Chapter 177
Hydrangea followed a step behind Bastian and his… friend.
He still could not see. He still did not understand. Did he not care? She blinked away what felt like tears. It still hurt, as though his actions had left a scar.
The sun was very bright and illuminated the entirety of the gardens. She tried to keep her face from lighting up—she wanted Bastian to know how upset she was—but light slipped into her expression regardless.
It was beautiful.
The shrubs were all budding, some had already bloomed. She could smell hyacinth and see daffodils and crocuses and snowdrops. She loved spring. Her eyes landed on a climbing rose that had wrapped itself along the ridges of a fountain, its leaves were still bright green, signalling that they were quite young.
A small smile unconsciously found its way to her lips as the passed through a stone arch covered in ivy and a clematis that was budding.
They came to an area bordered off by high stone walls covered with pink and green moss. Before them was a section of the palace, stairs led up to a door made entirely of glass, surrounded by window panes that stretched around the walls of the palace.
Hugh suggested he take Gravel to the stables. Bastian said that that was a good plan and handed the reins to him. They would wait for Hugh's return so he could show them into the palace. To meet Bastian's mother. She wasn't sure how she felt about meeting his mother. Bastian had spoken of her often which signalled she was kind and had had an influence on his life. But meeting the woman who'd raised him? Would be interesting, to say the least. Especially when she's never had a decent mother.
Around them rhododendron and hibiscus shrubs lined the paths at the base of the walls. Two fountains sat in the middle of the yard, their basins filled with lilies and green foliage floating on the surface.
"Hugh was my person back at the palace." Bastian said and she looked up at him. He was forcing a smile and staring at the cool water in the fountain at their feet.
She hummed a short sound of understanding and continued exploring the small garden around them.
She heard him sigh, "Was me kissing that woman really so awful?"
Blood rushed to her head as anger burned anew in her. She snapped her face to look at him. "How would you like it if I kissed Hugh? Or Clive? Or Ian? Or Dimitri? How would you feel if I touched or slept with another man?!"
His brows rose, "I did not touch Suzanne, nor did I sleep with her."
"But you have done so with other women."
He went silent. The only sound was that of the trickling fountains and of waking bees.
The nauseated feeling returned and she wrapped her arms around her chest. Why did it have to feel so wretched? Her head began to hurt from the crease in her brows as the images of other women naked in his arms flashed through her mind.
She heard the crunch of boots on the gravel and heard him breathing close to her. She wished she could turn to him and fall into him. But she couldn't, not while her mind was still reeling.
"Hydrangea… I-" He put his hand on her shoulder and she swatted it away. She didn't want his touch at that moment. She wanted his words. "Oh, come on, Hydrangea. I'm not going to hurt you." He grabbed her by the waist and she turned around in an attempt to squirm from his hold, but found her feet tipping.
A shriek escaped her lips as gravity pulled them into the water with a loud splash.
She sat up, dripping, and wiped her hair from her face. Her scarf was floating in the water next to her. She tried to stand but only tripped on her own feet and fell back into the water and splashed Bastian who was sitting next to her, a brooding expression on his dripping face.
"Really? You won't even let me touch you?"
"I don't.. want.. your touch." She replied as she attempted to crawl to the edge of the fountain and climb out. The water had drenched through her dress and weighed it down almost painfully.
"And why the hell not?" He asked as he stood up behind her.
"Be.. cause." She answered simply as she pulled herself up with the help of the fountain's basin.
"That's not a reason."
"Well…" She said panting, "I don't have another one." She finally gained her feet and stepped from the water and onto the gravel. The dress now felt like lead and her shoulders ached from the burden.
Bastian sloshed through the fountain, disrupting the peaceful floating flowers and algae. "I know you do. You have a reason for everything."
"I do not." She retorted, crossing her arms. A soaked strip of hair fell into her eyes and she tossed it over her shoulder.
"Yes. You do." He said, stepping out of the pool. "You have a reason for everything, weather you accept it or not. All this time you've been studying me, I've been studying you." He leaned closer and she craned her neck to look up at him.
"All right. I have a reason." She admitted. "But I'm not going to tell you." She began walking towards the front steps of the building. Maybe his mother knew how to deal with him better, and maybe she had a spare dress.
He followed after her, "And why not? Am I supposed to figure it out for myself?"
'I wish you would. It's common sense; you apologize when you do something like that.' She thought as her waterlogged boots stepped up the stone stairs.
"My Sovereign! Your majesty!" Hugh's shocked voice sounded from the arch he'd left through. He examined both of them for a few moments as though seeing if he could piece together the puzzle of why the two monarchs were both drenched. Clearing his throat he gathered himself, and said, "If it please you both, I have a room prepared, I can draw a bath if needed."
Both had a reply on their tongues when a kind but rich voice spoke, "That would be best, Hugh. My son is here for two minutes and he's already fallen into a fountain."