As though she were drowning she swung her arms desperately trying to hold herself up. However, like a stone that sinks in water, she fell to the ground unable to support her weight any longer. Her world, her everything, what little hope she held onto had escaped her the moment she heard those words.

“Maid, help Lady Grace to her room. We will look for her again after she has had some time to calm down.”

Bowing slightly to the men who had just delivered the news, the head maid fought back tears as she along with another servant helped lift Lady Grace to her feet to guide her back to her room. Despair and fear from uncertainty hung heavy in the air as they disappeared from view.

“Then General Mason, what shall we do with her. Although he is no longer alive his family still holds a number of businesses and ties throughout the city.”

The Weston house was extremely influential, though the assets could be stripped and used towards improving and repairing the city it would be very wasteful to lose that power.

“Isaac, is there anyone capable of running the household now that Lord Weston is no longer alive? Does he have any family or an heir of some sort?”

“General Mason, Weston left no heir, however, he has a younger brother who should be able to take over and lead the family. He is young and inexperienced but I believe with the right guidance he will be competent in what we need him to do.”

General Mason stroked his chin in contemplation. As long as there was someone to take control then it was fine, especially if it was a person they could manipulate and use. The question that bothered him, however, was how to deal with Lady Grace.

“And what of Lord Weston’s widow? What is standard practice in Freeport? I believe the Elkian law regarding this is that if there is a brother who is unwed then he has the obligation of marrying his brother’s wife. But if he is already married he can take her as a mistress but must financially support her no matter what.”

“Although we do not carry that law it is often practiced through tradition. I believe Weston’s brother is unwed and I think it would be for the best in her case as she is quite young and unable to take care of herself. She was only married to Weston for approximately a month. We’ve haven’t contacted her family, but they would probably be willing to take her back as well.”

This was the best possible outcome. But before the general could pass judgment on the matter he was interrupted.

“That won’t be necessary General. I have taken an interest in her and will take responsibility.”

It was an unexpected voice and an equally unexpected declaration.

“Mr. Osborne, if you truly are interested I will not prevent it, however, I did not take you as the type to take in a widow, may I ask why you are so interested in her? I doubt it is as simple as you being taken by her beauty.”

Though he didn’t like the idea, the general would not interfere with Mr. Osborne if that is really what he wanted. He had been told before that as long as it would not cause any serious problems to accommodate the mage to the best of his abilities. He held no feelings for the girl, and though he did not approve of such things, even if the mage just wanted to use her for some fun as long as he did not cause any serious mental or physical trauma she could still be sent back to the brother.

“It’s not as you are probably thinking General. It’s very simple; she has the potential to use magic. I did not notice it at first but when she collapsed to the ground she was unable to control it and released a decent amount of mana, an aura if you will. However, it is not a typical aura. I believe she may be able to control mystic magic, but what type I am unsure. I’d like to find out what hidden potential she may have.”

Magic, it was not something the general could understand. If she really could perform magic then it could possibly be very important to the new military Elkia was trying to create. She could end up being an important piece to be used; it was something he could not refuse.

“Hmm… I have a question Mr. Osborne, how long does it take to develop a mage?”

“In truth, it takes many years General. However, if she has talent she should be able to use 1 or 2 simple spells within a year. But, depending on the type of mage she becomes those one or two spells could be very useful.”

“I understand, then I will leave it to you Mr. Osborne, do as you see fit.”

There were many spells that could be extremely powerful in the mystic arts despite not being high rank and wielded by a powerful mage. Even if Lady Grace only had average talent depending on the magic she could use she could be very powerful.

“Then General, I also want to know, have you heard anything on my brother’s killer yet?”

Though he spoke in a calm tone his body betrayed his desire to hold his true feelings in. Osborne clenched his fists and his body trembled after asking General Mason that question. After learning his brother had died it took everything the general could think of to prevent him from destroying the city.

“Right now Mr. Osborne we have no information. We have sent men to scour the city as well as scouts and a large number of men in every direction leading out from the city. I apologize, however, the moment I hear anything I will inform you of it and provide you with any resources you ask for.”

That was a lie. Two days ago a message was received that the forces General Mason had stationed to the east of Freeport had been attacked by a mage. General Mason sent men to investigate and was informed almost all of the warbeasts and nearly three-quarters of his men had been killed.

Reports of the battle spoke of tremendous damage to the land and no signs of the mage and the small party he was leading. He was certain the mage had crossed the river but was not sure whether he moved north towards Asmuth or had attempted to travel around the Bertsch Forest to avoid additional forces as they traveled towards Penrith.

