you.”
“Did you like him?” I ask, wanting to know more about this mystery man I shared half my genetic code with.
“I liked him well enough when he was with your mother,” Millie says, acting like this small admission is as far as she is willing to go in saying she approved of my biological father. “He was a totally different man when he was with her. I think if anyone was surprised by their love for one another it was him. Your mother had to work extra hard to make him realize he had feelings for her. He was quite obstinate in the beginning, but Amalie was always one to get what she wanted, and she wanted him. She broke down his walls and made him realize there was a small part of his soul which belonged only to her.”
I feel sure my mother passed down her tenacity to me. This thought more than anything else gives me hope that I will be able to make Malcolm accept his feelings for me. After Millie told me about the connection between my ancestors, Jess and Mason, I had no lingering uncertainty that Malcolm was made for me, and I was born for him.
I simply had to make him realize it too.
And there wasn't a doubt in my mind that I would be able to do it...
CHAPTER Nine
“Oh, Lady Anna,” Eliza croons as she walks around me, examining every angle of the gown I'm wearing to the party celebrating my marriage to the emperor the next day, “I don't think I've ever seen you look lovelier. There's an inner glow about you tonight. Did something good happen during all the bad while we were away?”
Millie and I decided to keep Eliza in the dark about all the secrets I had just unearthed concerning my family history. The less she knew, hopefully, the less danger she would be in.
“Thank you, Eliza,” I tell her, “I think I'm just excited about the party.”
It wasn't a lie, just a truncated version of the truth.
If I were to tell her the truth, I would have to admit that my heart was yearning to see a certain someone make his appearance at the wedding celebration. Not only would it be the first time anyone in Cirrus, besides myself and Millie, gained the privilege of seeing Malcolm in the flesh, but it would also be my next chance to be near him again. It hadn't even been a day since we last saw each other, but even that short span of time was simply too long to my heart's way of thinking
“I'll go get your coat for you,” Eliza tells me as she walks out of the front room and back into my bedroom.
“You are glowing,” Millie says to me knowingly, “and I think I only need one guess as to why.”
“Do you think I'm being silly, Millie?” I whisper. “Is it crazy to feel the way I do for someone I've only just met? Someone...who I don't really know? It doesn't make any logical sense, does it?”
“Whoever said love had to be logical?” Millie whispers back. “I was with Master Devereaux for as long as I've been with you. If there was ever a man who needed someone to love him unconditionally, it's him. His life has been a hard one, and I think he's due a great deal of happiness. If you are the one meant to bring joy back into his life, I say jump on that man and ride off into the sunset together.”
I giggle. “Millie, I didn't know you were such a romantic.”
“When it comes to two people I care dearly about, I will do whatever it takes to make sure their lives are happy ones.”
I hold my hand out to Millie, and she grabs it.
“Now, just remember,” Millie tells me, “he is as stubborn as this day has been long for you. But don't let him get away with it. Don't let him use it as a shield to protect himself from you. Do whatever it takes to make him face his feelings. I'll wager he'll fight against falling in love with you. Don't you dare let him do that and ruin both your lives.”
“You sound so certain that he feels the same way I do.”
Millie nods her head. “I am. I know it in my heart just like you do. It just makes sense that you would be the one who was made for
“Did you like him?” I ask, wanting to know more about this mystery man I shared half my genetic code with.
“I liked him well enough when he was with your mother,” Millie says, acting like this small admission is as far as she is willing to go in saying she approved of my biological father. “He was a totally different man when he was with her. I think if anyone was surprised by their love for one another it was him. Your mother had to work extra hard to make him realize he had feelings for her. He was quite obstinate in the beginning, but Amalie was always one to get what she wanted, and she wanted him. She broke down his walls and made him realize there was a small part of his soul which belonged only to her.”
I feel sure my mother passed down her tenacity to me. This thought more than anything else gives me hope that I will be able to make Malcolm accept his feelings for me. After Millie told me about the connection between my ancestors, Jess and Mason, I had no lingering uncertainty that Malcolm was made for me, and I was born for him.
I simply had to make him realize it too.
And there wasn't a doubt in my mind that I would be able to do it...
CHAPTER Nine
“Oh, Lady Anna,” Eliza croons as she walks around me, examining every angle of the gown I'm wearing to the party celebrating my marriage to the emperor the next day, “I don't think I've ever seen you look lovelier. There's an inner glow about you tonight. Did something good happen during all the bad while we were away?”
Millie and I decided to keep Eliza in the dark about all the secrets I had just unearthed concerning my family history. The less she knew, hopefully, the less danger she would be in.
“Thank you, Eliza,” I tell her, “I think I'm just excited about the party.”
It wasn't a lie, just a truncated version of the truth.
If I were to tell her the truth, I would have to admit that my heart was yearning to see a certain someone make his appearance at the wedding celebration. Not only would it be the first time anyone in Cirrus, besides myself and Millie, gained the privilege of seeing Malcolm in the flesh, but it would also be my next chance to be near him again. It hadn't even been a day since we last saw each other, but even that short span of time was simply too long to my heart's way of thinking
“I'll go get your coat for you,” Eliza tells me as she walks out of the front room and back into my bedroom.
“You are glowing,” Millie says to me knowingly, “and I think I only need one guess as to why.”
“Do you think I'm being silly, Millie?” I whisper. “Is it crazy to feel the way I do for someone I've only just met? Someone...who I don't really know? It doesn't make any logical sense, does it?”
“Whoever said love had to be logical?” Millie whispers back. “I was with Master Devereaux for as long as I've been with you. If there was ever a man who needed someone to love him unconditionally, it's him. His life has been a hard one, and I think he's due a great deal of happiness. If you are the one meant to bring joy back into his life, I say jump on that man and ride off into the sunset together.”
I giggle. “Millie, I didn't know you were such a romantic.”
“When it comes to two people I care dearly about, I will do whatever it takes to make sure their lives are happy ones.”
I hold my hand out to Millie, and she grabs it.
“Now, just remember,” Millie tells me, “he is as stubborn as this day has been long for you. But don't let him get away with it. Don't let him use it as a shield to protect himself from you. Do whatever it takes to make him face his feelings. I'll wager he'll fight against falling in love with you. Don't you dare let him do that and ruin both your lives.”
“You sound so certain that he feels the same way I do.”
Millie nods her head. “I am. I know it in my heart just like you do. It just makes sense that you would be the one who was made for
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