Chapter 355: Something wrong_Part 1
By the morning of the next day, the rain and thunderstorm had stopped, leaving the land damp and wet, with the skies heavy with gray clouds that cast a gloomy shadow over Aragonia. The servants in the Dawson’s house had woken up as usual, cleaning the halls before the nobles wake up for their mornings, and wiping the rain that had slipped in through the window gaps from the floor.
Rohan could hear the constant movements of the servants outside Belle’s room even in his sleep, and he wrinkled his brows in displeasure at the noise as he opened his eyes. He had not actually given himself the luxury of sleep in a while now, but last night, after he had made love to his wife like that, he had not been able to resist letting himself rest.
Consequences be damned, he would compel anyone who noticed him leaving the room if need be, but the warmth of his wife nestled in his arms was something he wanted to hold while he slept. And the sleep had been wonderful, because he felt light now.
He let his eyes adjust to the dimly lit room, the gloomy skies outside casting the chamber in muted gray light. Even without looking, he knew his wife was not on the bed or anywhere else in the room, for he could neither hear her heartbeat nor feel her presence.
However, he sensed someone else’s presence, which made him push himself up into a sitting position, the sheet falling to his lap as he turned his eyes toward the desk where a mirror was kept. His lips curved into a smile when he saw that Belle was in the room after all, already dressing and combing her hair in front of the small mirror.
But his smile fell almost instantly when he realized something about her felt different, her presence wasn’t the same.
As if sensing he was awake, she turned her head around and looked at him, a bright, lovely smile gracing her face.
"You’re awake. I didn’t want to wake you up from your sleep," she said sweetly, her lashes fluttering in a sultry way that made Rohan arch a brow in amusement.
"Is my wife trying to seduce me with that look?" he said, smiling, though his eyes studied her closely as she lifted her hand and delicately covered her mouth like noblewomen did to laugh behind their hands.
"I will never, my Lord. Not after last night. Should I ring the bell for your bath?" she asked, her face flushed as she looked at him lying there naked, the sheet only covering him from the waist down.
Rohan chuckled halfheartedly. "And why will you do that, my love? Do you want Griffin and Louisiana to know that I spent the night in your room?" he asked, watching as a confused look crossed her face, though she quickly masked it with a look of understanding.
"Griffin and Louisiana... of course. They must not know we spent the night together. What shall we do so they will not find out?" she asked, a look of concern on her face. She had put on makeup unlike she had ever done before, her lips painted red and color dusted across her cheeks.
"Why don’t you sit right there, and I will go get our son to feed before the Dawsons wake up? I failed to bring him to you last night, but I will do that now," he told her, a smile still playing on his lips as he got off the bed. The sheet slid away to reveal his nakedness, which made his wife flush and quickly avert her eyes.
"Of course, our son. Wear something please, my Lord." She remarked, keeping her face turned away in embarrassment.
Rohan looked at her over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed but he said nothing.
"If you want, I can go with you to see our son, rather than you bringing him to me," she added quickly.
"No, stay here," Rohan said as he glanced down at his clothes from the night before, still soaking wet since he hadn’t dried them when he took them off. He didn’t bother with them. Instead, he wrapped the sheet around his waist and left the room, locking the door slowly behind him with a key from the outside, his face hardening.
Rohan could tell the maids were no longer on this floor, and were now busy cleaning the front halls, which gave him the chance to walk back to his own chamber. There, he changed into a set of nightwear before making his way to the room Rav and Evenly shared.
---
Rav woke up to a little hand poking at his face, and he gasped inwardly when he opened his eyes to see a small face hovering over him, a frown fixed on the boy’s features. For a moment, Rav didn’t move. He simply stared up at Angel, who had somehow woken up and shifted from where he had fallen asleep in front of Evenly’s to now kneeling at Rav’s side of the bed, his tiny hands resting firmly on Rav’s chest.
The first thought that rushed through Rav’s mind was to pull away immediately, unwilling to be dragged into the flood of old memories the child had a way of stirring within him. He didn’t want to get arrested by the chains of his past again because of a baby’s innocent closeness. But then he forced himself to stay still, his body stiffening when he realized the woman beside him was using his shoulder as her pillow, her arm draped casually across his torso in the easy abandon of sleep.
Rav flushed, completely taken by surprise at how they had ended up like this during the night. He was a light sleeper, an extremely light sleeper, so sensitive that even the faintest sound or the smallest shift in movement would normally snap him awake. Yet the fact that he hadn’t stirred when Angel had moved from where Evenly had been holding him in front of her, with her back pressed to Rav, to now kneeling on the other side of him, was undeniable proof that he had, for once, allowed himself to sink into real sleep.
And not just a shallow doze, but the kind of deep, unguarded rest he hadn’t known in years. Added to that was the delicate, fair arm draped across his torso and the soft weight of her head nestled against his shoulder, both foreign and unsettling that left him stiff with awareness.
Rav’s gaze shifted back to the boy and he noticed a smile twitch at the corner of Angel’s mouth as he glanced between him and the still-sleeping Evenly, mischief like look glimmering in his eyes.
Rav’s frown deepened, and he muttered in a low whisper, "How did you move from the other side of the bed all the way to mine?" He questioned softly, not expecting any reply from the baby as he contemplated how to slip away from Evenly without waking her up.
But he was taken aback for the second time when Angel suddenly stood up on unsteady little feet on the bed and began to demonstrate how he had moved and changed his sleeping position to reach Rav.
He moved like a feather, light and almost soundless. But that wasn’t what astonished Rav, who stared with wide eyes of disbelief, it was the fact that the boy seemed to have grown a little taller than yesterday and was now walking. Though his legs were unstable, he moved with them, lifting each carefully around their limbs to go to the other side of the bed without stirring even the blanket covering the lady.
Angel made it to the other side and then turned to Rav with a smile and a look of triumph in his artificial red eyes. Did he just witness his master’s son take his very first steps? Rav thought, as he turned to look at the woman sleeping on his shoulder as she sighed softly.
Evenly moved at that moment, her lashes fluttering as she slowly opened her eyes, unaware of the monumental thing that had just happened.
She didn’t move at first, only turned her head and let her gaze shift toward him. Then, as if the sleep cleared away from her completely, she sat up quickly and moved away from him, almost bumping into Angel, who was trying to stand again behind her on the bed. She hurriedly caught him, pulling him close against her chest.
Evenly couldn’t believe she had slept so peacefully again on this man’s shoulder, just like in the carriage. How had she ended up in that position?
She was suddenly out of words as she hugged Angel close to her. Normally, Angel’s cries woke her at dawn, so it was surprising that he had not cried today.
"Good morning, my lady," Rav greeted as he moved out of the bed and stood to the side, bowing to her.
"Good morning..." Evenly replied, looking down at Angel, who was struggling to break free of her grip. She released him, and he immediately pushed himself back, suddenly forcing himself to stand on his little feet. He looked at her with a proud smile, as if showing her that he could stand on his own.