Page 39 of The Thief
“I had no idea that you are doing so much without me knowing. I only wish you had told me sooner.”
“You understand though, why I did not.”
She nodded.
“May I ask you to return to the castle then?”
She nodded again and headed back inside.
Before she got to the door, she turned and called out, “Thank you, Alastair.”
He smiled and bowed slightly, watching her retreat into the castle.
A few hours later, Alastair walked upstairs and headed to his room, needing to get ready for dinner. He walked up to his door and went to open it when he stopped. Instead, he went to Scarlett’s door and knocked, waiting for her to answer.
Scarlett opened the door slowly, her appearance causing Alastair to be immediately concerned.
“Scarlett, are you all right?” he asked, coming in the room and leaving the door open.
“I’m not feeling well right now. I already asked Melody to let you know that I was going to take dinner in my room.”
Alastair pressed his hand to her forehead and was relieved that she did not have a fever. The paleness of her face and the sweat sheen that covered her body did concern him.
“How long have you felt like this?” he asked her, looking in her eyes.
They were red as if she had been crying, but he hadn’t seen her tears.
“I came back inside after speaking to you and I laid down and fell asleep. I woke up about two hours ago feeling unwell.”
“Have you had anything to eat or drink since you came back inside?”
She started to shake her head but stopped and turned to look at her water glass sitting on her nightstand.
“I had some water. It was the glass I had brought to me much earlier in the day.”
He walked over to the cup and looked down at it, trying to see if it had been tampered with.
Unable to see anything, he looked back at Scarlett.
Her eyes glazed over and she crumpled to the floor, Alastair reaching out to catch her as she fell.
“Scarlett!” he called.
She tried to say something but wasn’t able to get it out before the world went black.
