Afterthought by M J Marlow (red white royal blue .txt) 📖

Mr. Dumont…” “Gregory, please,” the man said softly. He could see the pain in her. It was still so fresh that she was having a hard time dealing with it. “Mr. Dumont,” Evangeline repeated. “Has anyone shown you around the stables or introduced you to your students?” “Yes, ma’am,” Gregory nodded. “I just thought I’d introduce myself to the person I was told was responsible for this wonderful place.” “I was in the right place at the right time,” Evangeline shrugged. “Anyone would have…” “No, Princess,” Gregory broke in firmly. She looked up at him in confusion. “Not just anyone would have done all you have done for these kids. You should be proud of what you have accomplished here.” He watched Pierre. “That kid is going to be something when he gets older.” “Yes,” Evangeline nodded; “my cousin is quite talented.” She had had enough of trying to be pleasant. “Pierre,” she called to the boy. “Mr. Dumont will assist you with the rest of the lesson. I have to lie down.” “Of course, Eva,” Pierre nodded and watched his cousin walk off without another word. He looked at the man worriedly. “She is much changed since her mother gave her to those monsters.” He shook his head. “I wish I could think of some way to help her come back.” They watched as Silvano came riding out of the forest just then. The terror on Evangeline’s face before she realized who it was wounded them. Silvano leaned down to help her up onto the back of Goliath and he turned and took her to the family residence by the river. Pierre bit his lip and dismounted. He had lost the taste for riding. Gregory helped him remove the horse’s saddle and then watched as the boy walked to the family residence, kicking at rocks as he went. The girl’s wounds were hurting more than just herself. He hoped she would recover before she did some damage of her own. “She’s stronger than this,” Stefano was crying as Pierre walked into the castle. “Evangeline has faced worse…” “Different, brother,” Silvano broke in. “This is the first time her Mother took an active part in harming her. That betrayal is adding to her pain. Yes,” Silvano continued as Pierre found a place to listen, “she knows that her mother is as much a victim of that bastard as she was, but it still wounded her.” “Give her time, Stefano,” Ynez spoke up. “It’s only been a few days. You can’t expect the child to bounce back overnight from something like this.” “At least she was out of her rooms,” Daria added. Pierre could just see his pretty Sterling cousin as she moved into sight. “That’s certainly an improvement.” She grew silent. “We need to keep her involved in other people’s concerns, so she doesn’t have time to…” She turned and saw Pierre. “It is considered rude to eavesdrop, young Pierre.” “She’s my cousin, too,” the boy defended his actions as he stepped into the room. “I’m worried about her every bit as much as you all are.” He saw his parents looking at him with looks of concern. “She wasn’t very nice to Mr. Dumont.” “She was actually talking to the man?” Stefano smiled as he looked over at his brother. “That is interesting.” He hit a switch on the intercom. “Yvaine, please ask my daughter to come to the Study. I need to speak to her.” He turned to the others. “This is a private conversation. Why don’t you go get ready for dinner?” He looked over at Pierre. “No eavesdropping, little pitcher.” “Yes, Uncle,” Pierre nodded. He went with his parents and Stefano smiled as he heard the boy asking them to explain what Stefano had meant. Stefano liked his nephew. The boy was everything he knew Evangeline would have been if she’d been allowed to grow up in a house where she was treasured as she should be. Instead she had grown up being teased and tormented by cousins who treated her like an afterthought, an outcast. There was a knock on the door and he looked up to see his precious daughter standing there. She looked like she hadn’t slept in a week and he knew she was still having nightmares. He held his hand out to her and she came to his side and sat down on the desk to wait to hear what he had to say. Instead, he took her hand and walked to the lake that had been created in the center of the castle gardens with her. They sat down on a bench and remained silent for several moments. “I hear you were rude to Mr. Dumont,” he said simply. He felt his daughter stiffen. “You may be hurting, child, but that is no reason for you to be rude to him, or anyone else.” “No, Father,” Evangeline shook her head. “You will apologize to him at your earliest convenience,” Stefano continued. “Your cousin, Daria, is going out with Luc Dubois tonight. You will ask Mr. Dumont to go with you when you act as her chaperon.” “Father, I…” Evangeline’s eyes were wide with terror. “I can’t!” She was shaking with fear at the thought of being with a man she did not know. “Please don’t ask…” “You care about your cousin, don’t you?” “Of course I do, Father,” Evangeline replied. “But she is older than I am. Surely Yvaine or Yvette would be a better choice as chaperon.” “I have asked you, daughter,” Stefano said more harshly than he intended. He saw her wince at the tone in his voice and he was sorry for it. “You will go speak to Mr. Dumont now and be ready to accompany your cousin to the fashion show in two hours.” Evangeline nodded and rose to her feet. She moved off like she was going to an execution and he almost called