Devoted Nobility

Chapter 27

Alexander

Nothing came. Night fell and not a trace of her was found. Her ladies all said the same thing. They had no idea where she went. They last spoke to her last night. She mentioned nothing of leaving. I tried to find some loophole in her plan, a way I could discover her location, but I couldn’t. She was clever. I retired to my room after dinner, sick of people telling me she would be okay. It brought me no comfort because they didn’t know that. It was just empty words. They didn’t understand the truth of the situation. I didn’t sleep. How could I? I just sat there staring at the wall. I wasn’t sure what time it was when Matthew came in.

“Can we talk?” He asked. I just looked at him. That was as much of an effort as I was willing to make. He sat down on the arms of a chair a few feet from me. “Don’t blame her.”

I looked away from him. “I don’t blame her for leaving. What matters is her survival.”

“No, I mean about the kiss.” He sounded embarrassed about the situation. “I kissed her. She did nothing for me to feel she wanted me to. I took advantage of her and it won’t happen again.”

“She kissed you back.” I stated.

“She was caught up in the moment. That’s all. She pushed me away once she got her thoughts cleared and told me it could never happen again, that it was a mistake.”

I sighed. “But then she left. She ran away from safety, necessity, and power. I don’t believe she would do it simply because she didn’t like it here. It’s not her.”

He stood and walked towards the door. “Maybe you need to remember that she left. She’s smart and knew the risks. Perhaps she doesn’t want to be found.” I heard the door close behind him.