Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 594: Rehashing

The afternoon was a quiet one. Silas returned to the manor only to be rushed by a sinking feeling down his stomach upon failing to pinpoint Arabella’s whereabouts around the house.

Carlton was the first soul to approach him, a sealed letter in hand.

"Have you seen my wife?" the vampire wasted no time before asking.

"It is my understanding that she went out for a horse ride earlier this morning. She has not returned yet, but...," the butler extended the envelope towards him, "This letter arrived a short while after her exit. It’s been addressed to her,"

"I see," he took it, "Thank you,"

The Sterling seal upon it gave away the identity of the sender. Not that it was a secret. Rubius’ name was plastered under that of Arabella on the back.

Despite knowing where she was, the sinking feeling did not completely vanish. No. It lingered, reminding him of the last time he had caught up to her while on a horse ride.

That was a little more than a week prior to their day when he had gone to confront her about the secret she tried to keep from him.

It took him all of five minutes to spot her figure trotting between the small hills around the property on the back of Charlie. The king of Lustris returned him the same day they were set free to go home as well, so that was a plus.

He flashed ahead only to stop a short distance away from them, opting not to stand in her way the same way he did before.

"I was told you’ve been at it for hours now," he remarked.

Her head snapped his way, and he immediately smiled as if it was a reflex to do so.

"Yes, I hadn’t realized how much I needed this," the corner of her lips did their very best to curve upwards, but the simper never managed to reach her eyes.

"If I remember correctly, someone had rudely interrupted you the last time you tried," he did not look her in the eyes at those words, "It’s alright, don’t get off the mount," he instantly added upon noting her trying to descend.

The struggle was obvious, seeing the way her feet got tangled with her gown.

"I should definitely buy a new outing fit," she pinched at the skirt of her dress, "The previous is feeding a dumpster somewhere back in Lustris,"

He finally neared the horse, his hand gently patting Charlie’s face, "This came a bit earlier for you," Silas extended her grandfather’s letter.

She took it without delaying the action, "It is about the funeral. He’s arranged to have it held in a week," her eyes had gone over the inked lines on the page fairly quickly before announcing its content out loud. However, Arabella then looked up at him, "By the way, I did not ask yesterday but when do we have to attend this meeting with the council?"

"In four days from now," the vampire played with the reins for a bit, "How are you feeling?"

"I am feeling a lot better with every day that goes by," she smiled.

But that was a lie, wasn’t it? At least, it sounded that way, judging by the sudden spike in her heartrate.

"The saddle is way too small to carry the both of us so I will simply walk by your side,"

"We could go back to the stables and get Chance instead," she suggested, looking at the space behind her on the horse.

"That won’t be necessary for now," his diamonds fell on the wedding brooch, proudly pinned at the center of her chest.

That did not go unnoticed. Arabella followed his gaze downwards only to start fiddling with the jewelry.

His first reaction was to look down at his own belt where the emerald pendant was missing.

She had protected her token of love, but he did not... She continued to don hers, but he could not.

"I’ve asked the king that the pendant be retrieved, but he swore to me that they had found no emerald pendant at all,"

Arabella said nothing and simply looked away from him, ahead at the far away horizon line.

"I realize I never truly apologized for reacting the way I did on that day," he brought her attention back onto him, "All I had to do was just wait for a little while longer and you would have explained,"

Her face was not necessarily blank, but something on it deepened the sinking in his stomach.

Perhaps it was the calm with which her eyes rested upon him that froze his blood in their veins.

"I think...," she took a long pause, "I think we should head back home. I had planned on finishing that dictionary in order to hand it over to Cynric but then felt the urge to come here,"

Was that a bad sign? She even refused to comment on his recent words.

"That is fair," he nodded, gently tugging the reigns to turn the horse back towards the stables, "I just wanted you to know it,"

"Honestly...," she finally locked eyes with him, "Everyone has been continuously telling me how sorry they are and how guilty they feel for causing the whole thing to happen... Even though I carry part of the blame too. I am not upset, but I merely thought that, at least, you and I have sorted this out back in limbo and put it behind ourselves already. I don’t want to rehash what’s already been said, that is all,"

"That’s also fair,"

The silence between them lasted all of five seconds until Arabella decided to break it.

"From what I’ve heard, the prince took the pendant as a trophy and kept it somewhere only he could enjoy,"

"The king assured me that the property of the prince has all been searched but to no avail," he shook his head, "No sign of the pendant,"

After a long sigh, she added, "I suppose this is another thing we will add to the list of uncontrollable matters in our lives. It cannot be helped,"