Chapter 81
In the stillness of my study, I stared at the divorce paper laid before me.
"Are you wavering, My Lady?" Laura asked from the chair opposite me.
"No. Laura, how did you procure this thing so quickly? I asked you for it scarcely three hours ago. Were there no bureaucratic hoops to tumble through? No ancient officials to bribe?"
Laura's eyes sparkled with triumph as she leaned back. "I learned from my husband. Are you not pleased with the efficiency of my services?"
I took the quill and dipped it in ink. "It is so suspiciously fast I wonder if you forged the damned thing." I signed my name with a flourish, muttering, "I truly thought this process would require at least a day or two of wrangling and scandal."
"Not on my watch," she said, smirking. "If Issac can pull strings for Her Grace, then so can I."
I laughed. "Are you truly competing with Issac now?"
"Perhaps."
"Well, it is done," I thrusted the signed document towards her. "Deliver it to Kyle. Have him sign it and be free of me."
Laura reached for it, but paused.
"Are you certain you do not wish to give it to him yourself?"
The air seemed thicker. Dread pooled in my throat like poison.
"Fine," I muttered. "I shall do it myself."
With heavy reluctance, I reached for the bell cord hanging beside the great arched window and gave it a tug. Soon enough, a maid entered and bowed.
"See if Kyle has time to come see me."
Time? That man had time enough to count the grains in a bag of rice if he so desired. But somehow, saying summon him sounded too imperious, too heartless.
The maid bowed. "Yes, Your Ladyship," she replied and glided from the room.
"My Lady, I am proud of you. That you have, at last, chosen to chase your own joy." Laura smiled.
I returned her smile. "And so, a new chapter begins."
"The best chapter," she added.
"For now," I said, lips twitching, "until I heard the news that Millicent is apparently engaged to some prince."
Laura's head snapped up. "What?"
"Do not pretend ignorance," I narrowed my eyes at her.
Her brows furrowed in genuine confusion. "I assure you, I knew nothing of this. Issac did not tell me a single word. Good heavens, are you quite certain?"
"As certain as I am that my tea is cold. Millicent told me herself."
Laura exhaled a long, suffering breath, rubbing her temple. "Well then, I take back what I said earlier. Perhaps this is not the best chapter after all. A married woman and an engaged woman..."
"I am about to be a divorced woman," I corrected.
"My Lady, this is no small matter. Her Grace, engaged to a prince? This is not something that may simply be glossed over with clever remarks. There are implications. Complications. Dangers."
She had just begun, when the door suddenly burst open with the subtlety of an explosion.
I very nearly screamed. My heart launched into my throat as I jolted back in my chair. Laura gasped.
Kyle burst in as though the devil himself had chased him through the corridor, feet thudding.
"I'm here!" he declared, far too loudly, his grin stretched wide across his face. The sheer horror that he might throw his arms around me struck swift and sharp.
"Stop!" I barked, halting him in his tracks at the side of my desk.
Laura rose swiftly and came to my side.
"Please, take a seat, Kyle," my words emerged harsher than I intended. I could not help it. My skin crawled at the thought of him touching me.
He obliged with enthusiasm, lowering himself into the chair Laura had just vacated, placing his elbows on my desk. His hands reached for mine, and I instinctively recoiled.
His smile faltered, confusion wrinkling his brow.
"Kyle," I began, "there are matters we must discuss."
I slid the document across the desk toward him.
His face lit once more. "Oh, is it another one of them invitations, love? Where we off to this time, eh?"
He took the paper in hands and scanned it with cheer.
I kept my gaze fixed upon his face. That familiar tan skin, weathered by years, his beard always meticulously shaved. His hair had surrendered completely to white. His mental state, declining.
For a brief, perilous moment, guilt dared to creep into my chest.
No.
I would not drown in that again.
"Kyle," I pushed the inkwell and quill towards him. "I am asking for a divorce."