Chapter 96: Drunk Truth

The library had a sitting room that was set up with two couches on either side of a narrow table next to a massive fireplace that lit up the room without the need for candles. Once the fire was alive again, the room became hot enough that Leonor removed her shawl and tied up her hair with a ribbon.

She settled into her couch, reading a book about Montclair and occasionally sipping out of the chalice that sat within arm’s reach.

Desmond did the same except his book was an account of monsters in the past. He couldn’t imagine a world where they ran rampant.

To experience living in a time that felt like the battlefield did every day was a nightmare for him. However, morbid curiosity often got the better of him. At least he didn’t have to read about fire or dragons which was where he drew the line.

As Leonor got to the end of her book, she realized that it was becoming more about the old folklore of Montclair. Words of fairies and magic piqued her interest. She sat up straight and eventually stood up.

Unlike usual, she sat down on Desmond’s couch.

"You’ve lived in Montclair for much of your life," Leonor remarked, not asking the question but saying something she heard in the past. "Did you grow up hearing terrifying fairytales?"

"I’ve lived here for a while," he responded, not quite telling the truth but not wanting her to believe he had been there forever. "I heard variations of them."

Even with all of his truth shrouded in lies, he still wanted so badly to be truthful with her.

Sitting so close to him on a couch that wasn’t big enough for more than three people made him feel unnerved. Yet she seemed to pay no heed to the fact that they were closer than normal. She leaned into the back of the couch as she skimmed through a passage, holding it up in case he wanted to see it himself.

"Fairy rings made of toadstools in the clearing of forests, children wandering in and never returning, and other tales with much of the same outcome," she uttered. "Were children of Montclair often told stories like this to scare them from the forests?"

The duke placed the book he was reading on his knee, holding his finger inside of it as a bookmark so he could resume it later.

Surprisingly, she asked something he could give her an answer to.

"A long time ago, this place was teeming with monsters," he explained quietly to not stress his already rough voice. "The tales of fairies stealing children because they were too curious were told to keep them from the forests. The truth was far more grim. It’s the same reason why a wall was erected around Piedmont."

While she did gather everything he was saying to her, Leonor felt her face heat up at the realization he was talking to her more than normal. She wondered if the warm alcohol was affecting him the way it was affecting her.

It was giving her the desire to be noticed by him more than normal. She wanted to bother him even before she realized what she was doing by invading his space.

"As horrible as that is..." she trailed off and tucked a strand of wavy hair that had fallen into her face over her ear. "It makes sense."

He couldn’t keep his eye off of her as he watched her shy away and drop her gaze.

"Times have changed," he uttered. "Although it isn’t a bad thing to always be prepared."

He looked away from her as well.

When she realized his gaze was no longer on her, she turned towards him. Something piqued her interest.

"Prepared," she echoed. "As in teaching orphans how to wield a sword just in case Piedmont is ever unsafe again."

Desmond could tell she was searching for information. He didn’t know what she was thinking because she never told him specifically.

Perhaps the similarity between what he did with the orphanage and Valerio’s desire to do the same was too much. Did she suspect him?

"That’s right," Desmond said, although he had his own concerns. "It further begs the question as to why you know there’s an orphanage being taught sword fighting."

The way he worded his sentence made Leonor think of Valerio even more. She knew she was being hopeful and ridiculous.

The desire to ask Desmond if he also crossed paths with Valerio was eating her alive. To resist, she had to escape.

Leonor stood up suddenly and started walking towards the shelves full of books even though it was colder away from the fire. She pretended to be occupied with looking at something as she explained herself to the duke.

"I crossed paths with the headmaster during my first visit to Piedmont," she admitted the half-truth.

It frustrated Desmond to know that there were so many lies between them sustaining their relationship.

His finger slipped out of the book he was reading and he set it on the table before standing up to follow Leonor, though he didn’t get too close to her.

"That’s all?" he questioned. "Nothing else to report about that day?"

He leaned his firm shoulder against the solid wood of the edge of a bookshelf and looked down at his wife who was avoiding his gaze until he said that.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"A maid came to me and said you almost collapsed," he finally admitted a truth he had been holding onto for months. "She thought you might be pregnant, although we both know that can’t be the case. What other reason could there be?"

He felt a little bit guilty using the information in such a way but he was becoming frustrated. He hypocritically wanted the truth from her when he wouldn’t give her as much.

"I was hot," Leonor muttered and walked to a different shelf, except she couldn’t even pretend to be browsing the shelves. She simply stood there with her eyes unfocused and her heart racing in her chest.

"Why do I feel like you’re lying to me?" he asked.

He regretted his words the moment she turned to him again and her eyes were watering.

The alcohol was making her emotions volatile, she felt like a pot about to bubble over and she could no longer contain herself.

"I heard the name of the man I’m in love with," she said coldly. "Is that what you wanted me to say?" She gasped at the admittance and her hand involuntarily grasped the locket on her neck. "I’m in love with someone else but I’m married to you."

"Leonor..." Desmond didn’t know what else to say.

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