The Carnelian Legacy (17 page)

Stunned to see a single tear rolling down his cheek, Marisa remembered reading somewhere that the eyes are the doorway to the soul. In that particular moment, she was staring straight into his soul. She gazed past him for a moment and saw the stars twinkling like diamonds in the night sky.

All of a sudden, the gravity of the situation hit her. “Please—let me go! I can’t do this…” she said, pleading through tears.

Darian’s eyes searched hers questioningly as she struggled to wrestle free from his grasp. Finally, he let her go and she raced down the stone steps and through the empty corridors. She ran up the two flights of steps to her chamber where she collapsed on her bed, gasping and sobbing.

Savino glanced into the faces of the guests congregated around the refreshments table. “Has anyone seen my bride-to-be?” he asked.

Several people shook their heads.

“Brother, I cannot seem to find my escort for this evening. Have you seen Prince Darian?” Matilda asked.

The host’s eyes narrowed at his sister as a rather disagreeable realization came over him.

CHAPTER 12

DEPARTURE

THE
SUN
ROSE
THE
next morning and shone through the stained glass windows, casting a kaleidoscope of colors across the wall. Marisa rolled over and pulled the covers up to her neck. No matter how beautiful the morning may have been, she was too afraid to face the day.

She felt an awful pounding in her head. Still confused by what had transpired the night before, she sat up and realized that a full night of sleep had not provided a single ounce of perspective to her puzzling predicament. As she remembered Darian’s kiss the night before, tears formed in Marisa’s eyes. She had no desire to see anyone at all.

As Helinda hastily barged into the room, Marisa wiped her face and lunged for the earpiece on the nightstand. The chatty woman began to tidy up the room, starting with the olive dress that Marisa had carelessly thrown onto the floor the night before.

“Well, my dear, apparently you were the belle of the ball last night,” Helinda clucked as she tossed fresh logs into the fireplace.

“The servants were all gossiping this morning, and everyone was highly complimentary of you, my dear. In fact, rumor has it that you are to be congratulated with your engagement to the Viscount da Rocha. I declare, if you were able to secure such a match, you would be an exceptionally lucky girl indeed.”

Marisa smiled faintly and pulled on a heavy dress, thankful that she wasn’t expected to respond. Helinda continued to blabber on as she swept the floor and poked the fire one more time.

“Imagine that, one day you shall become a countess!”

Marisa rolled her eyes as she pulled a brush through her hair.

“According to the cook’s assistant, Lady Matilda is soon to be engaged to Prince Darian. Now that’s a
true
match made in heaven.”

Ouch.

Just when she was beginning to wonder if the woman ever stopped talking, there was a knock at the door. As Helinda opened it, Arrie stuck his head into the room. From the knowing look on his face, he’d already heard everything from Darian.

“And how are we this morning, dear cousin?” Arrie asked.

“I beg your pardon, sir, but I was just finishing up in here,” Helinda said with a nod. She hastily grabbed a load of laundry on her way out and left the room, shutting the door firmly behind her.

He smiled. “So, I understand that the situation has become somewhat complicated since the last time we spoke?”

“Ha! That’s an understatement. Did you hear Savino asking me to marry him? Well, actually, Savino asked
Darian
if he could marry me. Technically, he didn’t pose the question to me.”

“Of course I heard it. In fact, everyone in Abbadon has heard it by now,” he said, chuckling.

He walked over to the dressing table and picked up a small mirror. Gazing at his reflection, Arrie smoothed his mustache. “You’ve been in the country for what—less than a week now? And already you have not one but two suitors chasing after you. That
must
be some kind of record,” he teased.

“One suitor. The other doesn’t count.”

“Oh, you know what I mean,” he joked. He set the mirror back on the table and sat down next to her.

“Well I’m glad someone can laugh about it.”

As he studied her face, his smile faded. “What’s wrong? Have you been crying?”

She avoided his eyes.

“Marisa, please talk to me.”

She couldn’t hold the tears back a second longer. Her hands flew to her face as hot tears stung her eyes.

Arrie gathered her into his arms. “Poor girl, you sure haven’t had an easy week, have you?”

“I’m so sorry,” she wailed. “But it seems like my life has totally spiraled out of control these past few weeks.”

He stroked her hair. “Shhh, I know.”

She gently pulled away. “No, you don’t. You don’t know me, Arrie. This is not me. I don’t even know who
this
is any more. Right up until Dad died, I had everything under control. I got decent grades and was captain of our dance squad. I was vice president of the student body council.

“But ever since I came here, I’ve turned into some totally different person that I don’t even recognize. I’ve become some weepy, wimpy girl who can’t get her freakin’ act together. Worse than that, I’m a dumb mute who can’t even talk!”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve had a lot to process over the past few weeks. Your father died. You leapt into a different universe. You fell in love with a prince who is going to be king someday. All of those things are quite significant in and among themselves and don’t usually happen all at once.”