her back. But she needed to stop hiding and this was one way to start the process. He had known Gregory Dumont his entire life. The young man was not going to do anything to hurt the girl. He might actually be just what Evangeline needed to come back to life. He called to the stables and warned Gregory what was about to happen and ordered him not to say no. For a brief moment he toyed with the idea of telling his daughter who Gregory Dumont was and then decided against it. Such things as titles were of less importance then a person’s character. Let the children get to know each other first. So when Evangeline entered the stables and saw him brushing the mane of Pierre’s horse, Gregory was prepared for the condemned prisoner look on her lovely face. He was actually angry then. How could she think going anywhere with him was a punishment? “I was rude to you earlier, Mr. Dumont,” Evangeline said softly. She kept her eyes on the ground and he could almost see her trying to figure out some way to get out of the situation was forcing her into. “My father has asked me to accompany my cousin to a Fashion Show,” she frowned. “I am without an escort and I…” she paused and licked her lips. He felt his heart flip over in his chest. “I mean I…” she bit her lip and looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I would be honored to be your escort, Your Highness,” Gregory rescued her before she could drown in her own tears. “What time?” “We’ll be leaving in two hours,” Evangeline looked at him with such gratitude he wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her. He kept his arms down at his sides and nodded. She actually smiled at him, for about two seconds, and left the stables. Those two seconds, however, had been glorious. He had seen a brief flash of the girl she had been before she had been wounded and he wanted more of that. He finished brushing out the mane and put the horse back in its stable. He went to his apartment in the barracks and frowned as he realized he had nothing to wear to a Fashion Show. There was a knock on the door and Emilio stood there with a bag in his hands; the kind that held tuxedos and suits. “His Highness,” Emilio smiled at the young man as he held out the bag, “wasn’t certain you had an outfit suitable for the event he has asked you to escort his daughter to, Dumont. He had this sent over.” “It will be my size, won’t it?” “His Highness does not make mistakes,” Emilio replied. He looked at Gregory sternly. “This is the first time she will have been out in public in over a week, De Tourville. Don’t do anything to make her father regret choosing you for this task or your life won’t be worth living.” “I have every intention of making her live again, Santos,” Gregory replied honestly. “But I will never do anything to cause her a moment’s pain or distress, if I can avoid it.” “See that you don’t!” Emilio sniffed. “Our princess is precious to us. We will not have her hurt by anyone. Especially not by a noble playing peasant.” Gregory nodded and got ready for the event. As he walked through the barracks, he could see every last guard watching him closely. He had never felt such animosity in his life. These men would hurt him bad if he did anything to frighten ‘their’ princess. He had known the girl was special, but this was more than he had expected. He arrived in the main entry hall of the family residence and the girls were waiting for him. He felt his heart stop as he saw Evangeline in the blue dress. She looked so fragile he wanted to pull her into his arms and protect her from the world. He didn’t even notice what the other girl was wearing. Daria cleared her throat as she saw her cousin blush and the man turned to her with an expression that told her he was shocked that she was there. “Monsieur Dubois will be picking us up any moment,” she told him stiffly. “Have you ever been to a fashion show before, Mr. Dumont?” she asked him as rudely and in as condescending a manner as possible. “They don’t have many of them where you’re from, do they? Missouri, isn’t it?” “France, Lady Sterling,” Gregory replied calmly, refusing to be drawn into a hissing contest with the pretty blond. She gave the impression that she was quite skilled at such behavior. He turned back to Evangeline and saw her frowning. “Is something wrong, Your Highness?” “I don’t think it was very kind of you to disparage Mr. Dumont’s experience, Daria,” Evangeline said tightly as she turned on her cousin. “We don’t know anything about him.” She smiled at Gregory and held out her hand. “Please forgive my cousin. She can be quite nasty at times.” “Don’t worry about me, Your Highness,” Gregory said in his best court manner. “Where I am from the women would have your pretty cousin for breakfast.” Evangeline actually giggled and he was lost. He had to bring her back because he wanted her whole and healed and his. “You have a delightful laugh, Your Highness,” he said as he bowed over her hand. The door opened and Luc Dubois swept in. “Was that sylvan sound the laughter of our pretty princess?” Luc asked, stunned as he saw the girl actually smiling and blushing. He looked at Gregory, who he assumed was the cause. “Were you the wizard who broke the evil spell on our lovely princess,” he said as he offered Daria his arm. He did a double take as he recognized the man. “De Tourville? I thought you were in Africa.” “I just got back,” Gregory frowned at the