“Maude!” Cristyne’s voice exclaimed as she got close enough. She opened her arms for a hug, and Maude gave her a small one.

“Long time no see,” Maude replied, a small smile on her face.

“It has been a while,” Cristyne agreed, as Maude took a step back out of the hug. “How have you been? I heard that you ended up fighting in the war.”

Maude laughed a little. “Yeah, I did,” she said.

“What an out of character decision for you to make!” Cristyne exclaimed. “I was so shocked to hear that you had.”

“Yeah…” Maude replied, rubbing the back of her neck. “I realized that if I didn’t fight I was giving up a lot more than I thought that I was. But how have you been?” Maude asked, changing the subject.

“Could be better,” Cristyne replied, pursing her lips. “The Zellers family left just before the evacuation order came out, and we had nearly gotten at least temporarily settled into our new home when the news of Aulbert winning the war reached us. So we had to pack everything up again and come back. It was dreadful,” she said. “Though I am glad it ended well for Aulbert.”

“Wow, that sounds like a lot of packing and moving,” Maude said, her eyes opening wide.

“It was,” Cristyne said, grabbing a couple of glasses of wine from a platter waiter walking by. She handed one of them to Maude. “Cheers,” she said, clinking her glass against Maude’s.

“Cheers,” Maude replied back with a smile. They both took a gulp of the wine.

“How’s Helena and Jakob?” Cristyne asked.

Maude felt a stab to her heart. Since she had been back at the Rosenberg manor, she still had yet to see Helena. She was someone else that Maude needed to make up with.

“I’m not sure about Helena,” Maude replied with a frown. “I haven’t seen her since I got back. Jakob, unfortunately, passed away in the line of duty.”

Cristyne’s mouth opened in horror. “Oh no, that’s terrible!” she exclaimed. “Poor Helena.”

Maude nodded, her own lips pursed. “About that, too…” she paused, glancing up at her friend’s face. “I’m sorry for how I acted that day. I was way too harsh to you.”

Maude met Cristyne’s eyes, and she was smiling a little. “Thank you for that, Maude,” she said. “I appreciate you apologizing. To be fair, I was giving you unsolicited advice. And while I was pretty upset at how you responded, I figured there might be more going on beneath your surface that neither Helena or I knew about. Or I had just hit one of your sensitive spots.”

Maude swallowed hard at the grace that Cristyne offered her. “Thank you,” Maude relied, bowing her head a little.

“Don’t worry about it,” Cristyne replied. “I’m long since over it.”

“I appreciate that,” Maude said. “One thing I’ve realized about myself recently is that I get uncomfortable when other people’s opinions of me feel too high.”

Maude nodded at herself, looking a bit off into the distance, thinking about her family. They had always had such negative opinions of her, and she couldn’t help but wonder if that’s where her own opinions of herself came from.

“I intend to work on it so hopefully it will get better,” Maude added.

Cristyne smiled warmly and said, “I hope it works for you. It would make me happy to see you have a better opinion of yourself.”

“Thank you,” Maude said. “I also wanted to apologize for taking you and your life for granted,” she added. “I didn’t really realize what Aulbert and all of the people I’ve met here meant to me until I almost lost it all. I should have appreciated you and the friendship you offered me more.”

“Oh goodness,” Cristyne replied, putting one of her finely gloved hands on her lips. Maude looked up and saw that Cristyne’s cheeks were flushed. “No wonder Jaspar fell for you,” she said. “You’re a natural flatterer.”

Maude chuckled. “It’s not meant to be flattery,” she said. “I’m genuine.”

“I know you are,” Cristyne said warmly, a smile spreading across her face. “And that’s what makes you more charming.”

It was Maude’s turn to feel her face flush.

“Of course I accept your apology for this as well,” Cristyne said. “It’s been a pleasure to be your friend, and to watch you get to experience the world. I hope that we continued to be friends going forward,” she said.

“I hope so, too,” Maude replied, feeling a wave of relief rush through her.

“Well, if you don’t mind, I am going to socialize,” Cristyne said. “Now that the war is over, I need to start trying to find a partner. I don’t have one already like you do,” she added with a wink.

Maude felt herself blush as Cristyne’s wink. “Good luck,” she told her friend. “I hope you find the one who appreciates you for who you are.”

“Thank you,” Cristyne replied, her voice softening. “It was nice to see you.”

“It was lovely to see you as well,” Maude replied.

Cristyne walked away, and Maude looked over at the meeting point where she and Jaspar had planned to meet. He was already there, looking around for her.

