Always (22 page)

His eyes slid over to them with such a ferocious glare that I took an involuntary step backwards.

What were they even doing in here? Had they heard us arguing? How was that possible? They both stood just inside the bedroom door, a united pair come to rescue me.

“
It’s out of the question,” Marcus snapped. “She’s not going anywhere without me.”

“
She’ll be fine,” Sylvia continued, unaffected by his unexplainable rage.

“
No.”

“
You’re not even going to be here.” She took another step into the room.

He only growled a low sound in his throat in response. I let my hands fall by my side, defeated. He would never let me go; it was clear by the way he stood just in front of me with his eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched.

“
If you’re gone,” she continued calmly, “and we leave, then she’ll be here all alone with only a few human servants to protect her.”

When he looked back at me, it was as if all his anger had evaporated and was replaced by an overwhelming weariness.

“
I don’t need to go,” I said automatically. “It’s not proper for me to go alone, anyways.” Feeling weak and strangely drained, I sank to the closest seat I could see.

Marcus towered over me, no longer angry, but still not happy either. “You’re going with Sylvia and David.”

“
I…” I shook my head, confused by all that was happening.

“
Sylvia’s right,” he thundered on his way to the door, “You can’t stay here alone.”

“
I…”

“
Come on, Claudia,” Sylvia held her hand out to me, “we don’t want to be late.”

With heavy steps and an even heavier heart, I followed Sylvia and David down the stairs and out into the waiting carriage.

“
Claudia,” Sylvia took my hand in the small space of the carriage, “You can’t worry about him.”

“
How can I not worry about him? Something is very wrong with him, Sylvia.”

“
You can’t know that.” I tried to pull my hand back, but Sylvia held tight to it.

“
Trust me, I do know that.” She turned her face away from me so she could pretend to look out the window.

Whatever was wrong with Marcus, my two companions knew something about it that they weren’t telling me. What were they all trying to hide? Could it be something so terrible that they couldn’t even tell me?

“
Claudia,” Sylvia took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face, “We are going to enjoy ourselves tonight.”

“
I don’t think I can,” I replied miserably.

“
Of course you can.” She gave a worried frown to David and then they both turned to me.

“
I’ll try.”

“
You have wanted to see the theater since you were a little girl,” David reminded me.

“
Just put Marcus and his dark mood swings out of your head.”

“
Easy for you to say,” I mumbled.

“
I’ve known him for a long time,” she spoke gently, “and every once in a while, he gets into these dark places.”

“
This will pass,” David added, “and later, you won’t even remember why you were so worried.”

“
But you know what you will remember?”

“
What?”

“
You’ll remember the very first time you went to the theater. You’ll remember it all; the sounds, the smells, and the beautiful people.”

I took a deep breath as the carriage pulled to a stop. Sylvia and David were right. I could just put Marcus out of my head and enjoy the moment of this night. I felt the excited thump of my heart when David opened the door and stepped out onto the pavement.

He reached in to help Sylvia first. For the brief seconds that I waited alone in the carriage, a million different thoughts fluttered through my head. I thought of the girl I was in Hamel with Aunt Dora and Uncle Philip. What were my dear surrogate parents doing right at that moment? I could almost see them sitting in the parlor barely speaking a word to each other, but content just the same. Would Marcus and I ever be like that?

But mostly, I was thinking of Savannah. Had she been able to go to the theater again? In her letter, she had said she loved it more than anything else in London. Maybe she would be there tonight. Would I even recognize her? More than likely, she was married now. Was her husband nice to her?

“
You ready?” David’s hand reentered the carriage to help me out.

I stepped out onto the walkway and the first thing I noticed was the amount of people. I had never before seen so many people all in one place. The sound was intimidating. It was like a hum of just one voice, but every once in awhile, a loud laugh would distinguish itself from the crowd.

“
There are so many people,” I whispered.

“
We have a balcony seat, so we won’t be so uncomfortable,” Sylvia replied loudly.

I wanted to tell her I wasn’t uncomfortable, but she was ushering me in too quickly. We found our seat with no difficulty and I was happy to see that we shared the space with one other couple.

The young woman had her light brown hair pulled loosely under a circular shaped hat. Her long dark red gown hung in waves down her slender body. The gentle man next to her was similar in appearance and his dark jacket matched her perfectly.

“
Hello,” the man spoke up almost immediately with a friendly boyish smile, “My name is Kyle Duncan. May I introduce my sister, Miss April Duncan?”

His sister?

“
What a lovely name,” Sylvia exclaimed.

“
For such a lovely young woman,” David added. “David Letrell,” his hand shot out to offer greetings to Kyle Duncan, “This is my wife, Sylvia Letrell and my sister in law, Claudia.”

I noticed that he left my name open to the assumption that I was Sylvia’s sister and not married. “How do you do, Miss…?” Kyle turned to me.

“
Mrs.,” I corrected quickly, “Mrs. Claudia Letrell.” David just smiled when I turned accusing eyes on him.

