Ordained

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Cassius was still furious the next morning when he awoke. The welcome dinner that had been prepared for Ottilie's arrival had been ruined for him by Emmeline's absence. Rather than focusing on his potential bride, he had spent the entire meal distracted and concerned about where the Elva girl was. He had hardly paid the slightest attention to Ottilie's attempts at flattery and polite flirting; his eyes watching the seconds tick by while he waited for the dinner to end. He wanted to know where she was, wanted to demand of her who did she think she was to refuse their hospitality. As soon as the final course had come to a close, rather than inviting Count Claude's daughter into the drawing room, as would have been polite, he instead encouraged her to rest; stating her long journey as his reason for ending the night prematurely. He had seen her smile falter a little but she had accepted his decision with all the grace expected of a proper noble woman.

Carmen had made a frustrated noise before turning on her heel and following her husband without comment. Cassius was sure however, that he would be reprimanded in the morning. He'd deal with that then. Right now he needed to know where Emmeline had slinked off to.

The banging on the chamber door made Clementine squeak with fright, her cheeks pink with surprise as she opened the doors to a furious Cassius. "Where is she?" He demanded, stepping past the maid to look around the empty chambers.

"Young master you shouldn't be in here." She hissed in a scared whisper.

"Then tell me where she is. Now." He rounded on her, looming over the young maid.

Clementine shook slightly under the intensity of his glare. "My mistress hasn't returned to her rooms since this morning. I believe she is in the gardens."

Cassius looked to the windows, seeing only black skies outside. He knew she liked to ride and go for walks in the evening but it was very late now, and a woman alone had no business being outside unprotected at this time. Even within the seclusion of the Marcellus gardens who knew what kind of danger a person could get into in such darkness.

"She is to attend evening meals unless I tell her otherwise. Understood?" He barked.

Clementine just nodded mutely, stepping backwards.

Storming from the rooms without another word he headed for the gardens, his frustrations only growing by the second as he went in search of his ordained pair. When he had finally found her, she appeared like a ghost amongst the bushes. Shining white like a spectre in the moonlight he

He had wanted to shout at her, to reprimand her for her rudeness. How dare she skip such an important meal. How dare she make him worry about her.

But when he had come face to face with her, he had found all his arguments trampled by her righteous anger.

Taking a deep swig of bitter coffee he found himself pulled from his thoughts by the woman sitting across from him. "Your grace, didn't you hear me?" Ottilie asked pleasantly, her table manners exemplary as she ate tiny delicate bites of her breakfast.

He shook his head, fixing an apologetic smile in place. "Forgive me. I was thinking of the new grain distribution proposal I am working on. You shall have my full attention from now on." An easy lie, but one she swallowed quickly. His mind was swirling with thoughts of Emmeline, his frustration still white hot when he pictured the expression on her face as she had stormed away.

"It is no bother. I know what a burden it must be to lord over so many subjects. The Marcellus' lands are truly vast. I look forward to learning more about them." Ottilie beamed; a perfectly rehearsed answer he thought to himself as he returned her sugary sweet smile.

True to his word, Cassius tried very hard to focus entirely on his prospective bride. Thoughts of last night's argument with Emmeline, however, were not easily pushed aside, his mind straying back to their exchange every so often. Each time it happened he redoubled his efforts to appear attentive to Miss Claude, her answering grin telling him she noticed and appreciated his attention.

However, if he was being honest, it was difficult to remain focused on Ottilie's chatter. Her entire corpus of conversation seemed to revolve entirely around petty gossip, talk of fashion trends, and vapid observations about the Marcellus duchy that she had clearly been coached on before arriving. Cassius tried very hard to appear attentive but with each passing hour he found himself less and less captivated by the stunning redhead.

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Author's Note:

I was listening to Jolene by the queen Dolly when I came up with Ottilie. Can you tell?

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S x