Page 42 of Lord of Mischief
Chapter Twenty-Four
Eve managed to hold herself together for the first few hours.After Freddie had thrown her over, she had slowly dressed and fixed her hair somewhat.Then she wandered the grounds of Rosemount Abbey in stunned silence for an hour or so before finally making her way back to the main house.
She cried off the invitation to dine with the Rosemount family that evening, claiming a severe headache.
It was only as she lay in her bed that the tears finally came.Nothing in her life had ever come close to the deep body-shaking sobs that held her in their grip for hours.
Her mother came and sat beside her.She didn’t need to ask what was wrong.Adelaide spoke with Lady Rosemount in the late hours and it was agreed that it was best she and Eve leave for London the next morning.
It was with a heavy heart that Eve climbed aboard the coach.The Rosemount family, except the still-missing Freddie, had gathered stony-faced in the courtyard.A soft thank you and goodbye was the best Eve could manage in her current state.
After travelling through Peterborough, they joined the Great North Road, turning south toward London.Adelaide offered for them to overnight at one of the coaching inns en route, but Eve asked they simply change horses and continue on.
She slept a little in the travel coach but refused all offers of food.Her mind was a constant whirl of questions and what-ifs.All her plans had been shattered to a thousand pieces.The Freddie she thought she knew was most certainly not the man who had told her he didn’t want her.
The inside of the carriage began to feel increasingly hot and cramped.The palms of her hands became sweaty and her breathing labored.Inside she was screaming.
“Mama, please stop the carriage.I must get out,” she pleaded.
Adelaide immediately got to her feet and rapped on the roof just below where the coachman was sitting.The coach slowed and pulled over to the side of the road.
Eve flung open the door and, gathering her skirts, leapt down onto the roadside.She made for a nearby empty field.
She made a few steps into a run but found she had not the energy for it.Instead, with head bowed and shoulders slumped, she slowly walked the field, heading farther and farther away from the coach.
When she finally stopped and turned around, she was a long way from the road.Sinking to her knees, she sucked in a great lungful of air before letting out a loud howl of heartbroken despair.
No one had ever told her that a broken heart came with physical pain.She wrapped her arms around herself and tried to hug the ache from her heart.Wave after wave of hopelessness crashed over her.
A gentle hand stroked her hair.“I know it hurts like the devil at the moment, and believe me, the only thing you can do is to cry it out.Let all the anger and pain come out of you,” said Adelaide.She knelt in front of Eve, and in that moment, Eve was so grateful to have such a strong and supportive mother.
“I don’t know how to deal with it, Mama.I think my heart is going to give out.”
“You have to deal with heartache—you cannot avoid it.I know all you can see right now is the blackness of it, but you will come out the other side.Time is the one thing you can count on to help heal yourself.Not today, and probably not for some time, but your heart will heal,” replied Adelaide.
Eve pulled her knees up to her chest and lay over them.Staring over the field of long green grass, she let her mind speak its truth.A truth she had refused to accept since the day she had set her mind on marrying Freddie.
It wasn’t just the pain of a broken heart that troubled her.She had been stubborn and reckless in her pursuit of him.His words, though they had cut through her like a knife, were filled with truth.Spite against Caroline had been the reason she had first pursued him.But that had long ago fallen away.She loved him with her whole heart, and he had smashed it to pieces.
“You will rise from this a stronger woman, Eve.The woman you become shall have been forged in the fire of heartbreak.Your future love is out there.Give yourself time, but never abandon the hope of love.”
“It’s my fault,” replied Eve, unable to look at her mother.
“You cannot blame yourself.Lady Rosemount told me Freddie thought you would make a suitable wife.If he had not thought so, she would not have extended the invitation for us to visit.He is a young man simply not ready for marriage.It is a good thing you both discovered the truth now,” replied Adelaide.
Her mother’s words would have brought comfort if it had been a simple matter of two people not ready to marry.Eve knew the situation was more complicated.
“I pushed him into a tight corner and when he realized he was going to have to offer for me, he did the only thing he could and ran away.The pain of rejection hurts, but what hurts more is the sense of utter humiliation.I left London telling everyone I expected to be engaged by the time I returned.Freddie told me I only went after him to spite Caroline, and I am ashamed to say there is a deal of truth in his words.”
She heard her mother’s soft intake of breath.A hand took hold of her chin and raised it.Eve met Adelaide’s loving gaze.
“You are not the first girl who wished desperately to be married.And if Lady Rosemount and I hadn’t thought the two of you could have made a go of it, we would never have arranged this visit.I think you will find in time that Freddie comes to realize he could have handled things better with you.
“As for you and Caroline, I have never been able to understand how the two of you went from being best friends all your lives to becoming outright rivals.You used to be so close.”
Eve didn’t reply.Her mind was still trying to come to terms with the truth.Jealousy was an ugly word, and it had hardened her heart toward her sister.
Eve and her mother sat in the field for a while longer, only returning to the coach when the driver came and mentioned they would not make the next major inn before nightfall if they didn’t leave soon.
As Eve settled back into the soft leather seats of the coach, she sensed her mood beginning to change.Going home and sleeping in her own bed would no doubt help.She opened a book and began to read.By the time they reached the outskirts of London, it was night and she was falling asleep.
As she drifted off, she felt the comfort of a warm blanket being wrapped around her.Her mother softly whispered, “Sleep, my girl.Find your inner peace, and in time, when you are ready, you will find your prince.”
