Chapter 368: In the crossfires
A "thank you" was all that Arabella could muster in that moment.
There were questions her heart yearned to ask him, but her mouth remained sealed. The man had already shared enough about himself and his past, the last thing she wished to do was make him regret trusting her.
For the next few hours after that, the two of them worked together on the plants that lived at their mercy. Edgar only delegated the simplest of tasks to her of course, but it was more than enough.
They weren’t groundbreaking or anything he couldn’t do all on his own, but they at least, had the merit of keeping her mind from running wild.
Well, wilder than it already did.
Neither of them spoke much after their concise conversation about her father, but when the young woman sensed a pair of eyes on her back, no shiver ran down her spine. There was no shudder that overtook her body, no contractions through her muscles.
Even before turning around, she knew it was none other than Silas, watching them from afar, but that time around, his diamonds didn’t weigh heavy on her shoulders... Didn’t burn holes into her back.
Upon spinning to glimpse her husband, a sweet smile adorned her face, quickly followed by an enthusiastic wave she sent his way upon locking eyes with him.
Silas simply returned her gesture and although he seemed rigid as per his usual, Arabella didn’t make much of his cold glare.
"He won’t be upset, will he?" Edgar’s voice caught her attention.
"No, he now knows not to worry," her head tilted to the side, "And besides, he no longer distrusts you,"
Of course he didn’t! Since Silas was made fully aware of Edgar’s feelings towards his mother, that venom that invaded his veins whenever he spotted Arabella with him was no more.
Those were the thoughts that riddled her mind as Arabella walked away from the gardens in order to join her husband.
Questions about Edgar’s plans to win the Lady’s heart... That was if he even had any plans to act upon his feelings for her.
By then, the sky already donned its warmer coat as the sun leaned closer to the hills which meant that time for vampires to rise was quickly approaching.
"How was your day?" the first thing Silas did upon coming close to his wife was cup her cheeks between his hands before planting the softest of kisses on her forehead.
"My day was full of joy," she beamed.
"Is that so?" he seemed a bit taken aback, "I thought you’d be more exhausted than you seem,"
There was no need to enquire. Arabella immediately gathered the gist of it, "No, the girls did not torture me," she chuckled, "There was some awkwardness at times, but it was quickly diffused,"
"And how was your time with Edgar?" he asked after taking her hand to walk by her side.
"It was calming. The gardens are a treat to the eyes, the ears... To the soul as a whole," she paused before adding, "Although, I didn’t dare ask him about what he planned to do with his feelings," her eyes darted all around like green little beads.
"You are invested," he said simply.
"I am not obsessing if that is what you mean," she puffed her cheeks.
"That was not what I meant. Not even for a second," he shook his head.
That was only partially what he meant.
"But I am curious as to what you plan on doing," Silas added.
"Nothing," she sighed, "I am just talking about it to vent it out. I know it isn’t my place to meddle in their affairs. Edgar is human like me and if I go behind his back, making decisions for him and taking action then where would that leave me in my relationship with you?"
"I see your point," he too imitated her and pushed a short sigh, "Although I wouldn’t mind seeing my mother truly happy again,"
"Do you suspect she has feelings for Edgar as well?" her eyes lit up at once.
"Well, I... Don’t know. It is quite hard for me to tell with these things,"
She did not press and instead turned her attention onto a new topic when curiosity hit her, "Where are we heading?"
"Morgana will be here in a few. I tried arranging a meeting when Katherine was awake,"
"That makes sense, yes," she nodded, "I am glad she responded this quickly,"
"She is on top of her practice after all. She is not considered the best for no reason,"
The deep breath that came before the equally as long exhale from her swallowed his attention, "What is it?"
"No, I am just afraid of what she will discover...,"
The inner walls of her stomach itched with tingles nothing stood within scratching range of. It was then that the couple arrived in the lounge room where the meeting would take place.
Silas waited for her to sit first before doing the same.
"And why is that?"
"Even if we are not absolutely certain of Edna’s involvement, I have this nagging feeling that my father is somehow involved in this and I can’t bring my heart to simmer knowing full well he can do much worse than this," her head shook from left to right as a devastating frown occupied her features, "Going after me was fair, but this time around, Katherine got caught in the crossfires and I just can’t-"
"Going after you was fair?" he cut her off at once, "I hardly see how such a thing can be true and besides, if Edna was the tool your father used, then I stand as responsible as you are for the fate that Katherine suffered. We both know the real reason Edna would ever lift a finger on someone else’s stage play,"
That was an undeniable fact. If Reubon had truly been involved in the poisoning of Katherine and acted through Edna, then yes... The only reason she’d agree would be to get rid of Arabella in the hopes of having Silas to herself.