Sending two groups of men he had hoped to find information quickly but he had still not heard anything. Even if he did though he did not plan on sharing that information immediately; this mage was strong enough to create a massive lake, cause an earth shake, and kill Mr. Osborne’s younger brother. He could not risk a massacre to his own men and lose Mr. Osborne because of revenge. Though he sympathized with Osborne he simply could not afford it.

“I want to be clear General, any information, no matter how small I want to hear it immediately. Some second class mage was somehow able to kill my brother. I will not let him off so easily.”

“I understand Mr. Osborne, I will let you know immediately the moment I hear anything.”

The general understood he could not keep it a secret forever, however, if he was able to buy enough time he could hopefully minimize any further losses to his troops. To lose so many warbeasts from one person was a huge loss.

Allowing someone capable of such destruction to escape went against everything conventional wisdom told him. However, this was not a conventional case and it was best to regroup right now and learn about this powerful enemy before falling into another massive trap.

He would not allow such a foe escape so lightly either, but he had no choice but to accept that in the grand scheme of things even if they were able to capture this mage they would do so with heavy losses. Such a thing would put them at a huge disadvantage should Penrith attack when they were weakened.

The Elkian military was not a bottomless pit of resources. The amount he could be given was finite, and it was his job as commander to make sure those resources were used to their utmost potential. Though it pained him, sadly revenge would have to wait for a more opportune moment.

********

It looks like the Elkian’s have stopped their pursuit. Had it gone on much longer my horse would not have been able to continue. The Elkian’s have made me into a traitor to my people. My tribe may not see me that way, but if I return the other tribes will and we would be destroyed.

For now, there is no way I can return. I never thought that one day I would become one of the disgraced. I must find a way to send a message. If I can warn my brother of the Elkian’s then he can at least prepare. We cannot hope to defeat them as we are, but perhaps we can find a way to survive until we have the strength to take them on.

There is a great city to the northeast. They say it is even mightier than Freeport. To think such a thing could possibly exist… the people of the plains truly are amazing. There were rumors of a village of disgraced to the east of that city. In the past, there were scouting groups that attempted to locate it in hopes of washing away their sins but the village was never found.

If it exists it is the only place I can think of that may be able to send a message to my tribe. But with no food, water, or supplies… such a journey will be difficult. I do not know this area very well. My horse can probably graze upon the grasses, but I do not know of any water sources.

If I continue to ride him he can probably make it 2 days without water at best. Perhaps he will last 4 days if I do not. I have never witnessed it but it is said my people can go for 7 days without water and months without food. It is a difficult choice.

Riding will cover the most ground, but if I can find a road walking may be the best choice as the increase in time may increase my chances of meeting a traveler or merchants. For now, we must rest. I will ride him to the nearest road and then walk.

I do not know how far this city is, if there are towns before it and if there are how hostile they are to my kind. I hope we will be able to find water along the way, but should my horse die before then I may need to drink from its body and eat its flesh.

The horse is a sacred gift given to us by the goddess. Although we are allowed to eat of its flesh in cases of starvation I hope it will not come to that. To end up in such a state. It is beyond shameful. Someday I hope to return this shame back to Elkia 100 times.

No, it is not only a hope. Before I die I will make sure to end the life of this Colonel Dyer with my own hands. Despite my dislike of the men I was charged with they were still my people. To come to an agreement and convince them of the benefits of siding with the Elkian’s was very difficult. However, they agreed to my plans and trusted me.

For the Elkian’s to go back on their agreement… It is beyond shameful. We will prepare for them; I will make sure of it. For now, though I know the goddess will protect my people, she always has.

********

This wind combined with the light rain makes it extremely uncomfortable to travel across these plains. Just one month ago the skies were cloudless and the temperatures were so high it made it difficult to breathe. This change in the weather is remarkable.

Even from a week ago the difference in temperature is pretty outstanding. The day we fought the Elkian troops it was sunny and mild, a far cry from the weather today. I had to expend quite a bit of mana to build that ice bridge because of the warmth.

Thinking about that now I can’t help but shake my head at my foolishness. Why hadn’t I thought of building an ice bridge to cross in the first place? We could have avoided alerting the Elkian forces of our presence and would not have to worry about being followed because of the message they were able to send.

