Chapter 502: Unlike Me

Chapter 501: Unlike Me

Lyria’s POV

It did not take long for the rest of us to depart after Lucian had gone. It was quite plain that nothing more remained to be discussed, if I am to be perfectly honest.

And so I now lay upon my bed, regarding the ceiling, lost in the thoughts that crowded upon me.

I did not know what I had done to make Lucian look at me as he had, nor what had driven him to leave in such a manner. Perhaps I had been wrong to put to him the question I did? Perhaps that was the whole of the difficulty? Or perhaps there was more to it. I could not tell, and it vexed me exceedingly that I could not.

And had that been the only matter troubling me, I might have found some small comfort in it, but it was not. I thought still of the people of Gallowshill, and of how grievously those who ought to have protected them had instead wounded them.

Perhaps my distress arose because I did not yet fully comprehend what sexual acts really were. For the little I knew had been gathered from the novels Pippa had given me, which I had not finished, owing to everything that had occurred. No, I shook my head. I doubted that was the cause. This was plainly abuse, in its purest form.

My mother had been a victim of such a thing. And I had been the result of... I paused.

Had my mother not fled whilst with child, should I have been cast away to Gallowshill also? Would that have been my fate? And if so, why had the King not sent me here after he discovered me, but instead taken both my mother and myself to the palace?

What had been his design? I knew he harboured an obsession with my mother, but still... and then there was Pippa’s mother, who had been wronged also. Or Bridget, who had lost her brother. Or Margery, who had lost her beloved. Elara’s family. Every one of them had been victims of those in power.

Even I was a victim.

Why was it so common in the kingdom? Why did persons of power, persons with connections to the Crown, walk freely after wounding others, ruining lives, destroying all that belonged to them? Why must those without power continue to live in the shadow of what had been done to them, whilst those who had done it carried on as though nothing had occurred? And, as Duke Thorncrest had said, the very criminals were compensated besides.

Was this what the Goddess desired for her people? Was this her design? She had blessed the present King and Queen, after all, and so was this what she wished...

Zephyr meowed.

He had settled himself beside me upon the bed, his gaze fixed upon my face, as though he had been waiting for me to sleep before he would permit himself to do likewise. He had been so quiet that I had forgotten he lay there at all until that moment.

I gathered him up, and sat upright upon the bed. He meowed again, and then I heard a knock upon the door.

I frowned, wondering who it could be.

"It is I, Your Grace. Would you grant me a moment?" came the voice from beyond.

There was no mistaking it; it was Duke Thorncrest. I set Zephyr upon the bed, and rose, and put on my robe.

No sooner was I done than I perceived that Zephyr had followed me, and now stretched upwards upon his hind legs. I laughed, and lifted him once more, and he purred, contentment pouring from the sound.

"Y-you may e-enter," I called.

Duke Thorncrest came in with a file in his hand, closing the door softly behind him.

"Why d-do you still have t-that?" I asked at once.

"I encountered Tommy upon my way here," he said. "He told me Evander had requested that you read through the files."

I nodded, and attempted to take it from him, though he drew it back.

"Do tell, what do you propose to do, Your Grace?" he asked.

"T-to take the f-files, w-what else?"

"You ought to seat yourself," he argued. "You are far too pretty to be wearing yourself out over such matters."

"I am n-not..."

"You are," he said, with a laugh.

Zephyr meowed then, clearly annoyed, and I set him down. He promptly made for Duke Thorncrest, and attempted to strike his leg with a paw, meowing all the while in evident indignation.

Duke Thorncrest looked down at the cat.

"One day," he said, "I shall make you like me."

Zephyr only meowed in reply, then turned from him, swishing his tail.

Duke Thorncrest laughed, and placed the file upon the table.

"I hope you are not offended with me," he said, "on account of what happened earlier. I grew heated during our conversation."

"I am n-not offended," I said. "I have realised that perhaps you were v-vexed at the fact that you did not p-possess so much p-power as to put a stop to many things. And I m-must confess, I had always t-thought that because you are a Duke, you held a great deal of it. In that r-regard, I was rather naive."

He turned, and leaned against the table, folding his arms and facing me.

"I must confess something," he said softly. "At times, I wish I were more like Benedict, or Julian, or Evander, or Lucian."

"W-why?" I asked, with a frown.

"When it comes to power," he said, "they hold a considerable measure of it. Benedict may possess military power, and he may be somewhat naive in most respects, but he is one of the most brilliant men I have ever met."

He paused, and added with a smile:

"People forget that Benedict was captain of a squad during the war. Some see only his innocence, but the man can be cunning also. He simply does not show it."

"I know t-that," I said. "But Earl H-Hawthorne is sweet, is he n-not?"

Duke Thorncrest laughed, and shook his head.

"Like the sweet treats he carries about."

He let the laugh fade, and the candle upon the table wavered, throwing his shadow long and thin across the floor.

"Lucian and Evander possess immeasurable power. And Julian..." he continued. "Julian may not be the calculating one, but he has supporters who are willing to help."

He gave a sad smile, and looked down.

"Unlike me."