"Maybe it was just a prank," Rachel suggested, her voice attempting to inject some normalcy back into the situation.
"Yes, probably," Aunt Halle agreed, but there was a note of uncertainty in her voice that she couldn't quite hide.
As she closed the door, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. The timing—it all seemed too deliberate. I glanced at the twins, who were blissfully unaware of the strange encounter, their faces lit up with joy as they resumed playing with their friends.
"What did he look like?" I asked.
"Well, he had dark hair and he was handsome. I didn't really study his features," she shrugged. "I wonder why he left. Or did he mean another person and came to the wrong house?"
"Maybe."
After everyone had left the house, a quiet calm settled over the once lively parlour. The echoes of laughter and chatter faded, replaced by the gentle clinking of dishes and the rustle of wrapping paper being cleared away. Aunt Halle and I worked in comfortable silence, cleaning up the remnants of the twins' birthday party.
I stacked plates while Aunt Halle began to wash them up. After that, we began to remove the fabric used to decorate. We moved in sync, our practiced coordination making quick work of the mess. We remained silent as we worked, but I knew that Aunt Halle was thinking about the interruption we had earlier.
Aunt Halle broke the silence first. "So, about that handsome man Victoria mentioned... Any idea who he could be?" she asked, her tone light but her eyes serious.
I shook my head, pausing in my task. "I don't think anyone would follow me all the way to Normandy," I replied, as I thought. "I've been careful, and it's been years since I've had any reason to worry."
Aunt Halle sighed, folding a discarded napkin. "We can't ignore the possibility, though. Is there anyone from your past who might have reasons to find you now?"
I considered this, my mind sifting through the faces of people I had left behind. "I thought about Tyler," I admitted softly, a hint of sadness in my voice. I missed the friendship we had. He was the only one who cared about me when I was in Dagen's pack. "But I doubt it. Last I heard, he might have died trying to protect me."
"And Lord Edvin?" Aunt Halle asked, glancing at me with a raised eyebrow
"Edvin is too high-strung to travel all the way from his pack to this place. He would never leave his domain just to chase after me. He doesn't really have much to do with me as well," I replied with a shake of my head. "Besides, he has too many responsibilities back home."
We continued cleaning in silence for a few moments, the only sounds being the clatter of dishes we had gotten out and the crumple of wrapping paper.
"What about your uncle?" Aunt Halle ventured, her brow furrowed in thought. "Could he have sent someone to look for you?"
I paused. I had thought of it as well for a long time since the person came knocking and had removed Uncle Napoleon from my mind as someone who would have come to look for me. "Maybe," I said slowly. "But I doubt it. Uncle would have made his presence known. He wouldn't be this subtle."
When I ran out of things to say and was not so comfortable with the silence, I sighed and looked at my aunt. "Aunt Halle, why did you choose this life instead of staying in the palace? You grew up with all the luxury and power anyone could dream of."
Aunt Halle stopped what she was doing and looked at me with a wistful smile. "I grew up in that noble space and saw firsthand how families turned on each other for power and money. It was a toxic environment, and I knew from a young age that such a life wasn't meant for me," she explained. "I wanted something simpler, something real. And here, I've found that."
I nodded, understanding from what I had also witnessed in Napoleon's palace.
"The palace had its allure, but it also had its dark side, a side that often overshadowed the grandeur and splendour," Aunt Halle murmured.
Aunt Halle straightened up and brushed her hands on her apron. "We should check if anyone moved recently into our town or if anything strange has happened since," she suggested. "It might give us a clue about this mysterious visitor."
"I'll look into it," I promised, it was a good suggestion. If there was anything suspicious it would be easy to spot.
As we finished up our cleaning, we both gave a sigh of relief and smiled. The house was now spotless, the remnants of the party neatly put away. I and Aunt Halle stood in the doorway of the living room, looking at our handiwork.
"Well, that's that," I said, dusting off my hands. "I'll start asking around tomorrow. I'll visit some inns as well to know if anyone checked in."
Aunt Halle nodded, giving me a reassuring pat on the back. "We'll figure this out, Gina. We always do."
I smiled, feeling a bit more at ease. We had faced challenges before, and we had always come through. This time would be no different.
As I headed to my room, I couldn't help but think about the man Victoria had mentioned. Who was he? And what did he want? The questions swirled in my mind, but I pushed them aside for the night. Tomorrow was a new day, and I would find the answers I needed.
I took a quick bath and then walked to my bed. Then I picked up a quill by my bedside table and a parchment paper to write out a list of people who could have matched the description.
The only name that came to mind as I thought of Handsome was Dagen.
My heart wrenched painfully.