Darn it, she thought. I’ve left him waiting while he’s still injured.

Maude scurried over to the spot, and gently tapped Jaspar on the shoulder. “Ready to go?” she asked him.

He looked down at her and smiled. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. “I’m ready,” he said. He offered her his arm, and escorted her to the carriage that would take them both back to the Rosenberg manor.

~

“My lady,” a maid said stopping Maude as she and Jaspar made their way through the Rosenberg mansion after coming back from the victory banquet ball.

“What is it?” Maude asked, stopping on the way back to her room.

He maid looked like she had swallowed a fish whole. “My lady…Helena is waiting to talk to you in your room.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Maude thought that she had tasted something sour. She wasn’t entirely sure where she and Helena were at, and she had yet to see her dear maid since before the battlefront.

“Did she say what she wanted when she went in there?” Maude asked the maid who had stopped her.

The maid shook her head. “She just said that she wanted to wait for you to talk with you.”

Maude looked at Jaspar, who just smiled at Maude. She looked back at the maid. “Thank you for letting me know,” Maude said.

“You’re most welcome, my lady,” the maid replied with a small bow.

The maid continued on her journey, and Maude and Jaspar continued on theirs.

“Why would she come here to wait to talk to me?” Maude asked Jaspar. She looked over at him as they walked slowly down the hallway towards her room.

“I’m sure she just wants to apologize to you,” Jaspar replied. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”

“She was really upset the last time I saw her,” Maude reminded Jaspar. “And I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to her when I initially left.”

“Still,” Jaspar said, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t worry as much as you already are. On the day you left to evacuate, she came by and was hoping to apologize to us both. She’s also come by since we’ve been back from the battlefront and was hoping to see you.” Maude could see Jaspar’s Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

She swallowed hard. He’s still raw about losing Jakob, she thought. I don’t know how Helena couldn’t be either. And she came here to apologize?

“Why didn’t you tell me that she came by?” Maude asked, softening her voice in hopes of sounding as non-confrontational as possible. The last thing she wanted was to inadvertently upset Jaspar even further.

“Maybe I should have,” Jaspar agreed with Maude. “I just wasn’t sure where the two of you stood, and what you might want to do after that incident. I know you were really hurt by her words.”

He’s got that right, Maude thought. Though I imagine it was hard to not know based on how much I cried that night. I also know that she didn’t mean what she said. She was reacting to her husband’s death.

Maude bit her lower lip. “I would like to reconcile if she is willing to forgive me,” she told Jaspar.

“What are you so worried about that she might not be able to forgive you for?” he asked.

“If I had fought and joined the war sooner, maybe Jakob wouldn’t have had to die,” Maude replied.

Jaspar tapped his pointer finger on his lips. “I guess I could see why you might be worried about that,” he finally said. “Bu the only way you’re going to know how she feels is to talk to her.”

Maude felt her stomach dropping as they got closer to her bedroom door. “That doesn’t really help,” she muttered at Jaspar.

“Sorry,” Jaspar replied with a lopsided smile. “Just go in and talk to her. I’m sure you both can come up with a way to move past this.” He squeezed her hand tightly.

“I hope you’re right,” Maude replied, stopping in front of her bedroom door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jaspar said, leaning down for a kiss.

“See you tomorrow,” she replied back, raising her head to meet his lips.

Ever since I decided to fight, Maude thought, there have been more kisses than I thought there would be with this man.

Her heart skipped a beat at the brief contact of their lips, and he pulled away, smiling at her. She smiled back.

“I wish you didn’t have to go,” Maude said, “and that we could spend a little more time with each other.”

He chuckled softly. “It sounds more like you’re just trying to avoid your conversation with Helena.”

Maude groaned at him. “That too,” she admitted.

“Just go,” he said, gently pushing her towards the door.

“Fine,” she muttered as he left her alone.

Maude put her hand on the doorknob, feeling her insides churn. I’m so not ready to have this conversation, she thought. But I don’t think I ever would be.

She opened the door, and entered the darkened room, closing the door behind her. A fire was roaring in the fireplace, and Maude saw Helena sitting in a chair next to her bed. The woman was completely asleep, leaning in the chair. Maude could barely suppress a giggle, seeing Helena so peaceful and serene after everything that had happened.

Maybe Jaspar is right, she thought, and I’ve been concerned over nothing.

Turning away from the sleeping woman, Maude swallowed hard. Even still, she thought. Helena is the person I owe the most apologies to, she thought. She and Jaspar are the two people I took for granted the most.

