Chapter 255 - You'll See

Delaney was curled up in bed after Ms. Bird had forced her to take a bath.  She had fought against it, not because she didn't desperately want to get clean but because baths made her think of her handsome scarred husband.

And she could still call him her husband.  They hadn't had word from the King yet.

She remembered the first time she had gone to Vincent and he had been in the tub in their bedroom.  He had been so painfully attractive with the drops of water sliding over his tan skin and his jet black hair wet and brushed back off his face.  His scars had been a dark red but she didn't care about them as she had before.

After that, baths with Vincent had become something she loved most about being married.  She knew he loved them too.  All the time they were married they had rarely taken a bath without the other one joining them before it was over.

Sitting in the tub alone, she knew this time he wasn't coming to join her and that knowledge broke her heart all over again.  It seemed like every day something new would come to mind and remind her of her loss and it would make the pain fresh again.  It was like a wound that never completely healed.

Ms. Bird had tried to talk to her mistress as she washed her hair and braided it but Delaney would barely say anything back.  When the younger woman stood to get out of the water, the maid felt a jolt of fear in her heart when she saw how thin her mistress was now.  She was a whisp of her former self.  The older woman made a mental note to work harder at making the girl eat more.

After pulling on an underdress, Ms. Bird had tried to convince Delaney to keep going and actually get all the way dressed.  Delaney had just shaken her head though and returned to her bed.  Now, she laid curled up again with her eyes closed although the maid doubted she was sleeping.  She imagined it was more to close out the world and let herself get lost in her memories.

The maid was right.  Delaney was relieved when Ms. Bird finally left and she was alone with her thoughts again.  A warm breeze was drifting in through the window and she was remembering the days at the ocean house with Vincent.  She pictured him in front of her in the water as they splashed each other and laughed.  She pictured him taking her hand and leading her farther down the beach and out of sight of any prying eyes.  He laid the blanket out behind a rock and they took off their clothes to set them out to dry.

Completely bare, they would curl up together in the warm sun and sleep.  Those times had always been wonderful.  They didn't have a care in the world except for each other.  She tortured herself by thinking of it now.  She would give anything to go back to those days.

When a knock came on her bedroom door she stayed very still.  She heard the door open anyway so she kept her eyes closed and slowed her breathing, pretending to be asleep.  Whoever it was, some servant or her Aunt or Uncle, she wanted them to go away.  She just wanted to be left alone.  Instead, she felt the bed move as someone settled down to sit at the end.

"Are you really going to ignore me after I've traveled all this way to see you?"

Delaney's eyes snapped open at the sound of an unexpected voice.  She bolted upright and looked down at the end of her bed and her mouth fell open in surprise.

"M-Miles," she whispered, "What are you doing here?"

He smirked, "I was in the area and thought I would stop and visit my favorite sister."

Delaney felt her heart warm but a thought came to her mind that quickly stopped it.

"I'm not your sister Miles... Not anymore."

"Nonsense.  You're my sister no matter what foolish decisions my brother makes.  You always will be."

Delaney felt a little smile tug at her lips as she looked up at him again.

"I knew there was a reason you were my favorite brother."

He laughed and shook his head.  Tears in her eyes now, Delaney quickly climbed over the bed until she could hug him, thankful now that her maid had insisted she wash.

She wrapped her arms around him and at first, he was surprised but after a moment he pulled her in and hugged her tight.  Overwhelmed with emotion, Delaney felt hot tears on her cheeks now.  Soon she was crying for the first time in weeks and it felt as if all the sadness that had been building up was now spilling out.

Miles held her close and let her cry.  He didn't try to hush her or stop her.  He let her cry and get out all the pain she had been holding inside.  All he did was whisper that he was sorry and mentally curse the world for letting her and Vincent be hurt like this.

After some time, Delaney felt as if she'd cried all the tears that were left inside her.  She eased out of Miles's arms and pulled the blanket around her despite the warm weather.  Dashing at her eyes, she looked up at him and smiled fondly.

He still looked so much like his brother yet at the same time, so totally different.  Looking into the same startlingly green eyes, she felt a stab of pain but fought to push it away.  Miles had come all this way to see her and she wasn't going to ruin it by continuing to cry.

"I... I'm so happy you're here," she whispered seriously, "I'm so happy you came."

"I'm happy I was able to come to see you as well.  We've missed you you know."

Delaney's eyes snapped up at those words.

"Who?" she asked hopefully, "Who's missed me?"

"Uh Cora and I," Miles answered awkwardly, knowing who she was hoping he meant, "But Delaney I'm sure he..."

"I don't want to talk about him," she interrupted quickly but then hesitated, "But... But he's also all I want to talk about."

Miles nodded in understanding, "We can talk about whatever you want to talk about."

Delaney nodded and looked away.

"Does he... Does he know you're here?"

"Uhh no... No, I didn't uh... I didn't mention it."

She nodded, "He probably wouldn't be pleased to hear it."

"I don't know about that," Miles sighed, "But I figured I would come and ask for forgiveness later if I needed to."

Delaney smirked, "It sounds like you spent too much time with Mason this summer.  That's something he would say."

Miles rolled his eyes, "We did spend way too much time with him.  But I'm nothing like him."

"That may be true," Delaney sighed, "You're more like Daniel I realized though."

"What?" he looked surprised, "The King?  No, I'm not."

"You are," she giggled and nodded, "You're both very stubborn and only listen to your wives."

"And now you insult me after I come to try to cheer you up.  You're a gem."

Delaney laughed at him now as he looked offended until he, at last, cracked a smile.  He rolled his eyes again and chuckled.  Her laughing came to an end and she sat back feeling strangely warm inside.  She realized this was the first time she had laughed or even smiled in around a month.  It felt good to do it again.

Miles leaned back against her bedpost then and looked around curiously.  After a moment he sighed.

"When is the next meal around here?  I'm famished."

Delaney moved back towards the head of the bed and rang for Ms. Bird to come.

"You don't have to do that," Miles said quickly, shaking his head, "I don't want them to go to any trouble."

"It's fine," she assured him with a shrug, "They will just be thrilled to see me eat something.  They'll tell each other like it's important news and they'll report it to my Aunt and Uncle."

Miles nodded, looking at her seriously, "You've always been a beauty Delaney but you don't look very well now.  You aren't eating enough, are you?  Your Aunt and Uncle said you haven't been leaving your room either."

Delaney frowned and looked away, "Well that's very embarrassing that they would tell you that.  That's my business.  I'm sorry they did that."

"They're just worried about you."

"Well I'll be fine," she crossed her arms and shook her head, "I've just been... I've just been so..."

"I know," he nodded, studying her, "But that's why I'm here.  I'm going to help cheer you up."

Delaney looked at him suspiciously, "How?"

"To start, we're going to eat whatever food your kitchen will send up."

Delaney giggled, "And?  What else?"

"And then I have some other plans."

"Really?  And what are those?"

Miles looked at her with a mischievous smile.

"You'll see."