Charlotte looked at the old letters that she and Mathieu used to exchange before their marriage. She still tore it up after reading the first love letter that she had received from Mathieu.
Her eyes fell on the pendulum clock, and she found it was 4 a.m. in the morning. After coming from her home, she was unable to sleep. The reasons were the deteriorated health of her father, the sneering words of her brothers, and the marriage proposal before her.
She folded the piece of paper on which she had written something a few moments ago, and put it on the table while the fountain pen was left above it.
Charlotte stood up from the chair, leaving the letters on the table, and walked out of her room. The cold morning breeze passed by her petite body and the shivers ran down her spine. She rubbed her arms and walked ahead in the corridor.
The servants weren't awake yet. Charlotte wasn't in her right senses either, as she had forgotten to put slippers on. She came out of the palace and turned to the southern side, bare feet. The guards who noticed her walking in the early morning, didn't bother to ask her where she was heading alone.
"She has gone insane. Why is she even here in the palace?" One of the guards said as he started to laugh with the two others.
"I have heard that she got the proposal from the Duke of Wexnon," the middle one said. "She had gone to her father's home yesterday. Prince Édouard went to see her and her family," he informed them. They weren't ready to agree with him.
"I am telling the truth. The guards at the day shift told me that Prince Édouard had sent his Knight, Rainard Laverick, to escort the wife of his late brother," he stated.
"Rumors say that Prince Édouard was never interested in women. Then, how come he suddenly started to care for a woman, specifically a widow?, "the third one said, and the three laughed again.
They got alerted when the guard from the front gate came running to them. They asked him why he looked scared.
"Prince Édouard, the Duke of Wexnon, is here. Go and wake up the servants," he told those three. By then, Édouard had arrived on the back of his horse, and seeing him, they all bowed. They were surprised to see the Duke in the palace of Beromont.
Édouard hopped down the horse and asked about Charlotte's room.
"I will show His Royal Highness the way to the Duchess' room," the guard who had come from the main gate humbly told Édouard.
"Pardon me for intrusion, but the Duchess went that way a few minutes ago," the guard in the middle said, pointing his finger towards the south. Édouard knitted his brows and walked in the direction that the guard told him about.
Charlotte looked at the large lake before her. After Mathieu proposed to her, this was the place where he took her and told her how calm he felt here.
'If I go out for work and you miss me, then you can come here. This is the place which I cannot leave even after my death.'
Charlotte remembered the words of Mathieu. She closed her eyes and recalled how her family had been suffering merely because Mathieu had died early. Hayden had already told her that she should have died as well. Her father was in bed because of her. If she died, then at least she would be with Mathieu in the afterlife. She had already left a note in her room saying she would end her life in remembrance of her husband and no one should be blamed for it.
"Father, forgive me. This was the end of my life. I pray for your healthy life and happiness," Charlotte said as she slowly went to the water body. Her tear-streaked face was blank now. Her misery would end today and she would be with Mathieu forever.
The soles of her feet were badly bruised after she walked bare feet. As the cold water touched them, she felt the pain, but her face remained calm. She tried her best to survive, but every second was unbearable for him.
She knew only her father and the butler would shed tears for her. The rest of the people would only be happy. Her only regret was that her father would never see her again. But with time, his wounds would heal too. The pain she inflicted on his life would vanish since the people who sneered at him would not say anything to him anymore.
She was half submerged in the lake. She continued to move ahead until the water reached her neck. She closed her eyes and moved down into the lake water.
While panting, Édouard reached out and noticed the ripples and bubbles in the centre of the lake.
"Charlotte!" He shouted.
He removed his boots and the long white coat and jumped into the lake. He got under the water and saw her body drowning. He pushed himself forward and reached for her. Grabbing her arm, he quickly brought her out of the water.
"Charlotte! Charlotte!" Édouard called her name as he patted on her cheeks. The light from the torchbearers far from them was only showing their faces.
When she didn't respond, Édouard gave compressions on her chest. "Please, don't die," Édouard said, and continued to do that when she started to cough. The water came out of her lungs. However, she remained unconscious.
Édouard heaved a sigh of relief when the guards came behind him. They were shocked to see their Duchess lying on the ground.
Édouard covered her with his long coat and then carried her in his arms.
"Your Royal Highness, this way," the chief guard said, and Édouard followed him. They reached the chamber. He waited for the physician to arrive and gently put Charlotte on the mattress. He continued to check her breathing in between to make sure she was alive.
He brushed away the fringes of her face when the maid-in-service of Charlotte, Miss Bartley, arrived. She bowed to Édouard.
"Change her clothes," he ordered her before going out.
After ten minutes, Miss Bartley opened the door. Édouard walked in, along with the royal physician.
"Your Royal Highness, you should change your clothes too. Please follow me to the other chamber," Miss Bartley said.
Édouard glanced at her coldly. "You will no longer work in the Palace of Beromont! You must leave my sight before I end your life." Édouard's anger was in heaven's sky. For a split second, the physician was terrified to hear Édouard, but he continued his examination on Charlotte.
"Please forgive me, Your Royal Highness," Miss Batley said, getting on her knees and bowing. "No one knew that the Duchess would try to end her life. Please do not fire me," she requested.
Édouard glanced at the chief guard before him and asked him to throw Miss Batley out of the palace. His command was immediately obeyed and two soldiers came inside. They dragged away Miss Batley, who continued to plead with Édouard.
"How is she?" Édouard asked the Physician. He stood up and bowed before telling Édouard about Charlotte's condition.
"Her Highness is stable. However, Her Highness has a high fever," the physician answered. "These medicines will reduce Her Highness' fever. Moreover, Her Highness has not taken her meals well. This is the fourth time in two weeks that she has gotten sick." The physician didn't refrain from asking about Charlotte's previous state either.
"Who is the head servant here who looks after Charlotte's affairs?" Édouard asked as he narrowly gazed at the chief guard.
At that moment, the head servant, John Walter, came inside. He caught up with his breath and bowed to see Édouard. He made sure that the Duke would not find out that he was sleeping till late.
"Tell me every detail of Charlotte's day activities," Édouard ordered John.
"Her Highness usually remains in her chamber or in the late Prince's chamber," John said. "It is strange that Her Highness tried to commit—" he paused as he felt the sharp glare of Édouard at him.
"Fire all the servants, and you will also no longer work here," Édouard said.
"Pardon me, Your Royal Highness?" John was bewildered to hear the Prince.
"You failed to take care of Charlotte. How dare you all have a peaceful sleep when she was awake? Mathieu might have ignored you all, but I am not like him. Fire all the servants before you leave. I don't want to see a single face who was in Charlotte's service, or else my sword is ready to behead that servant," Édouard stated.
John could not speak any other word.
"Tell the head cook to send a bowl of healthy porridge," Édouard ordered him, and then told him to leave his sight.
The chief guard was trembling in fear. What if he was fired too?
"Shall I leave, Your Royal Highness?" the physician asked. Édouard hummed and told the chief guard to stay outside. After they left, Édouard looked around the room. On the table, he saw several letters, and then his eyes fell on the note that Charlotte wrote before going to the lake.
He tore it into pieces as his jaw clenched. He checked the letters that Mathieu and Charlotte exchanged before their marriage. He wanted to throw them away, but because Charlotte cherished them, he left them there on the table.
He went near the bed, sat on the puffy velvet stool by the bedside, and caressed Charlotte's forehead.
"As long as I am alive, I will not let anything happen to you," Édouard muttered.