Guilt

Delaney had her dinner in her room and the next morning had her things ready to go very early. She dressed quietly and had the carriage brought around. She didn't want to say goodbye to Cora. She knew her friend did not approve of her plans and she didn't want to discuss it again.

Walking down the stairs, Delaney had hoped to be able to make it out without being seen. So focused on her stealth, she didn't notice Miles step out of the dining room. When he called her name she jumped and spun around to face him.

"Oh God Miles you startled me," she slapped a hand over her speeding heart.

He gave a small smile, "I apologize. I just wanted to say goodbye. I was surprised to see you were leaving so early."

Delaney swallowed, "I just didn't want to disturb anyone. I didn't know that you would even be at home."

"I got home last night after Duncan got back with my mother."

"Your mother is here?" Delaney's heart jumped to her throat. Violet Adair was the last person she wanted to see. Very serious about everyone behaving properly, she would insist Delaney stay with Vincent, as his future wife.

"Yes," a smile pulled at the side of Miles's mouth. He and Vincent were aware of the dominating figure their mother was. "She'll be disappointed she missed you," he said to tease her.

Delaney blushed and shifted anxiously. Miles cleared his throat and looked out to where the carriage was waiting.

"You know Delaney, I know I'm not a particularly good man... but Vince is."

Delaney swallowed again but didn't meet his eyes.

"I understand it's not easy to see him like that. It wouldn't be easy to see anyone like that. But Vince cares about you. If you come back with me he'll react differently this time."

"Miles please," she whispered, guilt starting to work its way into her heart.

"You don't have to stay long. Just give him another chance to see you and talk to you and..."

"Miles," Delaney pleaded, "I'm not brave like Cora or Olive. I can't... I can't be around him like that... He doesn't need me there to make him feel worse. Let me go alright?"

Miles stared hard at her before nodding and stepping aside.

"Thank you," she said quietly and hurried to escape. Right before she reached the door however, something stopped her and she turned back.

"Miles," she called back, he raised his eyebrows, "You are just as good of a man as Vincent is. You're just...different..."

Miles looked down, reddening at her words. Delany smiled warmly and then she was gone. When Miles looked again it was just in time to see the carriage pull away.

"Well, that was foolish," came a cold voice from the balcony above him. Miles looked up, startled to find his mother watching him. "Why did you let her go?"

"I couldn't force her to stay mother," Miles tried.

"You didn't have to give her use of your brother's carriages to run away from him," Violet Adair looked down on him with her sharp green eyes, her arms crossed, "You could have waited and let me speak to her."

Miles sighed, feeling like the child in trouble again, "I didn't know when you would arrive and I didn't think it was a good idea to force Vince on her. You haven't seen him yet it's not...easy."

"Marriage isn't easy," Violet snapped, "She's going to be married to my son and she needs to learn to behave like a proper wife. She can't run away when things are hard."

"Mother," Miles ran his hands over his face, tired again suddenly, "She isn't his wife yet. Besides Vince might not... he's not doing well."

"My son will be fine," she glared down at Miles as she had all of his life, even somehow after he'd grown taller than her, "she will have to accept him as he is now, no matter his appearance. The contract is in place and she WILL be his wife."

Miles sighed and prayed again for Vincent's speedy recovery to save him from their mother if nothing else. He knew Delaney would also need his protection. The girl may be strong-willed but their mother was unrelenting when she wanted something.

Delaney rode in silence, alone in the fancy Adair carriage. After talking to Miles, guilt had settled into her heart, making a home there.

She knew he was right and Vincent was a good man. He would take care of her for her whole life if she was his wife. She didn't want that anymore though. She didn't want to owe him anything.

She couldn't live her life with someone sick and disfigured. Seeing her parents die had been all the suffering she ever wanted to witness. It had been more than enough.

She couldn't spend the rest of her life looking at him with those marks all over and remembering the pain he had been in. If he lived he may never escape the pain. What if they had to live their lives with him in a mostly bedridden state?

Surely they would never be able to have children now. None of their friends or family would want to be around them if he was so scary and constantly miserable.

Besides, Olive was already pregnant. Soon all of her friends would have children and families to care for. Why would they want to come to visit the childless woman and her beastly husband?

The guilt stabbed at her heart again. It wasn't Vincent's fault this had happened. He had been trying to protect the entire kingdom.

She rode along the rest of the way lost in her thoughts, the guilt continuing to rear it's head just as she would start to feel like she had made the right choice. She knew Cora didn't agree with her plans but she decided she would talk it over with the rest of her friends.

Delaney's Aunt and Uncle had been surprised to see her home so soon and were anxious to hear the details of Vincent's condition. She held nothing back as she told them all that had happened, why she left, and her plans to find some way to break the contract.

"Oh Honey," her Aunt had spoken softly, looking worried, "Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

"Maybe you should wait to see how things go," Uncle Felix suggested.

"There's no reason to wait for anything. I won't marry him willingly. I know now it's not the life for me. You haven't seen him. You didn't see how he acted."

"But Delaney what future will you have?"

"Don't you understand?" Delaney beseeched them, "If I don't marry Vincent I can have any future I want! I can go anywhere and do anything I want!"

"Look at Constance," Felix tried, "Do you think that's really the life she's always dreamed of? Living in the back rooms of a card club? After growing up in a beautiful manor house with a title and wealth?"

Delaney frowned, "I think Constance is a free woman now and she is enjoying living exactly the life she wants to live. I want the same freedom."

"Oh my Dear," her Aunt sighed, "I think you are too young to know what you want. This is exactly why marriage contracts are put in place."

"So you won't help me?"

Felix shifted uncomfortably before sighing, "I won't make you marry any man you're afraid of or live any life you think will make you miserable. I'll call my lawyer to look over the contract."

"Felix," his wife hissed in disapproval but Delaney threw her arms around her uncle in a great hug.

"Thank you," she said with tears in her eyes, "I know this is my right choice."

"You'd better pray it is," her Aunt griped, "Because if you make yourself an enemy of the Adair family you will never be able to take it back and doors everywhere will close to you."

"I will be happy this way."

Delaney crept upstairs and into Constance's room but the woman was asleep. She wrote a quick note to Selina and Olive asking them to come as soon as they could and took it down to one of the servants to see that it got to them as soon as possible.

The next day Delaney slept late but as soon as she was dressed, her friends burst into her room, excited to hear what had happened. Constance had apparently told them all about what had befallen Vincent.

Before they could get into it though they first all gushed over Olive's growing belly and asked her all the questions they could think of about getting ready to have a baby. It seemed the thing she was dealing with most was being exhausted which made them laugh.

Once they had settled down, Delaney told them everything that had happened while she was in The King's City and everything she had seen. She followed it up by immediately telling them of her plans to try to break her contract.

When she finished her friends sat open-mouthed. She held her breath and waited to hear what they had to say.