Dana spat out with the breath she'd been holding.

"It was... It was... It was a stupid mistake."

Words have a strange power, and Dana felt as if she had committed a sin.

"The day before... I was drunk... And you were drunk, too. I don't know why. I really don't understand... but the water has been spilled, and I'm not going to blame you, because it's all my fault."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him set down his glass.

"Isn't that the nature of alcohol...? It makes you say the opposite of what you mean... You become a different person and do weird things."

Dana tried to keep her voice light.

"Anyway, I get it, and I don't mean to make you beat yourself up or blame anyone else, and I've moved on from it. It was a... mistake, and mistakes happen to everyone, so I hope you'll just... laugh it off."

She pursed her lips nervously, then realized that she was being overly tongue-tied.

"You... have something to say... If you have... uh, go ahead."

"Something to say? I do."

The immediacy of the answer made Dana frown.

"When are you going to tell him?"

Him?

Her head snapped up.

"The bastard who wants to marry you."

Dana froze as if she'd been hit by a thunderbolt.

"You have to tell him what you and I have done."

She opened her mouth, stupidly, then snapped back to reality.

"Uh... No."

"No?"

"No, not that...."

Dana shook her head, realizing that her response could cause even more misunderstanding and anger.

"Actually... I lied about getting married."

Dana poured it out like a sheet of rain. Pride or shame didn't matter. She only wanted one thing: a clean end to this whole mess.

The problem was, Theodore didn't seem to have any intention of doing that.

"Isn't it strange, the more you say it, the more I'm convinced."

The man's glare only grew sharper, and Dana was flustered.

"Oh, no, I was lying before.”

There was no wavering in his eyes.

She was going to say it again, and again, and again, and again. But his next words left her speechless.

"Forget it, it doesn't matter now if it's true or not, you're done with the asshole, forever."

The satisfaction on his face made Dana's heart sink.

"I'm warning you, I don't want any of those lowlifes anywhere near you in the future. Including Edwin Hastings."

The man stopped talking and stared straight at Dana, primal heat blazing in his darkened pupils.

"Or I'll stop this ridiculous gentleman impersonation right now, do you understand?"

A glint of greed touched his lips. Dana felt her mind spinning, as if she were tumbling down a dark cliff.

****

Baldeport, a day's wagon ride from Belvida, was the Empire's second-largest port, a nexus between the mainland and the colonies, filled with cargo ships large and small, as well as the rarely seen large galleys and steamers.

Fearing that the ship might arrive ahead of schedule, Noah had to ride his horse nonstop.

The ship was delayed by sudden bad weather. As he rode breathlessly, he was greeted not by a giant steamboat with six masts and a huge smokestack, but by a paval with news.

"What can I do," he said, "even if it is a steamer, the gods of the winds will not allow it."

The faces of those waiting for their cargo became pensive. Noah was no different.

The cargo was a year's worth of supplies for Belvida's stables, and it was Noah's job to get them safely home.

"They're waiting at the port of Roland, and they'll leave as soon as the sea calms down."

Paval replied bluntly and turned his horse around without looking back. Some of the assembled men exclaimed in frustration, others sagged helplessly.

"What are we going to do?"

Jackson, a dock worker, asked. Noah calculated the time and expense of driving a wagon to Port Roland to load the cargo versus just waiting.

"I think I'll wait here for a few more days. I have places to go."

"You have a place to stay?"

"Yes, the Porch House."

It was the largest inn in the harbor.

"Well, that's good. How about a game of dice after all these years?"

"I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen."

"Why, if you don't have any money, then I'll lend you some."

Noah laughed and shook his head.

"I'm meeting Mr. Dalton this evening."

Mr. Dalton was the owner of the employment agency next door to the inn. Jackson's eyes narrowed as he realized the implication.

"Why, are you trying to quit Belvida? You just became a trainer?"

Noah answered with a moderate laugh.

After a quick lunch at the stall, they stopped at the post office in the roundabout to send a message to butler Stan about a delayed shipment.

In the meantime, the sun had set.

Noah stared up at the orange-tinged sky beyond the gas lamps, which grew one, then two. The softly smiling face of a woman filled his vision.

She'd probably be back from her handmaiden training by now.

Would she see Diggie?

The thought of her holding a tiny piglet made him chuckle softly.

Maybe she'll meet Lady Liana and serve her like a real maid.

He pictured her pretty hands tilting the kettle to pour tea.

That alone made Noah's heart beat uncontrollably. Until it hurt.

"You broke up with Gene... Why?”

Noah's eyes widened, bewilderment written all over his face.

Didn't Dana like him a little bit, just a little bit?

Noah knew it was vain, but he couldn't help but hope.

Edwin Hastings.

As long as he held on, there was no way Dana would ever look at him.

He knew.

It's been years since he's been able to let go of it.

A year, two years... the excitement that started so lightly had turned to bitter pain over the years.

How long would it last?

Noah looked up at the distant sky with his clasped hands supporting the back of his head. Blinking, his gaze slowly drifted downward, stopping at a sign.

<Aldowand Van Cliff>

There was a small jeweler's shop.

His legs were drawn like magnets, and before he knew it, he was in front of the shop.

As his brown eyes scanned the displays through the glass window, they lit up in ecstasy as he spotted something.

Noah walked into the store like a man mesmerized by something. The clerk, who had been watching him from earlier, held out the necklace as if waiting for him.

"It's a hard-to-find gem from the Cecil Islands. It's turquoise, and the workmanship is very delicate, isn't it?"

The pale blue gem shone beautifully beneath an ethereal grayish rim.

****

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