fiance chapter 4

The Count and Countess were taken aback. The Duke, who had shown no prior interest in marriage, was now proposing. But his handsome face, one hand placed over his heart, radiated sincerity. He demonstrated remarkable nobility, sacrificing himself for a woman who might never awaken. The Count and Countess couldn’t find a reason to refuse this advantageous, albeit unusual, engagement. The Duke’s daily devotion and the rumors already circulating about Sophia spending the night with him further cemented their decision.

Thus, the engagement proceeded steadily, without the participation of the one person most affected: Sophia. Back then, the Count had felt a pang of guilt, imagining the Duke burdened with his unconscious daughter. But now, seeing Sophia awake, the secret engagement weighed heavily on him. Suppressing a surge of guilt, he forced himself to speak.

“I know you confessed your feelings to the Duke, Sophia.”

“What?”

“I don’t know all the details, but I hear you drank poison in his place.”

“What are you…?”

Sophia stared up at her father, bewildered. The Count continued, his tone resolute.

“I don’t understand your reckless actions, but the Duke has accepted your feelings. He has cherished you, visiting you every day, bringing countless physicians to examine you while you were unconscious. We couldn’t refuse his request. We believed it was best for you.”

Confusion clouded Sophia’s face. The Count worried that this news was too abrupt for his newly awakened daughter, but he pressed on, taking her hand and patting it gently.

“You and the Duke are engaged. Four months ago. A month after you fell into your slumber.”

“Father…”

“Oh, Sophie!” the Countess burst in before Sophia could speak further. She kissed her daughter’s cheek and exclaimed, “The Duke is on his way! He left the moment he heard the news! He’s rushing here to see his awakened fiancée! Isn’t it wonderful…?”

The Countess continued her effusive pronouncements, but Sophia didn’t hear. She stared blankly out the window at two birds feeding on the windowsill, their closeness resembling a married couple.

Having just awakened from a long sleep, Sophia couldn’t fully grasp her situation. But as time passed, her thoughts sharpened, and she began to question what she’d been told.

‘He said you were with him.’

‘I know you confessed your feelings to the Duke, Sophia.’

‘I don’t know all the details, but I hear you drank poison in his place.’

‘You and the Duke are engaged. Four months ago. A month after you fell into your slumber.’

All of it…preposterous.

Sophia abruptly stood and began pacing. Despite the warm weather, she wore her usual shawl and slippers. “This is absurd,” she muttered.

It had to be a lie.

She confessed to the Duke? Drank poison for him?

Putting aside whether she harbored such feelings for the Duke, the poisoning itself was highly improbable. Who would poison the Duke at a ball? And even if it happened, and she somehow drank the poison, how could the Duke know it was intended for him and that she intervened?

What possible scenario led the Duke to believe she drank poison meant for him?

Did she blurt out a confession and then dramatically gulp down a poisoned drink in front of him? If so, it was more comical than tragic.

Lost in thought, Sophia was interrupted by several maids bustling into the room. On the Countess’s orders, they began laying out dresses and jewelry. Sophia stepped back, refusing their assistance.

“I won’t see him,” she declared firmly.

“I don’t want to see the Duke. I’ve just woken up and I’m not well enough for visitors. It’s too soon.”

“But, Miss, the Duke isn’t a visitor! He’s your fiancé!”

Sophia retorted sharply, “Do you honestly believe an engagement without the consent of the betrothed is valid?”