I was so grateful that there were no problems with the tunnel I had completely let my guard down. Because of that before we could make it to the ferry, we faced off against those warbeasts and a large number of armored riders. Thankfully we were in the open and far enough away that I was able to attack from a distance.

Those warbeasts were incredibly difficult to deal with. A normal rock projectile was enough to kill or severely injure an armored soldier, but I needed to create hardened rock spears to kill the warbeasts. And they were fearless. Even as their numbers dwindled, even if they were injured, they did not stop.

I had to slam my hand down and cause waves and large ripples to form on the ground to slow them down or else some of them may have made it to us. If such beasts were present in the Empire they would probably be equipped with significant armor and would be a very powerful force in open field battles.

It’s a good thing none of these forces have any experience in mage warfare. The confusion caused when I attack is what makes battles like these go much quicker and makes them less dangerous for me. With the right weaponry, tactics, and armor, battling against those creatures would be very troublesome.

It’s a shame those warriors did not have much of value on them. The only things we took were 4 warhorses, a little bit of gold, a few sets of armor that were pretty much undamaged, some rations, and a few weapons that were worth taking.

What I really wanted though was information but the soldiers were trained well and would not talk. I’m not an expert on torture though so perhaps if I was a bit more creative they may have said something. But they probably did not know much anyways. It didn’t look like there were any high ranking individuals amongst them.

After dealing with the Elkian forces we made haste in our escape across the ice bridge I had made and pushed our horses to their utmost limits in hopes of avoiding any further surprises. But we do not have a guide or anyone experienced with this route so we’re forced to rely on Lady Eleanor’s previous experience.

According to her we should be roughly 15-20 days away. It’s hard to get a better estimate because she only remembers a few details from her trips to Asmuth when she was young and she traveled directly from Freeport to Asmuth instead of the route we’re traveling.

The other problem is the lack of identifying landmarks. It was the same problem I had when traveling to Freeport. It’s easy to get lost in a sea of grass where everything looks the same. But according to Lady Eleanor, we’ll know we are getting close to Asmuth once we begin traveling through slightly hilly terrain where trees appear as well as small ponds and lakes.

It’s a dull trip but far better than when I was alone. I don’t have the attacks at night that caused such pain in my chest that I had before when traveling and I don’t have the feeling of just wanting everything to end. I’m pretty sure it’s just being able to talk with others, or maybe just knowing I’m not the only person around. It’s a bit more reassuring when you are with people you know.

I’ve learned quite a bit from my talks with Lady Eleanor in the evenings. She only leaves her carriage to warm herself by the fire and talk with me for a while before returning. She doesn’t have the strongest body so it’s for the best that she does not linger outside for long anyways.

The more she tells me about Asmuth the more excited I become. As a major city of the Corinth Alliance it is a very large center for trade and because of this there are many exotic goods and more interestingly there are even other races. Though not as numerous as humans they can still be found.

According to her the most common race other than humans would be Halflings. Called as such because they are about half the size of a normal person, but on occasion, even magical beings called Fae and even Elves can be seen though they are more common in the northern cities of the alliance.

To think that there are such things as magical beings and Elves, it’s almost hard to believe. It’s easy to see how anyone who left the Southern Kingdoms would become enamored with such a place and never want to return home.

According to Lady Eleanor hundreds of years ago, slavery was legal in the Corinth Alliance. Although slavery was not limited by race or skin color there are some in the Fae and Halfling communities that hold resentment towards other races. So it is something to watch for.

Apparently, the Elves did not have much interaction with the Corinth Alliance until after slavery was abolished so they never faced enslavement and as such, they do not hold any grudges against the other races. Lady Eleanor said they normally only leave their forest homes to trade for goods that are easier to obtain in the cities of the Alliance.

But the fact that slavery is illegal in the Alliance is very impressive itself. Even in the Empire, though most people are not in favor of it, slavery is still legal. And there are no other races in the Southern Kingdoms, just humans enslaving other humans.

Lady Eleanor thinks it’s because of the way the government works. She said, for the most part, the government allows for free trade between cities and races and it does not interfere much with businesses. So as long as people are able to earn enough money to support themselves they generally do not bother others.

I still think their government is inefficient, but maybe my inexperience limits my way of thinking about these things. There are many things I do not know. The Empire had a superior education system, but it was limited by the knowledge the teachers possessed. Not to mention the Empire only taught its people what it felt was necessary.

Normally you only learned practical skills in schools. How to read, write, basic mathematics, these were skills that would help in day to day life, but it was not information one would gain just in the pursuit of knowledge. I wonder what things there are to learn in the Alliance.