She smiled through her tears. “When you put it like that, it sounds pretty crazy, doesn’t it?”

“All joking aside, you do have the right to question things and vent when you don’t understand what is happening around you. Believe me, I know. I’ve been there.”

She smiled gratefully at him. “Arrie, I think that you’re a gift from heaven. No matter what happens, I’ll always be glad that I met you.”

“And I am very happy that you dropped into our lives from out of nowhere,” he joked.

“Arrie?”

“Yes?”

“I know it’s a stupid question, but do you think Darian would ever give up the throne for a commoner? I mean, I’m not presuming that he might do that for me, but just hypothetically speaking?”

He digested that for a moment. “I don’t know. That is quite a lot to ask of a man, don’t you think? It’s a substantial decision with massive ramifications. Hypothetically speaking, that is.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she said sadly.

“I’ve known Darian all my life, and the only time that he ever made a hasty, irrational decision, he ended up paying for it dearly. Since then, he’s always followed his head and never his heart.”

“What was the rash decision?”

“He more or less blames himself for the death of his father.”

“What!”

“Oh, it wasn’t his fault, of course, but he believes that it was a direct result of his actions. But I shall let him tell you about that when he’s ready. He doesn’t like to talk about it with anyone.”

“Gosh, that’s horrible,” she murmured.

“As I told you a few days ago, he is an extremely complicated man. He’s already had more than his fair share of heartbreak.”

“Sometimes I wonder if my life will ever become less complicated,” she said wistfully.

“Marisa, you must believe that if Darian could do anything about the situation, he would.”

“Would he? Somehow I’m not so sure.”

“Darian is an exceptionally tough nut to crack, but you might just be the young woman who could tempt him into choosing his heart over his head. But it would take a lot to get him that far. His devotion to duty runs deeply in his veins.”

“I’d like to think that I’m worth giving up the throne for, and yet, at the same time, I don’t think I could ever let him to do that for one reason.”

“And just what is that?”

Marisa stepped over to the window and stared out at the majestic mountains in the distance. Her heart sank as she thought about how exciting her life might be if she could spend it with Darian.

“Someday he might actually come to regret his decision. He might say to himself, ‘I gave up my entire kingdom for this woman, and it wasn’t even worth it.’ I just couldn’t live with myself knowing that I had forced the man I love to make a decision that he would later regret.”

“Ah, so now you
do
admit that you love Darian?” He teased.

“Naw, I don’t think it’s really love if you know it’s not gonna happen.”

“Love is love no matter what—even if you try to bind it, chain it, or hold it back. There is no choice in the matter. It is either there or it isn’t. It’s just so unfortunate you’re not a Fiore princess.”

“Helinda told me that Darian is going to marry Lady Matilda. Is that true?”

He shrugged. “Perhaps. Like most rumors flying around, usually there’s some small seed of truth in there somewhere. Darian has had several opportunities in the past to pop the question to Matilda, but he’s never done it yet. I don’t know why things should be different now.”

“Maybe he has no other choice now because the throne is at stake. I’ve seen how he pays special attention to Matilda during the meals, the hunting party, and the hike to the waterfall. You’ve got to admit Arrie, any guy would be crazy not to go for her. She’d make the perfect princess.”

“Perfect maybe, but she’s not you,” Arrie said, smiling and poking her gently.

“Is your backhanded compliment supposed to make me feel better?” she asked, laughing.

“You are so fun to tease,” he said playfully. “It’s nice to see you laughing again.”

“Well, all I know is that once we get back to this Crocetta, you’re going to help me set up my new life. I’m starting to think that you might actually be stuck with me after all. And vice versa,” she added.

“There’s nobody I’d rather be stuck with more,” Arrie said softly. “Now come—go wash your face off and I’ll escort you to breakfast before Savino’s household staff starts some wild rumor that I’ve run away with my cousin!”

She smiled at him. “I wish you really were my cousin.”

“Yes, dearest, that’s what they all say.”

As Marisa and Arrie entered the dining room, everyone was already seated at the table, but Darian’s seat was empty. Arrie pushed in her chair for her as Savino eyed her suspiciously.

“Well, Lady Marisa! I’m so glad to see you are up and about this morning. You ran off so quickly last night that I didn’t even get the chance to bid you goodnight. Are you feeling all right?”

“Lady Marisa is not fully recovered from the tedious journey and her harrowing ordeal the other day,” Arrie interjected. “Given the fact that she has not yet developed a stomach for alcohol, I’m afraid the champagne made her quite sick last night.”