Chapter 3

"That sword," he spoke up suddenly, "I picked it up."

I didn't say anything.

"Charlotte didn't mean it. She was drunk," Richard said, his tone softening, as if he was trying to explain. "Don't let what those people said get to you."

I looked at him and asked, "What did they say?"

He paused.

"They said I keep pestering you, that I don't know when to stop, that I'm a hopeless orphan dreaming of things I shouldn't," I said with a smile. "Is that what you were talking about?"

"Evelyn..." Richard said softly.

"Richard," I said, for the first time calling him by his full name. "Do you remember last year, when you took me to see the Christmas lights?"

He froze for a moment.

"On the other side of the river, Charlotte twisted her ankle, and you immediately left me to help her. I stood there waiting for four hours, but you never returned," I said.

"She was badly hurt that day, so I took her back to her manor..." Richard said.

"I know," I cut him off. "So I went back by myself."

He fell silent.

"Last month, when you had a fever, I stayed by your side for three days. On the fourth morning, the Lady brought you some soup, and you finished it in front of me, saying, 'Charlotte really knows how to take care of people,'" I said.

"That was being polite," Richard replied.

"And last year, during Thanksgiving, the breastplate cover I embroidered for you,. She took it, cut it to pieces, and tossed it in the doghouse. She said, 'An orphan's needlework doesn't deserve The General,'" I said.

"You always say she didn't mean it, but every time, she manages to ruin what matters most to me, and always hits right where it hurts," I added.

"At the victory banquet yesterday, I was seated all the way at the end. You made the rounds with The Lady, raising a toast at every table. When you got to mine, you glanced at me, said nothing, and kept walking," I said.

I took a deep breath and said, "Richard, I'm not stupid."

His face turned pale, bit by bit.

Hoofbeats echoed outside the carriage, and someone shouted, "Sir, someone from the palace is here with a royal decree."

Richard didn't move.

He gripped my hand tightly. "Evelyn, there are things I can't tell you right now. But hang in there. Once I've accepted the decree, I..."

"You're going to accept the decree and marry Charlotte," I said, pulling my hand away. "So what then? Am I supposed to keep living at the Ashford Estate, watching you and her play the perfect couple?

"Or will you find me a decent family to marry into, so you can say you've done right by me?"

"I won't marry her."

"Yes. you will," I said, meeting his eyes. "Defying a royal decree is a capital offense. With these seventy-six people in your whole family, you can't afford to take that risk."

Richard froze.

Looks like I nailed it.

The urging outside the carriage grew more frantic. "General, the officers in palace is pressing for you."

Richard closed his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing.

When he opened them again, his eyes were rimmed with red. "Please, don't go yet. Once I've accepted the order, I'll personally take you back to Riverside District."

I shook my head. "That's not necessary."

"Evelyn." Richard raised his voice. "Do you really have to leave today to cause trouble for me right now?"

Causing trouble.

So that's what he thinks. I'm causing trouble.

I laughed, tears streaming down my face. "Yeah, I've been causing trouble for seven years. But today, I'm done."

I grabbed my bundle, threw open the curtain, and leapt out of the carriage.

Richard shouted my name from behind, but I never once looked back.

The guards at the South Gate recognized me. They glanced at the travel permit in my hand, then looked over at Richard approaching in the distance, hesitating, unsure whether to let me through.

"Miss Harper, this..." one of the guards said, uncertain.

"Let her go," Richard's voice came from behind me.

He rode up to the city gate and stopped, staying on his horse with a pair of cold eyes. The royal envoy had caught up as well, and so anxious he was practically stomping his feet. "General Ashford. Hurry up and accept the royal decree."

Richard stared at me, carefully pronouncing each word. "Your grandmother is buried south of Harper County, at the foot of the mountain, beside the third locust tree. I visited two years ago,the grave was spotless."

I was stunned.

"The medicine is inside the lining of your bundle since I remember you always get carriage sick," he said, turning his horse so his back faced me. "Leave."

The guards swung the gate open for me.

After I'd walked far enough, I glanced back over my shoulder.

Richard was still standing at the gate, the torches stretching his shadow long behind him.

The royal herald raised the king's decree high above his head, and Richard was grounded.