Is it possible I have finally found something I am excited about? I still haven’t thought very much about what I want to do, or really what I am capable of doing. I do not think I want to spend my life going from one battle to the next. What does a person do with the knowledge they gain? Am I even capable of learning such things? I’m not sure, but wouldn’t it be interesting to learn magic from the Fae?

What types of magic do they know? Are they Elementalist’s? Or do they practice mystic magic? Unfortunately, Lady Eleanor is unsure of such things. It’s understandable though, she has no aptitude in magic and in Freeport, it does not look like many people other than mercenaries make use of it.

With such limited knowledge and weak mages most likely incapable of providing a good education it is no wonder magic is so limited here. But maybe things are different in the Alliance. Maybe in the Alliance magic is more readily accepted and taught.

We still have quite a distance to go, and sadly it looks like we will not be able to make it there without coming into contact with anyone else. He looks like a northern warrior; however, I only see one which does not make a lot of sense.

Why would only one warrior be here in such a barren area? Should I speak with him? To a normal person he would probably be a foe they could not defeat, but from a distance, he should not pose a threat to me. Perhaps it would be best if I go see what he wants.

********

“Lady Eleanor, there appears to be one of the northern warriors up ahead. He looks like he is waiting for us to arrive. I’m going to go up and see what he wants, please have everyone remain here.”

A barbarian? Here? Why would a barbarian appear here so far away from any villages or cities? Have they decided to raid small caravans now as well?

“Mr. Jayce I am not sure that is wise. The barbarians are very dangerous, I fear even you may be in danger if you go to close.”

“I understand, but we need to confront him either way. I will keep a safe distance and if he looks like he is going to attack I will not take the risk and attack first.”

As a mage he will probably be ok, but we are relying on him. I do not want to seem selfish, but I have not gone through all that I have, even abandoning my daughter to survive just to fall victim to a barbarian on the road. It doesn’t seem like he will listen to me though either way.

“If you are confident then I will say no more, please be careful Mr. Jayce.”

The northern barbarians are an unnatural race that has come into existence from the crossbreeding of giants and humans. If it weren’t for their violent temperaments they would probably be very compatible with human societies and possibly benefit humans as well.

Giants and humans are not the same race, but if the races are close enough they are able to reproduce. However, those children of different races are always sterile. They are not able to have children of their own, and that is why there are no half-breed races. However, the northern barbarians are an exception to that rule; they are the only known half-breed race.

They are also able to have non-sterile children with humans. Such children have occurred in the past but because of their customs, they are normally killed at birth or not allowed to be born. The ones that survived to adulthood were all remarkable people who went on to have many tales told of their exploits.

But such a violent race should not exist in my opinion. My father said the reason for their violence was because of the two types of blood within them struggling for superiority. The strength of giants raged against the weakness of humans, and the civility of humans fought against the savagery of giants.

From what he told me the more powerful a barbarian was the more in control of his bloodlines he was. Weaker barbarians were dominated by their giant savagery while stronger barbarians were dominated by their human civility.

It was in complete opposite of what one would expect. How true it was I’m not sure, but one could see that the powerful barbarians who controlled the masses could at least be reasoned with on occasion.

There is an old legend about giants. It is said that giants are the children of the gods that at one time walked amongst us. They are a special existence amongst all that live in the world and because of that their blood is special. They are said to be extremely intelligent but brutal as well.

It is also said there are no female giants, only male. They took female humans as lovers because of our similar likeness and had children. The giants wished to spread their race but with no females it was not possible. So they had hoped to create a race similar to theirs that they could breed with, but to their surprise they could not breed with their offspring.

The story goes that the giants saw their offspring as failures, as a deep shame, so they attempted to completely annihilate them. They failed in that attempt and instead the half-breeds multiplied. The giants named them Nephilim. Any found within the great northern forests were to be destroyed.

The barbarians called themselves Northsmen and escaped the forests to occupy the Northern Expanse plateau. Well, of course, these are all just rumors, tales passed by word of mouth through many generations, so how much truth there is to them is unknown. Real giants have not been seen for many hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years.

The Northern Expanse was once occupied by humans but the barbarians have completely wiped them out. Now any humans that enter the expanse are mercilessly slaughtered. To get to the homes of the giants in the forests you would need to go through the Expanse. But currently, there’s just no way to make it there to find out if giants even really exist.

