Thank you to my faithful reviewers!
Kirke-thank you so much for taking the time to review! It was quite a nice compliment. I often worry about my writing and whether or not it's appealing or if it's even any good. I obsess over it to the point of revising it constantly, even after a story is finished. I do hope that I can continue to do this story justice.
In advance, sorry for the cliffhanger. It is the only way that I can get reviews, pique interest and make you eager for the next chapter :)
Ch. 36
"Aurelie!"
Aurelie was startled by the sound of her name being called out blindly into the gardens by a deep voice-a man's voice. She could hear footsteps rushing towards her, muffled by the shrubbery that seperated them. She glanced around herself, uncertain as to what to do.
She could hide, but obviously the person knew that she was out there and either she or Erik would be discovered. She could run away, but the maze of the courtyard would prove to make it difficult to escape. Instead, her eyes darted around herself and searched for an answer.
The person was fast approaching, and when she turned around, she saw that Erik had disappeared. How she envied his silence and skill for making himself invisible!
Aurelie cursed the timing of this intruder, and she quickly picked up her white gloves just before he appeared.
It was bad enough that someone had disturbed her intimate moment with Erik-especially one so important, as she was just about to tell him how she felt about him-and she already found that her attitude had soured towards the person.
But the last person of whom she wished to see at that very moment, or even at all, was smiling at her as he strolled into the gardens with a proud smirk written across his features.
"There you are!" he exclaimed cheerfully, seemingly unaware that he had just interrupted one of the most important and private moments of her life. "I have been looking for you."
Aurelie furrowed her brows both in frustration and confusion, and with her gloves in hand, she crossed her arms across her chest defensively. Why on earth would Henry LaCroix be searching for her, and what could he possibly want?
She hoped that it was something of grave importance, for his sake, or else she would be most displeased about being interrupted for anything less.
"I noticed you earlier, but I could not break free from my conversations. They simply would not allow it," he added.
Aurelie had to prevent herself from rolling her eyes at him.
Out with it! she wanted to shout at him, but instead she stared at him blankly as she waited for him to continue.
Henry had been waiting for her to remark on his self-importance or to give him some sort of compliment, but when she did not, he said,
"There is something that I have been meaning to tell you for quite some time, now."
All that Aurelie could think about was how she hoped that Erik had not been completely chased away, and that he was still somewhere hidden in the bushes. She hoped that the two of them could resume their moment together, although she now found that her optimism wore thin, as it was highly unlikely, and she was quite perterbed by this reality.
"Really?" she pretended to be interested in what he had to say, hoping that he would spit whatever it was that he wished to discuss out soon enough and promptly leave.
"Yes," he replied, taking a few slow steps towards her with a sly grin. "For you see, I have not stopped thinking about you."
Aurelie found herself slightly uncomfortable by the tone in his voice and the way in which he had closed the distance between the two of them.
Meanwhile, Erik watched the scene unfolding in the safety of the darkness that hid him. The blood in his veins felt as if it were on fire, and he could feel his temper boiling over.
Would this be the moment when she would betray him; when she would be welcomed back in the arms of her lover? Was it something that she had wished for, all along? He did not know the answers to these important questions, and so he watched on with an earnest jealousy.
Again, he would be no comparison to this handsome man with a flawless face. Granted, Erik was far wealthier than this 'Mr. LaCroix', but had Aurelie not been content with Henry's salary, only one year ago?
"And why, pray tell, would you be thinking of me?" she asked him with a growing curiosity.
"Aurelie, do not pretend that what we had was not something special," he told her.
She was surprised to hear those words come from his lips, as she had always believed him to have not a single fiber of romance within himself. After all, had he not proposed to her in the most unaffectionate and unromantic way possible? Had he not viewed their engagement as more of a convenience than an act of passion?
"Go on," she urged him, wishing to hear more.
"Did you hear the waltz that was played tonight? Do you remember that we danced to that very song the first night that we met?"
She was shocked that he remembered that detail. Yes, she could remember that night well, as he had been the one man to capture her attention at that party. He had been everything that she was looking for, and their courtship had followed very soon and eagerly afterward.
"It was?" she asked. "I am afraid that I had not noticed."
She was not about to make this easy for him, after all; he had been so quick to dismiss her that she would make him put forth some effort for her. She would thoroughly enjoy it if he were to beg for her.
"Yes," he said. "There are many details that have not escaped my notice. For instance; your ever-increasing beauty. You have grown into a most desirable woman, Aurelie."
"Oh, Henry, you flatter me so!" she placed a hand on her chest. "You have not changed a bit. You are just as I remember you."
Erik had to prevent the growl that threatened to escape his throat, and he almost looked away. It was nearly unbearable to watch their exchange of tender words and fond memories, and he blamed himself for putting himself in yet another painful spectacle.
It reminded him of when he had overheard that boy call Christine 'Little Lotte' and recount their gay memories by the sea together as their love was rekindled. It made him ill to think that he had stepped into a similar situation.
He should have known! He should have predicted that once she had reappeared in society as a woman of wealth that she would become the object of someone else's affections. She would not need him, anymore.
"I know that we are both married, but Lucy will never compare to your beauty and wits. I find myself thinking only of you," Henry continued.
This was it. This was the moment when Erik would watch her agree to whatever offering he would make her.
"We once had a reason to be married. My affections for you have never ceased, in fact; they have grown stronger. Please tell me that you feel the same about me."
Yes, tell him that you feel the same! Erik snapped in his mind. Get it over with!
Aurelie searched Henry's face and found a tender expression on his features as he pleaded with her. She had never seen him so humbled to the point where he would cast his pride aside and open himself entirely to the mercy of someone else. Now was her opportunity, and she exhaled deeply with a smile.
"Henry," she hesitated with a smirk, hoping to draw out the suspense as he eagerly awaited her reply, "I feel the same about you as I did before," she concluded happily.