Meanwhile Philip had spent the whole evening pacing around. Marcus' letter hadn't sounded like he was too eager to make that marriage happen. Why would it be so hard for him to make a decision about whether or not he wanted to meet Willow? A meeting had never hurt anybody. Why was it such a big deal all of a sudden?
Philip had made it quite clear in his letter that there were no strings attached to that meeting, now hadn't he? He had actually expected Marcus to agree to his idea without a second thought. But then he had to wait forever to receive a reply at all and when he finally did it was merely a short notice that he was still undecided.
Why? Philip just couldn't wrap his head around it. What reason could there possibly be for him to not want to meet up with Willow?
Was there another girl? Maybe someone he met during his travels. Maybe he felt like by meeting someone else he was in some way betraying her or even cheating on her. But Marcus had never mentioned another girl. Not in one of his letters and not when they had talked either. And he would have mentioned that, right? They had been so open and honest with each other. There would have been no reason for Marcus not to mention it.
What if he had actually made his decision about the marriage already? What if he was already planning to run? Maybe he was just trying to put Philip off for long enough so he could make a proper plan.
Ugh, this was highly frustrating and Philip could already feel the headache forming in his head. He had to make this meeting happen and he had to make Marcus like Willow. The only question that needed to be answered was how?
If there already was another girl Philip would hardly have a chance. And even if there was no other girl he doubted that Willow could pull herself together well enough to seem at least somewhat likable and like a decent lady.
That stunt she pulled again the other day...
Philip understood that she really enjoyed reading and he was in no way trying to keep her from doing it. Quite the opposite was the case. Reading was probably the most ladylike thing that Willow actually enjoyed doing so he would always support that. What he didn't understand though was her constant urge to break rules and behave so absolutely inappropriate.
She could have just asked him for a new book. There had been no need for her to sneak into the study whilst he was away. But she did it anyway. And he was sure that she enjoyed the adrenaline kick, that it gave her. It had probably been like an adventure to her. Oh how he wished she would just grow up already. This was way overdue.
Maybe the reading was making things worse. Maybe reading all those adventure books only fueled her urge to go out and experience those things herself. Maybe he should forbid her from reading. Or at least choose the books she could read for her. She definitely wouldn't like that but it was quite possible that it would make her behave more like a lady.
Philip surely could find some appropriate books. About well behaved young ladies like Willow should be. Maybe the characters in the book could lead as an example to her.
But he was drifting off topic. Back to the arranged marriage. He had to get his sister to be at her best behavior once Marcus finally gave in on meeting her. Philip felt like he would agree to the meeting eventually. He just had to be patient. Not exactly one of Philips strong points but there was no other way.
So, back to Willow's behavior. A crucial thing to consider was surely the decision on when to tell her about the arranged marriage. If he managed to get that moment right, chances that she would behave herself were way higher than if he told her at a bad moment. Because then she would be willing to do anything and everything to get out of this arranged marriage.
Telling her on the day of the meeting would be on too short notice. She would have no time to calm herself down. It had to be at least the day before the meeting. That way Willow could have some time to cool off and digest the information. Once she had, Philip would talk to her again and make sure that she understood how important for both of their sakes it was, that that marriage would take place. And if them losing the Estate wasn't motivation enough he would surely find something else. He was the one in position to make threats and pull through with them if she didn't play along and Willow knew that just as well as he did.
A quick glance on the clock made Philip realize that he should probably head to bed. It was nearly eleven o'clock. He got undressed and under the covers, but sleep didn't seem nowhere in sight. The thoughts in his head just kept running crazy.
With a sigh he pulled the blanket up higher and tried to block out the thoughts as he turned over to his side. But it was no use. He was tossing and turning, changing position every few minutes or so, but no matter what he did, there was just no way his thoughts would let him rest.
After hours of trying Philip had had enough. With a desperate groan he threw the blanket off of himself and got up again. Maybe a short ride would clear his head. It was already past two o'clock in the morning, but at this point, Philip didn't even care. Putting his clothes back on he wondered how all of this would come to an end.