I do not agree with keeping such a disaster alive even if Mr. Jayce is capable of defeating him. Although he does not appear to be one of the savage barbarians he is still a danger to us. It’s impossible to tell whether or not he views humans as bugs to be crushed. For now, however, against my better judgment, I will not force Mr. Jayce to end his life, but I will not let down my guard and trust there will be nothing to worry about.

“Why are you standing in the road blocking our path?”

Oh, he’s walking closer, what does he want? Is the barbarian not going to answer Mr. Jayce? We cannot allow him to get too close. From a distance Mr. Jayce will definitely have the advantage, but can that be said in close combat. Not likely, if he is too close even Mr. Jayce will probably fall.

“That’s close enough! I’ll ask only one more time, why are you blocking our path?”

“I am not able to yell. My throat is too dry. I have no water. If I do not get water soon my horse will die and I will die. I came to ask for water and food.”

No water? The River is close to 4 days ride from here so there probably isn’t much in the way of water anywhere close, however, it’s raining right now is it not? It’s not a heavy rain though, and it is soaking into the ground without creating puddles, but eventually it will. Still, maybe he hasn’t had water for a while.

“Are you really here to ask, or have you come to take our water by force?”

“I am asking, but if I must I will take water in order to survive.”

That was a bit of a silly question Mr. Jayce. If it meant survival then anyone would attack with all their might.

“And if we give you water, what will you do then? Will you allow us to leave afterward or will you attack us?”

“I will not attack you. I need water to survive; that is all.”

If that is all he needs then it would not be a problem as long as he does not follow us or cause us any other problems. We have a number of barrels of water, water skins, and plenty of food rations. And if need be Mr. Jayce is able to make water, so losing a couple of barrels should not pose any issues to us.

If he really does not intend to kill this barbarian then it would be for the best to just provide him with a couple of barrels of water and a small bag of rations. To linger here any longer may be dangerous so it would be best for us to leave quickly.

“Gerard, please prepare two barrels of water, 3 waterskins, and a satchel of rations for the barbarian and ask Mr. Jayce to give them to him so we can be on our way.”

“Lady Eleanor, is that really the wisest course of action? The words of barbarians are worth next to nothing, should Mr. Jayce not just get rid of him?”

“I’m not sure why Mr. Jayce has decided to negotiate with the barbarian Gerard. However, that is what he has chosen to do. Neither you nor I have the power to deal with the barbarian or force Mr. Jayce to do what we want. For now we will accept this, but of course we must remain vigilant.”

“Understood, I will do as you say Lady Eleanor.”

If this buys us peace then the cheap price will be worth it. But still, a lone barbarian here does not make very much sense. Barbarians never travel alone, could he be a scout? I know too little about them to say for sure whether he could be or not.

Don’t scouts normally carry pigeons or hawks for messages? Do the barbarians not do this? Well then again, do they even have a written language? I really cannot think of a single redeeming quality to their race that would stop anyone from completely destroying them.

They would be excellent in manual labor if they could be controlled. They would probably even make great soldiers if they could be trained. But sadly they are a race that thrives on carnage and absolute destruction. It’s unfortunate the Giants were unable to clean up their mistake.

Oh, it really does look like the barbarian is not going to attack right now. I’m surprised. This barbarian has accepted the supplies and is leaving towards the east. Why would he go east? Could there be other barbarians hiding in the Bertsch Forest? Though I do not know what they would be doing there it is a very good possibility.

This really is a foolish thing to do. But really none of this makes sense. If there were other barbarians they would not wait to launch a sneak attack against us. If it wasn’t for Mr. Jayce even this one barbarian would be more than enough to finish us off, and I doubt this barbarian knows Mr. Jayce is a mage.

It is possible that he really is one of those barbarians father told me of. One that is capable of being reasoned with and is civil enough to not attack everyone they see. Still, I’d rather not chance our survival on that possibility.

“Mr. Jayce, what was the result of your conversation with the barbarian? He has left but did he say anything?”

“No, Lady Eleanor, all he did is nod his head slightly before taking the supplies and leaving. Do you think I should have tried to get more information from him? I just wanted him to leave so I didn’t bother.”

“I’m not really sure. It may have been for the best though. Barbarians despise us so I do not believe you would get much information from him. It would be best if we do not see him again. However, the fact he’s traveling east worries me slightly. We must be on our guard Mr. Jayce.”

“I understand Lady Eleanor. Then let’s continue, the further away we are the better.”

