It was a bright and fine morning, the birds were chirping and the wind blew a soft breeze that made the leaves in the trees flutter. It so happened that Sir Lisandro and Marquis Félix were visiting the estate on the same day. Rocío wasn’t quite sure what to think about the entire ordeal. She had, however, come to the conclusion that having the Marquis around and possibly befriending him might be the right thing to do to save her family. If he were to build lasting connections with all of them, then maybe he wouldn’t be able to kill them.

Rocío sat by her open window, writing in her diary while curled up on a red velvet chaise lounge. She leaned her head back on the cushioned backrest and sighed as she stared out the window, her eyes tracing the horizon line. She had two major challenges to face today; try and disappoint Sir Lisandro, and try to get on Marquis Félix’s good side. The mere thought of it exhausted her.

“My lady?” Leticia asked as Rocío let out a deep breath. “You’ve been rather quiet this morning, what’s on your mind?”

Rocío turned to what she described as her best friend–after Santiago, of course. “Everything,” she huffed, shutting her book closed. 

Leticia blinked her chocolate eyes at her with an encouraging smile on her pink lips, sitting down on a seat next to the chaise. It was her way of saying ‘go on’.

Rocío sighed again and set her notebook aside. “Well, I’ve been thinking quite a lot. About what happened with Father, about marriage…” About Félix, she added mentally. “Tell me, how did you do it?”

Leticia’s brown eyebrows knitted together. “How did I do what?” She tilted her head.

“Get married. Just the thought of it frightens me.”

Leticia slowly nodded and nibbled on her lip. “What aspect seems to scare you?”

A groan escaped Rocío’s lips. “All of it,” she chuckled.

Leticia laughed. “I would be lying if I said it didn’t scare me before.”

Rocío smiled softly at her maid. “What scared you?”

Leticia tapped her chin for a moment as she hummed. “I’d have to say that I was fearful of marrying the wrong person, of being unhappy for the rest of my life. But after I met Roberto and we connected so well, those fears slowly dissipated,” Her smile widened as she recalled those times. “He was so kind to me, and we matched so well, and since we were of the same social class, things went quite smoothly. I loved the fact that we didn’t have to hide our love and that he always wanted to show me off. Well, he still does that.”

“I’m glad you found someone so kind to you…” 

The image of how devastated both Santiago and Leticia had looked for months after the Duke had ‘reminded’ Leticia of her position snaked into Rocío’s mind. Leticia had broken things off with Santiago who was left heartbroken and then sent off to tour around the Duchy for months at a time. The entire ordeal had been messy, although they parted on good terms, there was still a lot of healing they both endured. 

“So, what in particular scares you, Rosie?” Leticia asked as she leaned towards Rocío.

Rocío hummed as she looked up at the ceiling, tracing the patterns near the corners of the room. “I fear being unhappy…I fear making him–whoever he might be–unhappy,” she rubbed her face with a groan. “In many ways I’m like my father, I hold grudges, I barely communicate my feelings, and I can be quite selfish, so…what if the man I marry gives up on me?”

“If you marry the man that loves you, he won’t give up on you.”

Rocío laughed ironically. “Just like Father dearly loved Mother and once Renata passed they forgot about love? They sleep in separate rooms, they barely look each other in the eyes, and somehow I’m supposed to believe that a man will love me unconditionally?” She barked. “Please, that’s impossible.” Oh, but she still prayed for her parents’ reconciliation. She always held the memories of her childhood so dear to her, when everything was perfect and good, even if things were grim now.

Leticia stood from her seat and proceeded to sit next to Rocío on the chaise. She patted Rocío’s head gently. “You will find the man who will. You just have to be very careful when searching.”

Rocío wrapped her arms around Leticia and held her in a tight embrace. The void in her heart panged, it’d become so immense that not even the sun could cover it. “I don’t want to search,” she mumbled. “I just want to go back to when things were easier, to when Renata was here and we were happy.”

Leticia rubbed circles on Rocío’s back. “I know,” she mumbled.

A knock on the door interrupted them and Rocío pulled away first, slowly being helped to her feet by Leticia. 

“Sir Lisandro must’ve arrived,” Leticia said as she fixed Rocío’s hair, which had tangled slightly from the velvet chaise. “Are you ready?”

Rocío shook her head. “No, but I will do my best,” She sighed as she walked to the door, where a maid was standing patiently.

“Sir Lisandro has arrived and is waiting in the drawing room,” the young maid smiled at them.

Rocío returned the smile. “Thank you, Nina,” she said before she took a deep breath and followed after Nina in the company of Leticia who trailed close behind. 

They were led down the great central hall to one of the drawing rooms, which was the one used to entertain lower guests. It was still nicely furnished with leather seats and the best wood for the table, but not as grand compared to the one next to it. 

Before the doors opened, Rocío smoothed her dress over and calmed herself by relaxing her stiffened shoulders and unclenching her jaw. She nodded towards Nina who opened the doors and announced her arrival.