"What would you like to do today, My Lady?"

She had no time to be carefree. "Why do you think mother was talking so much about marriage?"

The question blurted stops Anne in her tracks. A moment later, she proceeds to open the drapes, allowing the morning sun to enter the chambers. 

"It was so sudden— don't you agree?" Celeste wonders aloud. 

It is only natural that she suspects her mother is hiding something, despite her insisting the contrary. No reassurance could ease Celeste's suspicion and the simple thought of what this could all lead to has kept her restless all night and all morning. 

"Do you not find it strange?" she asks.

Her maid's silence drags. 

“Anne–,”

“Should I look into it?”

Celeste perks up. “Do so quietly,” she whispers.

***

She was simply lying to herself when she thought lessons would serve as a great distraction. 

Every word, every sentence spoken by her instructors entered one ear and left through the other. Nothing absorbed. Entirely meaningless. 

All morning, her mind wandered back to her mother's questions from last evening. 

By midday, Anne returns to Celeste’s side.

“So, what have you gathered?” Celeste offers her maid her undivided attention. 

She had always looked forward to afternoon tea, but today it did nothing to remedy her anxiety. But she believes obtaining answers possibly will. 

“Are you against the topic of marriage, My Lady?”

Celeste flips her dark hair over her shoulder and sighs. “No, I suppose everyone gets married and eventually, so will I.”

Even so, she could not help but be apprehensive. 

“Do you truly believe Her Ladyship would arrange a marriage for you?”

Anne does make a good point. Would her own parents do so against her wishes? It wouldn’t be like them to force a matter such as this. Then, what is this uneasiness that she is feeling?

In a disappointing twist, Anne reveals, “His Lordship has been at the palace for his duties and Her Ladyship has been organizing the manor since the early morning. No one else has heard anything or seen anyone strange visiting either.”

Celeste sighs. 

She couldn't possibly sit around, remaining idle in such a state of thought.

"Get our clothes and call for our usual carriage."

“We’re going into town? Why?” Anne asks. 

“To replace the pendant that I just lost.” 

Another attempt at distraction. 

“Your pendant? But you just replaced that one.”

***

Wearing their normal day-to-day clothing would draw too much attention to their statuses. Eventually content with the preparations, Celeste arrives into town and makes her way through the market crowds with Anne at her side. Passing from one stall for another, she takes a look at the various pendants displayed. Thankfully, it solely occupies her attention for a while.

That is, until the loud murmurs and rush of people coming out from their shops causes both Celeste and Anne look around. They follow everyone's line of sights that are set down the county road as people move about and pushing one another along the sides, making room. Knights traveling on horses and on foot coming through the center as cheers ring out.

The royal army is returning home.

“They must have marched a long way,” Anne says.

That explains why the town is so crowded. It is filled with families welcoming their husbands, sons, and grandsons back home. Celeste and Anne join in to watch the spectacle. She glances at each knight until a single face catches her attention.

Duke Ellis Stone.

He is hard to miss. The duke led at the front on his horse and this time, dressed in heavy armor. The kind that overlaps the image that she once envisioned. 

They must be on their way to the palace where His Majesty will be joined by other court officials, like her father, to greet them. Will her father’s workload finally lessen now? 

Deciding she has seen enough, Celeste ducks her head, sinking further into her cloak and takes hold of Anne’s hand to break away from the crowd. Together, they enter the empty alleyways.

“My Lady?” 

“Father will be upset if he discovers we went into town.”

“Do you think the knights recognized you?”

"I'm uncertain, but let's not take that risk."

“Then where to, My Lady?”

Celeste looks to the stalls, but their owners must have stepped away. “It seems we have to return home for today.”

Traveling the route back to their awaiting carriage in the woods, the abrupt sounds of galloping horses has them rooted to the ground. Turning the sharp corner, two horses come to a hasty stop just before stampeding the two young women. 

Celeste's eyes trail upward. The duke and a fellow knight tighten their grips on their reins.

“Where is the closest physician located?” 

Both Celeste and Anne quickly notice the pale and unconscious individual riding on the second horse. His body flushed up against the fellow knight's back.

Overcoming her initial shock from the duke's unexpected appearance, Celeste lifts her finger to point. “If you go down this path–," before she can finish providing directions, a hand is placed in front of her to take. Unsure, she looks up at its owner.

“Please show me the way.”  

Celeste turns to her maid. “Anne–,”

“The knight looks unwell. Go, My Lady, I will await you here.”

Seemingly left with little choice, Celeste lays her hand into the duke's. With a swift pull from his end, she mounts his horse smoothly and they take off with her directing.

Her first ride on a horse takes them to a medicinal shop. The same shop Celeste's mother would make her usual stops to purchase herbal supplements for her father. Celeste had only remembered thanks to her mother always singing praises about the apothecary's medical knowledge and skills.  

The duke dismounts and Celeste slightly loses her balance, causing her to grab onto the horse's long mane. Mesmerized by the new experience, she combs her fingers through the coarse and thick tresses.  

“Bart, you take him in first.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” 

From what she could tell, Bart seems to hold a significant position. Suddenly remembering where she is, she looks back to the path they had taken. They aren’t too far from their starting point. While the duke is occupied by his concern for his knight, she could find Anne with no trouble before he has a chance to pick apart her disguise.    

After all, their brief meeting at the royal banquet was many weeks ago and he hasn't hinted at her identity. 

“Remain here, My Lady,” the duke orders. 

“Pardon?” She looks down at him from her place atop of the horse.  

“I will return you to your maid once Bart informs me of the knight’s condition,” he says.

Celeste quickly corrects him, “She is not my maid.”

“There is no mistake that the two of you do not share similar social standings."

"That is—,"

Given the current situation, he is more observant than she anticipated. She couldn't have him mention this trip to her father. Her hand touches her chest and she grasps at air. She had forgotten why she was here in town in the first place.

He must have noticed her predicament because he goes on to clarify his words. “I take no interest in your reasons to hide your identity. I simply only care to thank you for your help.”

She nods, though she remains anxious about staying a minute longer.  

“Duke Stone.” Bart calls out as he leaves the shop.

“What is it?”

“The apothecary thinks it is due to dehydration and exhaustion from our travels.”

“In that case, command the knights to their quarters and I will go greet His Majesty myself.”

“Understood, Your Grace.”

Clumsy in her movements and eager to leave, she tries her best to get down from the large animal. And she struggles. A pair of hands hold onto her waist to assist her the rest of the way. She tenses from the physical contact, but breathes easier once her feet touches the ground.

“I appreciate Your Grace’s offer, but I rather not be a bother,” Celeste says.

As if to calculate the distance she would have to trek back, his eyes linger in the direction they came from.

“It’s not too far,” Celeste reassures him. “I know the ways of this area well.”

It is just her luck that he gives in. “Please be careful on your way.”

“I also wish your knight a quick recovery.” With a bow, she steps around him to head back towards where Anne should be waiting.

***

“My Lady!” Anne rushes to her feet at the sight of Celeste. “You shouldn't be walking around by yourself.”

“Well, there are many things I should not be doing." 

“Why have you return alone? Had I known, I would have followed.”

“On foot?” Celeste asks.

“I can run quickly.”

Amused by her maid's words, Celeste smiles. “You worry too much, Anne.”

“You do not worry enough at times, My Lady. What if you have gotten lost?”

“Yet, I did not,” Celeste responds with a smile. “I even stopped to purchase one of these.” Lifting her hand, she shows Anne the beautiful new daffodil pendant.

Admiring it along with Celeste, Anne wonders how long this one would remain in her possession.