At least on this we agree. I will not feel safe until we have entered Asmuth. Reestablishing ourselves will not be easy though. We have brought with us a substantial amount of wealth, but there are many very wealthy people in Asmuth, our success will come down to contacts.

This is where Lord Weston would have been useful. Even having my husband would help. I simply do not have the strength any longer to lead what is left of our family. My son is talented but he is too young. As for Belle and her husband…, her husband may be of some use and Belle should be able to properly entertain important guests.

And with Mr. Jayce, I don’t see how he would be able to help in areas of business and politics. He is not family either. Once we are in Asmuth he may decide to continue on his path of being a mercenary. It would be the most probable course of action as he has already stated his intentions in traveling.

To be able to travel… This would probably be the best age for someone to do something such as that, especially someone who does not have any responsibilities and most likely does not have any family. From his demeanor and overall lack of confidence, I believe he may have lost his family to a tragedy and is unsure of what to do right now.

He is probably running away from everything and is not sure of whom he is anymore. I am certain he is from the Southern Kingdoms but from what part I do not know. Our contact with the Southern Kingdoms is very limited so there is not much I know about it.

To be able to keep him linked to us would be the best way forward. However, we have nothing to offer him. I would consider adopting him into my family if I thought he would accept it. But why would he be willing to do such a thing? It would only bring disadvantages to him.

If I knew beforehand of Lord Weston’s treachery I would have never married Grace to him. She would have been an excellent way to tie Mr. Jayce to our family. Though we would not have met Mr. Jayce if not for Grace’s wedding. It shames me to think of my Grace as just a tool to increase the strength of our family but that is how these things work.

It’s the reality of our world. Marriage is nothing more than a political tool. Even poorer families use marriage to strengthen themselves. Were it not for the current situation marrying Grace to Lord Weston would have been truly a blessing on our house.

My poor Grace. It is my fault she is in the position she is in. Trapped within the walls of Freeport. I can only ask that my ancestors watch over her and Lord Weston treats her as a husband should treat his wife. I am a terrible mother. To ruin her daughter’s life just for a little bit of power.

Did I not hate my father for forcing me into a marriage? I have done exactly the same to her as my father did to me. At least Belle held some feelings for her husband before they were wed. But to force Grace to marry a man much older than her without even meeting him.

I really am a terrible mother. I can do nothing but apologize for what I have done, but it will not remove the hatred she surely feels for me. My dearest Grace, I hope someday we can meet again and you can forgive me. Until then, please continue to be the Grace I love.

********

To find out my husband killed himself… What am I supposed to do now? It is not as though I loved the man, but how will I be able to support myself? What will I do now? My mother is most likely gone, and now…, what do I do?

Will I be forced to marry someone else now? Or will I be forced out? If I am forced out and my family has left so I have rights to my family’s estate? Am I now the heir of the Ashlan household? It would be for the best if that is the case.

I do not wish to remarry. Who would take a widow anyways? At most I would just become someone’s mistress. Is that truly the life I will be forced to live? If that is the case perhaps it would be best to end my life as well. How could he do such a thing? To end his own life, did he know no shame?

To leave behind a wife, and, even though I don’t think so, what if I was pregnant? Is he really such a man? But what if I am pregnant? What would I do with a child now that I am a widow? Would any man even be willing to marry me if I were pregnant? I doubt they would, to take in a used woman… no man would do that.

Should I drink the black water then? To do such a thing, it’s not something I could do then face my ancestors. But do I have any other choices right now? If only I had my mother for guidance. Would she know what to do? What would she do in my situation?

Drinking the black water may be a bit rash though. It should not be taken so lightly. I still do not know anything. If I were to drink it before knowing anything then it would be saying I was willing to kill the baby in me no matter what. What kind of woman would do such a thing? If it ever got out I would be looked at like I was a monster.

I should wait; nothing good can come from rushing things. For now I’ll wait until my mind is less muddy. Yes, I’ll wait until after my meeting with this Mr. Osborne. Why would he want to meet with me though? No one has said anything other than he wants to meet with me. I hope this is not to propose some type of political marriage to prop someone up as head of the Weston household.

For something like that…, I have no desire to live through something like that. I will not be treated like that again. No, I won’t allow it. If Lord Weston can be such a shameful man then I will be a shameful woman and end my life. But I will wait for now, tomorrow night. Tomorrow night I will know, tomorrow I will decide. Do I drink the black water, do I live, do I die? Yes, Mr. Osborne, you will decide for me, tomorrow night I will know, tomorrow night.