“YOU mustn’t become so agitated, Your Grace. You must retain your composure around her, or else your behavior will stimulate the curse compressed in her,” Chris admonished.
“I’m sorry...” Brigitte apologized. Under Chris’ fierce glare, Duchess Brigitte buried her pallid face in her handkerchief.
“Her Grace doesn’t know the truth. We are only falling into his hands if she doesn’t know why everyone around her is going into hysterics and ostracizing her. More than anything, he thrives on people’s fear and inner turmoil,” Chris stressed.
“I know... I will act like my normal self tomorrow when I see Sonia off,” Brigitte said.
“Please do.”
Having remained on the sidelines throughout his wife’s exchange with Chris, Duke Dumas suddenly gave a heavy sigh. It was an indication he’d heard enough.
“Do you honestly believe Sonia has been cursed? I’d like to believe it’s not true myself,” he said.
“But people have been talking about this curse for ages... Not that anyone was insensitive enough to mention it in front of that poor family,” the Duchess said.
She added on, “But...first we lost Duke Clare and his wife in that terrible accident... Then, starting with the first in line when he died falling from his horse, the Clares lost children to illness, accidents, and duels in order of succession over the course of a few years... You can hardly write this off as mere gossip anymore...”
“Your Grace,” Chris interrupted the Duchess as the blood drained from her face once more. “Take the utmost care Her Grace does not learn of this. I’d appreciate it if you could do that until I find a way to break this curse. This is a royal order, issued personally by His Majesty.”
“King Patrice personally…? Of course I can.” The Duchess wrung her handkerchief as she nodded her head in consent.
Orders issued by the King were absolute. The situation was sensitive enough to require the direct intervention of Crisford Cortot, the King’s right-hand knight and the highest ranking military commander in the kingdom. Not only did it imply the possibility that this could grow into a grave problem for the kingdom, it also indicated the importance of the Clares.
“While I don’t believe in that Clare Curse nonsense, I find you rather unbelievable as well,” Duke Dumas said to Chris.
“How so?”
“Aren’t you afraid? Doesn’t the curse on that girl scare you?” Duke Dumas asked. It was a perfectly reasonable question.
“Since times of yore, it has been common practice for knights to protect princesses and save them from any manner of trouble,” Chris said with a wink and a smile beaming with confidence.
✦ ✦ ✦
RISING early the next morning, Sonia and Chris left the Duke’s country house to make their way toward Clare Castle. Sonia was in a splendid mood, balancing a basket on her lap. Brigitte had personally given it to her, saying, “Here’s a little something for the carriage ride.”
I guess she wasn’t feeling well last night, just like the Duke said.
Since putting the rosary around her neck, the black cloud inside her had completely vanished. She wasn’t sure if that had something to do with it, but the sight of Chris’ fuzzy face and hairy hands didn’t bother her to the point of fainting…. She’d merely shudder a little.
“What do you have there in the basket?” Chris asked, brimming with curiosity. To be fair, they had left in the dim hours before sunrise—without a chance to eat. It didn’t help that the carriage was filled with an indescribably scrumptious aroma wafting from the basket.
“I’ll take a look,” Sonia answered. She was also curious. The toasted, sweet smell was tantalizing.
The moment she opened the basket, Sonia looked back up at Chris with eyes that sparkled like aquamarines and passed over the whole basket with a “Here you go!” to show him the contents.
It had fried chicken and baguette sandwiches with ham, cheese, and plenty of vegetables. For dessert, there was a cake loaded with dried fruit. It was also cram packed with a generous amount of fresh fruit.
“This is amazing!” Chris exclaimed. His eyes were also sparkling. He looked as if he were about to attack the basket at any moment.
“Are you hungry?” Sonia asked. Seeing Chris on the verge of drooling, she offered, “Would you like to eat?”
“Oh, I couldn’t… My apologies. Here I am, a grown man, getting worked up over food. This is terribly embarrassing,” Chris apologized.
Sonia couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of Chris patting down the short hair on the back of his head in a poor attempt to hide his embarrassment.
“Why don’t you dig in?” she suggested, but Chris declined with the shake of his head. “...But will you be all right?” she pressed with concern.
Anyone who saw Chris could see he was physically large, boasting a strong, robust build fit for a soldier. Meanwhile, Sonia figured she could get by without eating much since she was accustomed to simple meals from life at the abbey and wasn’t terribly active. Chris would go hungry if his serving wasn’t proportional to his large body size.
“You don’t need to match my eating habits, okay? Feel free to help yourself,” she added and handed the basket back to Chris. Despite taking it, Chris quickly flipped the lid down and placed the basket by his side.
“Sir Chris?”
Noticing how Sonia was batting her eyes in surprise, Chris explained with a chuckle, “I know of a superb resting spot not far from here. The sun should be rising by the time we arrive, so let’s dine there.”