Where would they be a year from now?
After putting on his boots, Philip also grabbed his revolver from his drawer. Just in case, he thought. You never knew who was lurking out in the dark. He wasn't going to take any chances, the woods could be dangerous. Especially at night.
As quietly as possible he made his way down the stairs and out the back door. A frown appeared on his face as he noticed that the back door hadn't been locked. It definitely should have been. Why was it that no one in this house was listening to him? If someone wanted to break in here they could just stroll through the back door like they owned this place. Oh, the servants would get their ears full about this in the morning, Philip would make sure of that.
He would have told them right now, but they were all sleeping and it was the middle of the night. If he wanted them to listen, he would have to be patient and wait till it was a somewhat reasonable time.
That thought made him stop in his tracks though. Right, everyone was asleep. That meant Arthur was asleep too and Philip would have to saddle up his horse himself. Was that really worth the effort? What if he just went for a stroll in the gardens instead. That should do the job of clearing his head at least a little.
As he got closer to the back of the gardens he could heard faint voices talking. Too far away for him to make out what they were saying. Then it was silent again and for a moment Philip thought he had just imagined it, but then he saw a figure appear atop of the wall that surrounded the Cornwall grounds.
Quick and without a sound he drew his revolver and sneaked closer, as he watched the stranger climbing down the old oak tree. Had his revolver pointing right at them, as they turned around to him.
Willow's eyes went big in shock. There in front of her, stood her brother, his revolver pointing right at her.
"Who are you?" Philip demanded to know in a loud voice.
Oh dear... This was bad. Really bad! Willow's gaze was everywhere, but on her brother, frankly searching for a way to escape. But there was none. What was she going to do? Her brother obviously thought her to be a thief, breaking in on his grounds, but if she revealed to him who she really was... Was that really any better?
Too caught up in her thoughts, Willow was too late to react when he brother advanced her with two quick steps and grabbed ahold of her left upper arm, pulling her towards their house. The light on the back porch would be bright enough for him to see who he was dealing with, so that was where he was headed to. One way or another he would find out who that thief was.
Willow pulled on her arm, trying to break free, pushing her heels into the ground to prevent him from pulling her along any further, but all efforts were useless. He was just too strong and kept dragging her along no matter how much she tried to resist. With one final push she stumbled into the light of the lantern. For the moment the cap, that she had been smart enough to put on again, once Marcus had left, was still casting a shadow over her face and prevented any features from showing, but the next moment it was harshly ripped off her head.
Her gaze fixed on the ground beneath them, Willow bit her lip, waiting for all hell to break loose.
An unbelieving and surprisingly silent "What...?" was the first thing that escaped Philip's lips and the next moment her brother's painful grip on her chin forced her face upwards. Their eyes met and for a moment there was silence.
"What on earth do you think you're doing, Willow?" Philip fumed, pushing Willow's chin away from him with so much force that she stumbled back a few small steps until she regained her balance.
"I..." God, what was she supposed to say? There was no way she would be able to talk herself out of this one. "I was just..." She tried again but still couldn't really come up with anything.
Her silent stuttering was harshly interrupted by her brother. "Sneaking off of the grounds in the middle of the night!" He yelled, answering his question himself and being absolutely right about it too.
Willow's eyes had started to water as her gaze was fixed on the ground once again. She refused to cry. Not now. Not in front of him.
"You are in deep trouble, I hope you know that. You better pray that no one saw you, or else-", he continued, but then interrupted himself, "Hold on a minute. I heard two people talking. Who were you talking to?" Philip was REALLY mad now.
Things were just going from bad to worse for Willow.
"I..." She interrupted herself, by biting her lower lips once again. She musn't say anything stupid now.
"It was no-one really..." Willow replied quietly, hopelessly trying to make this no worse than it already was, but failing miserably.
"WHO. WERE. YOU. TALKING TO?" Philip demanded an answer, full on yelling now as he made a threatening step closer towards his sister with every word.
