Her breath was caught since he had left her again. He had spoken so quietly but his face had been too cold, too sure that her husband would not return. That he had committed a treason. And she… like a fool could not even accept or reject it.
When the door was opened again, she was prepared to face him again. Wondering what kind of behavior would he use this time to convince her for indiscretion. But he did not know.. No matter what he said, she could not reply because she had nothing to offer.
She did not know what her husband was planning or where he was. Since the day she had married him, he had never shared a word with her. He used to like her a lot but when he comes to know that her brand new wife was nothing but a second hand good someone had used and thrown.. He had no interest in her anymore.
No, lack of interest would be a small word. He had started to feel disgusted and.. She closed her eyes. She would not dwell in those thoughts. She had an enemy to face. She braced herself, her shoulder squared.
But it was not Lennart that came in front of her. It was the maid.
"Polly." She looked surprised at the choice of the maid.
"My lady, I have brought you lunch." she offered as she entered. Polly had never been kind to her and she would be the last to initiate the service until she had a message for her. So she did not waste time chatting when the young girl bent but forwarded her hands.
There must be ears listening to them. Polly bit her lips with her eyes narrowed but indeed she took out a small slip from her bosom, too deep to be caught by the guards even if they had checked her.
She opened her mouth and made a signal to remind Elara to swallow the letter after reading it. And only left when Elara nodded.
She did not look at the dry bread or lack of meat but her eyes were on the letter.
"If you opened that little mouth of yours, you would regret it. I know you have been supporting the orphanage with my money and many other places. If I go down, I will make sure everything will go down with me, Elara. Do not dare to double cross me." sweat covered her face as she read the warning. It confirmed that he had indeed committed treason and Polly knew more than her.
Perhaps everyone knew more than her. She swallowed the letter and drank a glass of water to make sure that it went down. But when it comes to food, she did not touch any of it. Her hunger died with the letter.
—-----
Lennart looked at the door. His grim eyes and sunken face show his weariness but the sharpness behind his scared eyes kept everyone away from passing a judgment. The guard wanted to assure that they had kept a good eye on the door but their master did not leave for the whole night.
Only when the door was closed tight for the whole night did he leave in the morning. But even when he was offered the best room of the manor, sleep was the last thing he could worry about.
His eyes swept past everything as if he was trying to find something on them. The red tapestry. The white curtains with gold borders and the red vases with white flowers. The room was beautiful. It was designed aesthetically and it might be possible that it was done by maids or the marquis had a good taste.
But as far as he knew about Elara.. It was not her. She had always been in dark colors. She would have painted the whole palace black if she was given freedom. The whole palace had not a single place where he could see her in things. Even her own heavy jewels and low cut dresses that she had worn on different occasions.. Can someone change this much or he did not know her at all?
He stood up from the bed and opened the door at once. The guards, habitual of his actions, did not flinch but the same could not be said for the maids on duty.
With his heavy muscles and scar on his skin, Len looked intimidating. He was completely different from their charming, handsome and lean master. His presence made the whole room tiny.
"Call for all the maids. NOW." he added in a low voice when they did not move. The maids flinched and ran to ring the large bell on the tower.
This bell had only been pressed on rare occasions or in emergencies. The loud ringing sound of the bell alerted everyone. Elara who had just swallowed the letter gulped and stood up from her seat instinctively. She knew that the door must be closed from outside. But there were still windows and balconies in the room since he had not locked her in the prison.
She hesitated only for a second before opening the door and checking outside. There he was standing in the ground in the middle like a ruler he was. The maids and staff had been running from all directions and making a queue in the middle of the ground. Their faces were full of fear and though she could not hear them, she knew they were praying for their life.
But there were so many halls, so many meeting rooms and many other places where he could have collected them. But out of all of them, he chose to collect them here? In front of the small garden that opens.. Dread filled her heart and just then… she found him turning to look at her. The grin on his face was so clear that she could imagine his voice in her mind.
"Your hell starts now, Elara." he must have whispered that in her ears.