Page 63 of Unchaining the Heart of the Marquess
“I have never seen her act in such a fashion before.”
“If you are made privy to any further information on the matter, please do not hesitate to tell me. It is quite unlike her to run off in the middle of her duties. I do hope it is not a death or illness that has caused it. Thank you, Mrs. Stone.”
“Of course, My Lord.” The cook curtsied and then went back to preparing the evening meal.
Frederick climbed the stairs and entered the library. He sat down behind the desk, pulled out a clean sheet of paper, and wrote the apology he had intended to write before his emotions had gotten the better of him. When he was finished, he had Mr. Johnson see to its posting. For the sake of his love for Josephine, he knew he had to let her go.
She deserves to be happy and if Owen Greeves is the man to give her that, then so be it, but I will never cease from loving her, never.
* * *
When Mrs. Sands walked through the Greeves’ front door, Josephine could not have been more surprised. “Mrs. Sands, what brings you so far north?” she greeted as she arose from her seat at the parlor window. She had been gazing out over the garden thinking about the future, and what shape she wished for it to take.
“There is something that you have to see, Josephine. I am sorry for arriving unannounced, but once I saw what lay within I could not stay away,” Mrs. Sands informed her pulling a crumpled piece of paper from her satchel and handed it to her.
Josephine smoothed the paper out motioning for Mrs. Sands to take a seat. She moved over to the window to get the best light and sat down to read the missive. It was stained with what looked like a watery ink smear and dried blood. The letter sounded as if it had been through the wars.
‘My Dearest Josephine…’the letter began, and she recognized Frederick’s handwriting immediately. Her eyes scanned the page devouring every word. By the time she was finished tears had streamed down her cheeks as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Owen, hearing the sound from the next room, rushed in. “What is it? Josephine, what is the matter?”
Josephine was crying so hard that she could not answer. Mrs. Sands moved forward and took her into her arms, taking the letter from her hand and handing it to Owen. Josephine attempted to stop her not wishing to cause Owen the pain of reading it, but she was not fast enough. Owen silently scanned the page, then sat down in the window seat beside her and taking her from Mrs. Sands and into his own arms.
“You love him.” It was not a question or an accusation. Owen stated it as if it was simply the truth. “And he loves you.”
Josephine looked up into Owen’s eyes expecting to see anger, rage, jealousy, anything but the tender look of compassion and understanding she found there. “Are you not angry?” she managed to sob out.
“No, I am not angry,” he stated with a sad smile as he stroked her hair soothingly.
“Why not?” Josephine was completely bewildered by his calm reaction.
“Because I already knew,” he answered softly.
“What? How?” She was mortified that as her fiancée he had been aware that she loved another man.
“It was clear from the first day we met.”
“Then why did you ask me to marry you?”
“Because he did not have the courage to defy convention and confess his love. Instead, he pushed you away at every opportunity. You are radiant, intelligent, beautiful in every conceivable way, and I fell in love with you. I loved you enough that it did not matter that you loved another. Your affection was enough for me, as I believed I had enough love for the both of us, but now I see I was wrong. You were meant to be together, even if it has taken him longer than it should have to realize it. This letter is proof of that.”
“I am sorry that I have hurt you. I never meant to do so,” Josephine cried into his shirt unable to bear the sadness she saw in his eyes.
“It was worth it, every single moment I spent with you was worth it.”
“I do not deserve your love.”
“Deserving or not it is yours always. No matter what happens, Josephine, I will always be here for you.”
“Just not as my husband…”
“No, that honor I believe belongs to another.”
The two of them sat together for some time holding each other in silent tears, saying goodbye to the life they had almost had together. It seemed unfair to abandon the man who had saved her life, who had accepted her for who she was from the very beginning. It occurred to her that in spite of Frederick’s declarations of love, there could come a time that he would bow under the pressures of society and change his mind, but it did not matter. From its first, her heart had only ever beat for Frederick.
Even a brief time with Frederick is better than a lifetime without him.
Leaning back to wipe the tears from her cheeks she looked up into the vivid green eyes she had come to care so much for. Owen reached out and caressed her cheek brushing the hair back from her face. “It is time, my darling Josephine,” he whispered lovingly as he gently pressed the bloodstained missive back into her hands. “Your Marquess awaits.”