"That's none of your business. I don't have to tell you anything!" Willow yelled back, the tears still brimming in her eyes. She was in no way even close to as loud or as threatening as her brother, but she would not let him treat her like this.
"Yes you do!" Philip yelled back, taking another step closer to her, but Willow was not backing down. "I am the one in charge here. And if I ask you a question, you will answer!"
"Just because you're my brother doesn't mean you can boss me around!" Willow argued back. She was sick and tired of this. She refused to tolerate his disrespectful behavior any longer. She was not a child anymore.
"In case you haven't noticed, since our father died I AM in fact the master of this house and you WILL do as I say!" Philip was clearly having none of Willow's arguments. He wasn't going to let her talk to him that way.
"And you think that gives you the right to keep me prisoner here for all my life?" Willow questioned furiously. How could he think he was worth so much more than her? They were siblings, they should be equals.
"I make the rules so yes, if I tell you to not leave to those freaking grounds you will stay here." Philip fumed. "And I am done with you questioning my authority. You will tell me right now who you were meeting. It was a man, wasn't it?" Philip continued his interrogation, fed up with Willow's rebellion against him.
"As I said. That is none of your business." Willow replied in a tight voice, refusing to give him an answer. Although in that case no answer might just be answer enough for Philip.
"It is my business!" Philip seethed, "Because you are to marry the son of a Grand Duke and the slightest whisper about you even just talking to another man would blow that."
That sentence hit home hard. It felt like a blow in the stomach. Willow was speechless for once. Her breathing coming out in rapid puffs as a million thoughts raced through her head, without her being able to hold on to a single one of them.
As realisation was starting to sink in the tears started to fall. "How dare you?" she pressed out quietly, looking straight into her brother's eyes.
Before her brother could have said or done anything else, Willow turned away and ran off. Back inside through the back door and up to her room. She could hear her brother yelling after her, that that was not the end of this conversation and that she would have to face the consequences of this. But she didn't care. There was only room for one thought in Willow's head right now.
How dare he? How dare he promise her to a man she had never even met?
Sobs were shaking through her body as it hit her bed. Whatever was she going to do? If her brother thought he could just decide something like that over her head he was wrong.
She had to run away. That was the only way. But just as that realization hit home, Willow heard the door to her room, that she hadn't bothered closing, being shut with a loud bang behind her. She snapped around in an instant and heard the noise of the key being turned in the lock.
No! No, he couldn't just lock her in again. Storming over to the door, Willow pulled on the door handle, trying to get it to turn, but it wouldn't bulge. Not even in the slightest. No. No! This can't be happening.
A new set of sobs escaped her lips as she let her head hit the door. She could feel her whole world crumbling beneath her. And there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing at all. Banging her fist against the door once in frustration, Willow turned around leaning on to the locked door with her back now.
Sobs were still shaking up her body as she let herself slide down to the floor and burrowed her face in her hands.
How could he be so heartless? Never in her life had Willow felt that betrayed. She felt like her brother had stabbed her in the back. All she ever wanted was freedom and all he ever did was keeping her from that. And the only reason for that had been an arranged marriage? She had to spend all this time locked up on these grounds because her brother had promised her to a man?
Was that how he paid back all their debts? By selling her off to some rich Duke? And he hadn't even bothered to mention it to her. Obviously this arrangement had been made years back. And he... Willow's thoughts were interrupted by a few big sobs that took her breath away for a moment... He hadn't even mentioned it to her once. How could he not ask her opinion on something like that? Did she really mean that little to him?
Breaking down into another set of sobs, Willow's heart was aching. She had known that her and her brother's relationship hadn't been the best. But that he would care that little about her... It broke her heart.
And here she had been the past years, trying to do everything she could to not be a bother to him. To behave, to please him. She had even made an effort to make things better between them, to get them closer again. But he had obviously never wanted that in the first place. She was only a necessary evil to him that he had to tolerate for the time being, till she was to be married off to some stranger.
How could he hate her so much? She was his sister. What had she ever done to him that made him hate her so?
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