Chapter 32 – Back in Bridgewater

The following days passed in a steady rhythm of travel and short stays with hospitable country nobles. The carriage followed the River Water southwest, and the landscape became more familiar with each passing hour.

Cosimo’s mood remained high. He chatted about the upcoming business in Dusktown, about the wedding preparations for Lorenzo and Innogen, about his plans for the hospital. The matter with the Earl was settled for him and they didn’t talk much more about that. Instead, he enjoyed his time with Valentina to the fullest.

In quiet moments, when Cosimo was dozing or engrossed in correspondence, Valentina let her thoughts wander.

Innogen, her friend. No, that word had become too small. Her lover. Valentina tested the sound of this new word in her head and found that it felt right.

She couldn’t wait to talk to Innogen about Cosimo’s plan. Marriage for political reasons was certainly not foreign to Innogen, and at least Valentina had had a choice. More than Innogen had ever had.

They reached Bridgewater in the late afternoon of the fifth day, and Valentina felt something lift in her chest. The first thing they saw, of course, was the mighty Burning Tower on the grey horizon ahead of them.

The city seemed so much smaller now that she knew Vandercourt, and much less imposing, less overwhelming. But in comparison, it also now seemed much more comfortable to her.

“Home,” Vyxara murmured in her thoughts, and it sounded almost content.

“Yes,” Valentina thought back. “Home.”

The carriage rolled through the North Gate and across the bridge to the university. When they reached the university gate, the driver stopped the horses.

Cosimo turned to her and took her hand. “We’re here.”

“Yes.” Valentina smiled slightly. “It feels strange to be back here after all the grandeur in Vandercourt.”

“You’ll settle back in quickly.” He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb and sighed. “Until we meet again.”

“We’ll see each other at the wedding next summer, I suppose?”

“Which one?” Cosimo asked, raising an eyebrow.

Valentina had to laugh. “I don’t know.”

“It doesn’t matter.” His grip on her hand tightened. “You understand that nothing will change, don’t you? Even if the Earl makes you his wife, you will remain mine. This marriage is an extension of our agreement, not an end to it.”

“I understand,” Valentina said quietly and kissed him.

Cosimo nodded with satisfaction. “Good. Study hard and achieve your status as Master Weaver, that’s important.” He lowered his voice a little. “And be discreet. What happens at Violet Delights stays at Violet Delights. My reputation is tied to yours.”

“I know,” Valentina replied. “I’ve never disappointed you.”

“No, you haven’t.” A warm smile flitted across his face. “I trust you.”

He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead once more, then helped her out of the carriage and instructed one of the servants to take her luggage to her chamber.

The duchess had already stepped out of the other carriage and was walking toward them, and her farewell was warm as well.

“I look forward to seeing you again at the wedding,” Rosalind said, taking Valentina’s hands in hers. “At both weddings, actually.”

Her eyes met Valentina’s with a meaningful look. So she knew about the agreement with the Earl. Of course. She had probably even helped arrange the deal.

“You have proven yourself well in Vandercourt,” the duchess continued. “Preserve what you have achieved and build on it carefully.”

“I will, Your Grace. Thank you for everything.”

Rosalind squeezed her hands one last time, then stepped back.

Lady Beatrice was next. Her knowing smile was as warm as ever as she drew Valentina into a brief embrace.

“Take care of yourself,” she said softly. “And enjoy your time here, you and Innogen.”

“We will.” Valentina returned the hug. “See you at the wedding?”

“You can count on it.”

They had become allies during their weeks in Vandercourt, perhaps even friends, but in any case, they respected each other. Like two old sailors who had sailed the same dangerous waters, just on different ships.

Then they all got back into their carriages, and Valentina stepped back as the convoy set off. She watched the carriages roll through the gate and disappear down the road. Cosimo was probably already thinking about Dusktown, his business, the thousand things that demanded his attention. She was sorted out. One less item on his endless list of things that needed to be done.

“You’re not just a thing that needs to be done,” Vyxara remarked affectionately. “You know now that he loves you. He let it slip out.”

“I know,” Valentina thought back. “And I already knew it before that, actually.”

She stood there for a moment, until the last carriage had disappeared around a bend. Then she turned and looked at the familiar buildings of the university.

Her little attic room awaited her, with its narrow bed and rickety desk and the small window through which the wind whistled in winter. So different from the splendor of Vandercourt, so modest compared to everything she had experienced in recent weeks.

But it was her little realm, and it belonged to her. In a way that nothing else in her life had ever belonged to her before.

“Honestly,” Vyxara said again as Valentina made her way to her quarters, “we urgently need to do something about this attic room. The semester doesn’t start until next week, so we have time. I refuse to spend another year in this drafty hole.”

“YOU refuse?” Valentina had to smile. “What do you have in mind?”

“Oh, I have a few ideas. You could move into one of the more upscale accommodations on the university grounds, on the ground floor, where Innogen lives. But there are also some other good accommodations for rent in the city near the university that would be in your price range. You don’t have to save or give your parents everything you earn at Violet Delights. And you’ll be a countess soon, little Weaver. You can afford a little comfort.”

“Countess,” Valentina repeated quietly as she climbed the familiar stairs. The word still felt strange on her tongue.