Maude sighed, wondering what she was supposed to do now, since Helena was napping. Do I wake her up? She wondered. I suppose she wouldn’t want to sleep in a chair overnight, so I don’t have much choice.

Maude turned back towards the scene, and sat on the bed. She studied Helena’s innocent sleeping face.

What in the world possessed me to take such a kind and loyal person for granted? Maude wondered. Helena has been the one person on my side since the beginning of time in Aulbert. And that whole time she has been taking better care of me than I’ve ever been taken care of before.

Maude chewed on her lips again. I hope we will be able to get back to how we were someday, she thought. I miss how comforting her presence once was.

Maude glanced at Helena’s stomach. She wasn’t showing yet. I suppose it’s only a matter of time before nothing will ever be the same, Maude thought. It’s not like I will ever get that time back with Helena. Her heart sunk in her chest. I need to do better in the future, she scolded herself.

I should also do everything I can for her and her baby, Maude thought. She has no one to lean on besides Jaspar and I again.

Taking a deep breath in hopes of feeling some level of false confidence in her actions, she grabbed a hold of Helena’s hand gently. It’s now or never, she thought. I can’t keep delaying the inevitable unless my goal is to hurt her feelings.

“Helena,” Maude called softly. She gently shook the woman’s arm. “Helena,” she said again.

Helena stirred a little bit. Maude kept up the shaking. “Helena,” she said for a third time.

The woman stirred even more, opening her eyes this time. “My lady?” she asked, her voice groggy sounding. “Is that you?”

“It’s me, Helena,” Maude confirmed.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Helena murmured softly.

“Helena,” Maude said, gripping the woman’s hand tightly. “I’m so sorry.”

Maude was looking at the floor, but she could hear the surprise in Helena’s voice as she said, “Now what do you have to apologize for?”

“I thought that you thought too highly of me,” Maude stated. “And I pushed you away because of it. You already knew what kind of person I was, and I had forgotten that.”

Helena patted Maude’s hand. “So is that what happened in the garden? Earlier this summer?”

Maude nodded, feeling tears swell in her eyes. “It is,” she confirmed. “And I also want to apologize for taking you, your life, and all of the things you have done to help me for granted.”

“What do you mean?” Helena asked, cocking her head to the side.

“I was afraid to fight to defend you,” Maude answered. “Instead, I ran away. And that also led to the death of your loved one.”

Helena shook her head and sighed. “That’s why I came here,” she said. “To apologize for my behavior the last time I saw you,” she stroked Maude’s hand in her lap, looking down at it. “It is not as though you put the sword to Jakob’s neck and killed him. I should have just accepted where you were at in your journey of change. I put so many expectations on you just because you’re a sword saint. Even if you had fought sooner, there was no guarantee that Jakob would have lived after all. You were just an easy target for me to attack because I didn’t have anyone else to blame. Please don’t blame yourself for Jakob’s death anymore. I don’t blame you any longer.”

The tears spilled over Maude’s eyes, and she felt Helena pull her into a hug. Maude felt Helena’s tears soaking into her gown’s sleeve.

“I’m so sorry,” Helena whispered softly.

“So am I,” Maude replied, feeling a sob building up in her throat.

“War is just a difficult time for everyone,” Helena said. “Up until that point, I had been exempt from the pain, but that all changed in an instant.”Maude heard Helena swallow hard. “And I had been afraid of starting a relationship with Jakob in case something like this happened.” Helena released Maude from the hug and looked down at her stomach, gently and tenderly rubbing it. “But I don’t regret a single thing about it.”

“Jaspar and I will take care of you,” Maude promised. “Both of you.”

Helena smiled gently, tears still free flowing down her face. “I know you both will,” she said. “And I appreciate it.” Helena looked up at Maude and smiled. “Viscountess Holloway,” she added. “I am so glad that you ended up finding the courage to fight in the war. Aulbert needs a duchess like you. We will happily have you.”

Maude felt herself blush. “Thank you,” she murmured softly. She felt her heart ache in her chest. Jaspar still hasn’t said anything about marriage to me, she thought. It’s a bit presumptions to assume that I will for sure be the duchess.

“What’s wrong?” Helena asked, her eyes sparkling at Maude.

“Jaspar has yet to purpose,” Maude replied. “And we’ve been back at Rosenberg for nearly two weeks.”

Helena’s smile softened. “I’m sure his grace has something up his sleeve,” she said. “He always has been a bit secretive,” Helena added.

Maude took a deep breath. “I hope you’re right, Helena,” she said.

“I’m certain that I am,” Helena said her smile widening.