The Lady Knight

Chapter XXXII: Hands and Hesitations

Damn it. Had she heard?

I nodded at Kat, who scampered away to do as I had told her earlier.

In the meanwhile, Tess had left her partner's arms with no hesitation whatsoever, without so much as an explanation. The poor man stared at her back, bemused, as she strode purposefully towards me, her gown billowing about her ankles.

Sighing, I met her halfway. "Look, Tess, I do not have time – "

She was not listening to me. She took my arm, and dragged me to a corner of the ballroom none too gently, all the while checking whether her mother sitting on the dais was looking at her or nay.

Once she was certain her attentions were elsewhere, she turned to me, her ocean blue eyes blazing. "You will tell me what you know now," her voice was low, "did Mama do anything to Papa? Is he harmed? What – "

"He is missing, Tess," I cut her off in frustration, "and I just found a severed hand outside, with Oncle Tom's ducal ring on it, and I do not know if the hand belongs to him. Have you seen him?"

She grew even more pale at that. "Nay, I have not seen him since the beginning of the ball," she took a deep, shuddering breath, "merde, we must find him at once."

That was how I found myself an unlikely ally. Together, we spent the next fifteen minutes scouring every inch of the ballroom as discreetly as possible, asking Oncle Tom's friends and everyone who knew him about his whereabouts.

No one had seen him for over an hour at the Ballroom.

Where could he possibly be? What had Diego done to him -

I felt pure, unadulterated fear for my uncle trickle down my spine like iced water, and I could feel Tess' own radiate off her body in waves, and potentiate mine.

Although her countenance was void of all emotions, her shaking hands betrayed her turmoil. "I knew it," she murmured now, "I knew it. She has exacted her revenge."

My forehead creased. "Pardon?"

Her gaze snapped to mine, her ocean blue eyes burning with pain. "There is no point in explaining it to you. You see and understanding nothing outside of the closeted life you lead in Bordeux," she muttered, and shook her head, "we had best search the Manor. Papa is clearly not here."

With that, she strode away from me towards the exit. I hurried behind her, frowning.

Tess all but threw the double doors of the exit open, and I slammed them shut behind me. I was slapped in return by the chilling cold wind almost at once.

My eyes instinctively closed for a brief moment, and in that brief moment, I heard Tess suck in a sharp breath.

Even before my eyes could open, my hand shot out to push her behind me protectively, anticipation pumping through my veins, prepared to face my enemy. When I did see what had frightened her, however, I had to stifle a scream myself.

"P-Papa?" she stammered as I was stunned into silence.

"Tess? Julie?" Oncle Tom's voice was soft, "hush, it is only me. What is the matter?" He lay a hand gently against each of our heads in concern.

Two hands. Two warm, whole hands.

I froze where I stood, feeling my heart pound in my ears. Thud. Thud. Thud.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Tess raise a hand to cover his and grip it tightly. "Are you all right, Papa?" she asked quietly, "are you harmed in any way?"