"I WILL SLEEP IN GEOFFREY'S ROOM TONIGHT. I will do so every night until you have someone prepare a separate room for me." Magnolia's words were cold and clipped.
"Henry told me–" Daniel started.
"Your Grace, there is no need for you to explain. We have a deal. I will do everything that we have agreed upon, so please, hold your end of the bargain and let us sleep in separate rooms." Magnolia was calm and emotionless, her eyes seemed lifeless.
Daniel wanted to explain to her that nothing had happened, that he was asking Aurora about the tea party incident and that she threw herself at him. He wanted to assure her that she did not see how he pushed the princess away, but he could see that she was not going to listen to anything he had to say at that moment.
"I understand," was all he could say.
Magnolia walked to Geoffrey's room. He was deep asleep. She changed her clothes and lay next to her son. She reprimanded herself all night.
'How can I be so stupid?'
'Why did I allow myself to have feelings for him?'
'Greedy does not even begin to describe this. But I have learned my lesson, I have to lock this stupid heart of mine.'
'I am lucky enough to be able to live this comfortable life with Geoffrey, I do not need anything else.'
When the sun came up, Magnolia was still awake. Lady Green came in to wake up Geoffrey and found her sitting on the bed.
"Oh, my apologies, Your Grace. I did not know you were here."
"That's alright, could you please call Clara. I will wake Geoffrey up."
"Yes, Your Grace." Lady Green left right away.
Magnolia then turned to Geoffrey and kissed his forehead.
"Geoffrey," she called. "Darling, it is time to wake up."
"You are not Lady Green." Geoffrey noticed as he slowly opened his eyes.
"What? Why? Who am I then?" Magnolia pretended to be confused while touching her face.
"Mama, stop playing."
She smiled. "Alright, alright." Then, she started tickling him. "But I do not want to stop."
They both giggled, until Lady Green was back with Clara. They helped them get ready for breakfast and then Magnolia and Geoffrey walked together to the dining room. Daniel was already sitting at the table.
"Good morning, Papa." Geoffrey hugged the duke.
"Did you sleep well?"
"I did, but Mama was tickling me so much in the morning."
"Is that so?" Daniel's eyes traveled to Magnolia.
"Good morning, Your Grace," she greeted him with a polite smile that did not reach her eyes. She did not want Geoffrey to notice anything about their fight.
"Good morning," he returned her formal greeting. The three of them had breakfast together as if nothing was wrong. "Oh Geoffrey," Daniel drew their attention. "Starting today, you will have a new instructor who will teach you how to use magic."
"Yay! So, am I going to be a hero like Papa?"
"You can be whatever you want to be, Geoffrey."
"Well, I want to be like Papa."
Daniel chuckled. "That is fine if that is what you want."
***
DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS, Magnolia attended all the events that she was invited to and that were recommended by Henry. She even invited some of the ladies to tea one afternoon.
Even though she spent every meal possible with Daniel, she was still as cold as the night of the Flocks' dinner party.
"I am sorry my friend, I really cannot help you there." Henry held both hands up.
"I am just asking you to check how she is doing."
"Why don't you go check on her yourself?"
"You know exactly why." Daniel sighed. "She has been giving me the cold shoulder for more than a week."
"Which you deserve." Henry shrugged.
Daniel raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I know that."
"Fine. I will ask how she is doing." He felt bad for his friend's distress.
"How about that Lasen woman, did you arrange a meeting with her?"
"She will be here tomorrow afternoon." Henry hesitated for a moment. "Are you sure you don't want to tell Lady Magnolia? Finding out about her real family concerns her the most."
"I know, but that woman has some power over her. I don't want what happened at the princess' tea party to happen again." Daniel closed his eyes to tame the emotions that came with the thought of that day.
"Then why invite her here? What if they run into each other?"
"Because she is staying at the palace and I have to meet her away from any prying eyes, and for tomorrow, I am counting on you to keep Magnolia distracted."
"What? You have lost it, Daniel."
"Just use teaching her something as an excuse." Henry stared at his desperate childhood friend for a moment.
"You owe me, Your Grace." He sighed as he surrendered. "You owe me big."
Henry left the office and headed to the garden. There, Magnolia was having tea while watching over Geoffrey.
"Good afternoon, my lady."
"Oh Henry, how are you?" She beamed.
"I am alright, thank you for asking."
"Join me for tea if you are free."
"I would love to, Your Grace." Henry sat across from Magnolia and Clara served him tea. "We have not really had the chance to talk after the dinner last week. How have you been?"
Magnolia stared at him for a moment. "I have been well. I am keeping my unnecessary feelings under control."
"Unnecessary feelings?" Henry pushed.
"My feelings for the duke." Magnolia answered with a straight face.
'Damn. I think Daniel is in more trouble than he thinks.'
Henry did not expect her to be this honest about how she felt. "I see. He has been worried about you."
Magnolia took a sip of her tea. "Why is that?"
"He worries that you will never forgive him for something he never did."
She took another sip. "Is that so?"
She looked at Henry with cold eyes. It made the hair in the back of his neck stand. She had the same look Daniel had for years. Henry pushed to his feet, uncomfortable.
"Anyway, let us meet tomorrow afternoon. I thought you might want to know more about magic, since Geoffrey has powers and will be taking classes."
"I would really like that very much, you are so considerate, Henry. The duke should learn from you." Henry chuckled at her comment.
"Thank you for the delicious tea."
THE NEXT DAY–and as agreed–Henry met Magnolia for a class on magic. He took her to the library, which was on the opposite end of the house, away from the duke's office.
At the same time, Serena Lasen arrived and was escorted to the office.
"Your Grace, I am honored to make your acquaintance." Serena bowed.
"Please, Lady Lasen, have a seat." Daniel motioned to one of the chairs.
"You can imagine how surprised I was when I received an invitation from the Duke of Salicera." Serena's eyes wandered around the room. "And since we are meeting in your office, it must be something important." She grinned.
Something about this woman made Daniel's skin crawl.
"You are right, my lady. I will go straight to the point. I would like to learn more about my wife's family." Her grin got even bigger.
She knew that this would be the subject of their meeting. She leaned back in her chair and linked her fingers together.
"Why of course, Your Grace. I am willing to tell you everything that I know…for the right price."
'Just like Magnolia said, this money-hungry woman will do anything for funds.'
"Well then, we will not have any issues there." Daniel leaned forward on his desk. "Name your price, Lady Lasen."