A Midwinter Fantasy - Leanna Renee Hieber [26]
She turned to Michael’s shadow and said words she’d never known to utter. “Thank you for being there, Michael Carroll. It’s not the last time you and Frederic would prove my valorous knights, but thank you for being my champion here, when no other living person was.” She faltered as she recollected the grim images presented as an alternate future. “And I don’t want to ever see that heart of yours broken. That was a sight more terrible than the face of Darkness itself.”
Little Mary floated at Michael’s side. He was forced to watch the scene on Westminster Bridge and wondered if Rebecca was watching it, too, from elsewhere. And, what would she see? Were each of them trapped in their own memories, the events once again unfolding? Was this what the ghosts had in mind? If so, to what purpose?
The scene grieved him now like it had then. Worse, even, for his love for Rebecca had only grown. He again wanted to run forward, to take her in his arms and ask her what on earth was she thinking, she the strong and stalwart second in command, she to whom they all looked for strength, guidance and sensibility. He yearned to kiss her madly and wipe all thoughts of Alexi Rychman from her consciousness, just as he’d wanted to do then and hadn’t.
He turned to the ghost and said, “I am a coward.”
“Are you? Or did you surmise that it would have been worse if you shamed her by your appearance? Didn’t you really know that strong silence, your secret guardianship, was a better choice at that moment?”
“I maintain that I am a coward.” Michael set his jaw, unwilling to be praised.
The little girl smirked. “It is true that it is safer to love someone unattainable than to love someone in reality. This moment could have changed everything. You were as scared for yourself as you were for her, weren’t you?”
He stared at the ghost. “You’re wise for a child.”
“Death expands the mind,” she said airily, then grinned. She touched his hand, and suddenly they were at a dance.
Rebecca threw her hands up at the bright light. Everyone was dressed in finery, and there was music.
It was the same autumn as the scene at the bridge, though some weeks afterward. The academy ball. The glorious ballroom of Athens was thrown open for one day, its gilded and glittering interior packed with guests bedecked in jewels and garbed in fine dresses and frock coats, accessorized with buttons, bows, lace, silk and perfume. In addition there were ubiquitous floral bouquets, confections and the finest in modern music played by a string quartet. The students relished this one day of freedom to stand close, to chat, to touch, and even the chaperones were not fully averse to camaraderie and flirtation. Rebecca herself remembered hoping to find an opportunity.
It was her year to chaperone, and she remembered thinking that while she was headmistress it was still a chance to look stunning. She’d put Alexi’s name on the chaperone list as well, praying that perhaps he’d notice her this time. He hated such frivolities, and she knew he’d likely stand in the corner and scowl, looking every bit the brooding, Gothic hero of sensationalist novels, a trait that garnered him endless teasing from The Guard. But if Alexi dreaded the event, all the better if she looked stunning. He might be discomfited in the very best of ways.
She saw herself in a corner sipping the champagne reserved for the faculty, indeed looking lovely in a rich red gown that matched the colour of Alexi’s favourite accessory, his crimson cravats. Complemented by all the staff, she chuckled at the raised eyebrows of every student who had never dreamed to see their headmistress’s uncovered collarbones. Her younger self didn’t yet know that Alexi would never come. That he would claim family business with his sister. That she would soon feel the bitter sting of rejection.
The room brightened just a bit. “Ho-ho, Headmistress!