But she had a year to get used to it.

~

After having her chests brought to her small attic room and freshening up a bit, Valentina ventured to Innogen’s quarters on the ground floor of the main building, and sure enough, Essence lamps glowed behind the windows.

Valentina’s heart leapt a little. The Ashbournes must have traveled faster than the ducal convoy.

She knocked on the door, and Innogen’s maid opened it with a polite curtsy.

“Lady Innogen went for a walk in the university garden,” the girl explained. “About half an hour ago.”

“Thank you.”

Valentina set off across the university grounds, past the lecture halls and laboratories, which lay silent and dark at this hour.

When she reached the hedges surrounding the garden, the memories came flooding back. This was where Illumination had confronted Gladder and fought the old gardener, the terror cat, and his demonic powers on that terrible night a few months ago. This was where Emberwardens had died gruesomely. One of them-

“Dark thoughts,” Vyxara remarked.

“I know. It’s just-” Valentina shook her head. “Nothing.”

“I know. Don’t worry about it.”

She turned the corner of the last hedge, heading for the bench where she and Innogen had sat together so often, and-

Innogen was already coming toward her.

For a heartbeat, they both stood still. Then, without a word, they ran toward each other.

Valentina caught Innogen in her arms and held her as tightly as she could, while Innogen’s arms wrapped around her.

“You’re here,” Innogen whispered against her neck.

“I’m here.”

No one was watching them here. No fathers, no dukes, no servants. They were just two students greeting each other after a long journey. What was so remarkable about that?

They held each other a moment longer, then broke apart, but only far enough to look at each other. Innogen’s blue eyes glistened moistly in the evening light, but she looked happy.

“Come,” said Valentina, taking her hand. “Our bench is waiting.”

They sat close together, shoulder to shoulder, their hands intertwined, and Valentina told her about the journey and the hospitable country gentry, and Innogen laughed about the fat baron who just couldn’t stop talking about his sheep.

Then Valentina took a deep breath.

“There’s something else you should know,” she said. “The duke has proposed to me. Or rather, he has arranged a marriage for me.”

Innogen’s eyes widened. “What?”

“With the Earl of Palewood. Bertrand Mauvaix.” Valentina couldn’t suppress a wry smile. “He’s seventy-eight years old, widowed, and in poor health. But he has a title and lands.”

Innogen stared at her as she processed the information. She was pondering it, just as Valentina herself had done.

“After you graduate?” Innogen finally asked.

“Yes. Next summer.”

“And after that-“

“A few years of marriage and then widowhood.” Valentina shrugged. “And a small estate that belongs to me. As a Dowager Countess.”

Innogen was silent for a moment. Then a smile slowly spread across her face.

“Countess Valentina,” she said, and it sounded almost reverent. “You, a countess.”

“Strange, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s wonderful!” Innogen squeezed her hand tighter. “He’s really providing for you and securing your future, as if you were-” She broke off and blushed slightly. “Forgive me, I wasn’t thinking. That would sound strange.”

“What do you mean? Go ahead and say it.”

“As if you were his child,” Innogen finished the sentence. “He cares for you as if you were his daughter, I wanted to say.”

Valentina grimaced. “Yes, please don’t put it that way.”

Innogen laughed softly. “You’re right, that was thoughtless. I just mean…” She searched for the right words. “He values you. He protects you. To be honest, I had…” She blushed again. “I had actually expected him to lose interest at some point. That he would push you aside at some point.”

“A lot of people expected that.”

“But this is so much better.” Innogen looked at her searchingly. “Does he love you?”

Valentina nodded slowly. “I think so. He said it for the first time during the trip.”

“And you?” Innogen asked gently.

A small smile stole across Valentina’s lips. “I said that I loved hearing him say it.”

Innogen had to laugh. “That sentence is so you.”

“I guess.”

“But it explains a lot.” Innogen leaned back and gazed at the evening sky. “I understand better now why the duchess constructed our arrangement with Lorenzo so carefully around the duke. She knows him and obviously knows how possessive he is.”

“And how jealous.”

“But also how much he loves you.” Innogen turned back to her. “Enough to secure your future, even if that means marrying you to another man. He is strange.”

They sat in silence for a while as dusk deepened and the first stars appeared in the sky.

“Our last year here,” Innogen said finally. “The master’s exams. Everything will change next summer.”

“You’ll marry Lorenzo.”

“And you’ll marry the Earl.”

“And then-” Valentina turned to her and took both her hands in hers. “Then we’ll be together. One way or another. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“And scary,” Innogen added.

“That too.”

“But mostly wonderful,” Vyxara interjected, and Valentina could only agree with the demon.

“But this year belongs to us,” Valentina said.

Innogen nodded and squeezed her hands. “Oh, before I forget, I started writing a letter to Lorenzo. To tell him I arrived safely.” She hesitated. “Would you like to add a few lines?”

Valentina’s heart warmed. “I’d love to.”

“Good.” Innogen smiled.

They rose from the bench as the last remnants of daylight faded and it slowly grew cool. The garden lay still around them, filled with the scent of blooming roses and the soft rustling of leaves in the evening breeze.

On the way back to the living quarters, their hands found each other in the darkness.