Kyle’s face fell slightly, but he regained his composure quickly. “First time to the theater?”

“
How did you know?”

“
We come here often,” April answered for him.

“
And it’s easy to spot a newcomer.”

I ducked my head, but didn’t manage to hide my smile. I took my offered seat and waited anxiously for the curtain to rise.

It was just like I had always hoped it to be and more. Tears streamed down my face when the lights finally came back on. “Did you enjoy yourself?” Kyle asked excitedly.

“
Ever so much!” I gushed without thought. Sylvia smiled and patted my arm affectionately. She and David stood up first.

“
There is a ball,” Kyle began before I could stand, “tomorrow night; the Westryn’s annual ball. Will you come?”

“
I hope so! I’ll have to ask Sylvia.”

I stood up to follow my friends back to the carriage.

“
Do you think we can go, Sylvia?” I asked excitedly on our way to the carriage.

“
The Westryn’s ball?”

I nodded excitedly. What else could I have meant. “Well?”

“
I thought you said you didn’t want to go.”

“
When did I say that?” My forehead crinkled as I tried to remember saying that I didn’t want to go. When had she even asked?

“
Wasn’t it just this morning that I showed you the invitation?”

“
This morning?” So much had happened that day! I could’ remember talking about a potential ball.

“
Yeah,” she smiled.

“
I’ve never been to a ball.” I danced slightly ahead of her. “It’s for tomorrow night.”

“
Yes, I know.”

“
We have to go!”

“
Now we do, when this morning you said no?” she teased.

“
We’ll be returning to Hamel soon,” I whined, “and I may never know what it’s like to go to a real ball–in London!”

Sylvia laughed then, a delicious tinkling sound that filled the night air. “I couldn’t agree more,” she declared.

I looked over to David who was barely holding his smile back. He nodded. “Really?” I squealed. His own laughter soon joined Sylvia’s.

“
Really,” he confirmed.

“
I knew you’d change your mind,” “Sylvia said. “Which is why we got the green gown.”

“
With the lacey sleeves?”

“
It goes perfect with your eyes.”

I was nearly bouncing in my seat as we rode toward home. I didn’t stop to consider if Marcus would want to come or if he would even allow me to go. I didn’t even stop to consider Marcus at all.

Chapter
Twenty-Four

Tiny lights ran along the path that led to the large white house. I stepped daintily along the ground, careful not to step on any of the lights. “This is gorgeous,” I gushed to Sylvia who stayed close by my side.

Marcus had refused to come with us, but he made Sylvia promise not to let me out of her sight. I had objected to having Sylvia watch me, but when I was left with the alternative of not going, I changed my mind.

“
The Westryn’s always know how to decorate for a party,” she whispered.

“
It would be better if Marcus would have come with us,” I said wistfully.

She clicked her tongue and turned to scowl at me. “He would have just stood in the corner and glared at us the whole time; then you wouldn’t have been able to have any fun.”

I didn’t argue with her; she was probably right. “This is my first London ball,” I squealed around a huge grin.

“
Did they have balls in Hamel?” David asked from behind us.

“
The Darby’s had a ball every Christmas,” I informed him primly.

“
Oh,” he made the word into three syllables.

The Darby’s Christmas ball was nothing compared to this. The entire house was lit up and decorated with different flowers and glass bowls. I counted at least three refreshment tables piled high with tiny sandwiches, sweet desserts, and punch.

The band was already playing a quick number when we came in. Sylvia questioned me with her puffed out lip and huge eyes until I shooed her and David out to dance.

I didn’t stand very long by myself, though. “I’m glad you could make it out tonight,” said a familiar voice.

I turned quickly and came face to face with Kyle Duncan. “Oh, hello,” I greeted him happily.

“
Would you care to dance?”

I stood for one heart stopping moment, wondering if it would be proper to dance with him or not, He must have seen the indecision displayed across my face. He smiled and ducked his head.

“
We could go get some punch and just sit so we can talk,” he offered instead.

“
That sounds wonderful,” I beamed.

We made our way through the crowd and found a small couch tucked away in a corner. He left me there while he went to find us the promised drinks.

As I waited for him to return, I watched all the women in their full skirts and tight fitting bodices. They swirled around the dance floor in a kaleidoscope of beautiful colors. I bit my lip tightly to stop myself from wishing I could be out there.

“
Here you are,” Kyle returned with a smile.

There was no awkwardness between the two of us. As soon as he sat down, he began a narrative of a funny story from when he was a child.

“
It was in the church service one Sunday with my best friend, Lucas.” He laughed before he even told me what happened. “We replaced the preacher’s bible with our math book.”

I covered my face with my hand and laughed out loud. “That’s not true!” I exclaimed.

“
Upon my word,” Kyle held up his hand in a vow.

“
What did your mother say?”

“
Wasn’t much she could say, really.” He smiled wide. “The deed was already done.”