Chapter 147


    CAMILLA’S PO.V


    The rooms wererger than I expected and I was slowlying to the reality that my father didn’t do


    anything half as sed. This may have been his getaway but he didn’t spare any expense in trying to


    make things asfortable as possible. There were crystal chandeliers and marble tables. It was


    amazing what money could do.


    We all got cleaned and changed into fresh clothes. It felt good to not have the weight of the pce on


    my shoulders and to be able to focus on myself and my family. There was something different about


    the air here. It felt like for the first time in my life, I could finally breathe


    The cook was a beautiful middle aged woman with dark hair and kind eyes. There was something


    about the way she moved that led me to assume that in her prime, she was a force to be reckoned


    with. She said she had been working since my father built the ce and to be honest, I could see why.


    If she was one of his mistresses, I wouldn’t be too surprised.


    After dinner, I saw Ryker and Audrey whispering to each other while I was feeding Aurora. After a


    minute of avid conversation and hand waving, she rushed over to me. She had her puppy dog face


    down to a pat as she gazed up at me with wide eyes. I couldn’t hide my smile as I pretended not to


    realize that she was trying to butter me up for something that she knew I was going to say no to.


    “Mummy, can we go y by theke?” she asked and I raided my brow. I nced over at the window


    wanting to be sure that it was open and she could see how dark it was getting. “I asked daddy but he


    said I should ask you. We don’t even have to go to the water.”


    “It’ste, Audrey, I don’t think we should be around a body of water when neither of us can keep a


    close eye on you,” I exined and she pouted. I sighed knowing she was getting thatke one way or


    the other so I opted for apromise. “Why don’t we go tomorrow? We can sit by the firece tonight


    and daddy can tell stories.”


    She weighed it for a second as if trying to figure out whether or not I was ripping her off. She was so


    dramatic as she put her finger to her temple as if it would help her think harder or better. After a


    long/minute of deliberation, she turned back to me.


    “Can we also put a big nket on the floor and sleep there?” she asked and I thought


    about it.


    We couldn’t let Aurora sleep on the floor, she would need a crib and unless we dragged it out of the


    nursery that Ryker carefully erected, we would have to leave her upstairs. I was about to refuse but


    then I nced over at Audrey again. She was a good older sister


    O


    10:25 Wed, 28 Feb GG.


    and she had never once protested about the amount of time we spent with Aurora. She deserved some


    alone time with us as well so I nodded. That seemed to be more than enough for her because she


    smiled wide.


    “I’ll go grab the book,” she rushed up the stairs and I watched her go.


    I was so busy watching her that I didn’t realize Ryker hade up to me until he ced his hands on


    my shoulder. I leaned back into his hold while he just stood there silently. The maids had returned to


    their quarters and Mr. Biggs who was the only person that actually slept on the property had returned to


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    his room for the night.


    “Do you want me to burp her after?” he asked and I nodded. I wanted nothing more than to just lie


    down and forget about everything. “What do you think of the ce sp far?”


    “Honestly, I think it’s amazing. It belonged to my father so I’m sure there are a lot of secrets to be


    uncovered here and I’m not sure if I want to spend most of my time rxing or trying to figure out what


    he could be hiding here.”


    “We could do both but it might be a bit difficult seeing as we have two kids to watch over but if anyone


    can do it, it’s us,” he joked and I couldn’t stop the smallugh that bubbled out of me. “What is Audrey


    doing, she should be here by now?


    As if on cue, she rushed in with not one but three different books. She ced them all on the table


    looking nothing short of pleased with herself. I nced at Ryker who seemed just as shocked as I was.


    When I asked her to go, I wasn’t expecting this.


    “Why don’t you get ready for bed while I burp the baby,” he took Aurora from my arms. “Good luck.”


    It was more fun than either of us expected it to be. There was a small part of me that felt like a child


    again in front of that firece. By the time Audrey and I returned, Aurora was already asleep and Zade


    changed into his own night set. He offered to read the book despite me telling him how I could do it. I


    sat in between his legs with my back pressed up against him while Audrey sat in between mine.


    She fell asleep first and while she was sleeping, Ryker and I decided to sit up for a little while longer


    and I wasn’t sure when I fell asleep because the next thing I heard was Ryker’s soft voice as he spoke


    to Aurora. He was walking around the living room with her and I realized two things. The first was that it


    was morning and the second was that I was lying under nkets next to Audrey.


    “How long have you been awake?” I asked making Ryker’s steps falter for a second. He turned to me


    as I stood up slowly and made my way over to him. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”


    “I was already asleep when she started crying. Waking you up would have served no


    10:25 Wed, 28 Feb GG


    purpose other than to bother you,” he kissed my temple softly. “The cook is already in preparing


    breakfast. Should we wake her up or should we just let her sleep in?”


    I nced over at Audrey who he was referring to. “Just let her sleep, she deserves it after everything


    that happened. Besides. I need to speak to Mr. Briggs and find out what we need before going to the


    We split up after that leaving Audrey to sleep. I found Mr. Briggs outside by the garden and he was


    more than happy to answer my questions and even offered to get a pic basket filled for our trip to the


    disappointment on hearing that. I knew it was illogical but a part of me was pis sed at the man. He was


    long dead but he had caused so much before he died.


    I tried to push every thought of him away from mind as I focused on getting back to my family. I thanked


    Mr. Biggs for his help and I couldn’t help but notice that he seemed genuinely happy to be working and


    I couldn’t help but wonder if it got lonely out here and if they had family. I filed that into the back of my


    mind and made sure to ask about itter.


    By the time I got back in, Audrey was already awake. We ate breakfast together and she waited until


    she had gotten dressed for the day before she asked about theke again. I shot Ryker a look as if to


    say ‘you see what I mean’ but thankfully, Mr. Briggs was ready with the basket. Audrey practically sk


    ipped the entire way to theke and I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly about theke was so


    appealing to her.


    nkets had been set on the ground along with a pic table by the side. It was a warm day and


    Audrey practically rolled in the grass. It was almost like I was seeing her be a child for the first time. In


    the ce, she was expected to have a certain level ofposure as the princess but here, she could


    just be a child. She could run around and chase butterflies with her father behind her and lie face first


    on the grass.


    I chose to lie down on one of the chairs that was situated under a tree for shade. Aurora was lying


    peacefully on my chest and she was happily gurgling and trying to reach for my hair. I watched


    everything that was happening and couldn’t help but realize just how lucky I was to be able to get this


    time. Audrey squealed loudly as Ryker threw her over his shoulder and my eyes snapped to them but


    something behind them caught iny


    attention.


    I sat up almost immediately unsettling Aurora who made a smail sound of protest in her throat. I picked


    her up and rubbed her back absent mindedly as I made my way over to where Ryker and Audrey were


    ying.


    Audrey saw me first and she smiled. “Are youing to join us?”


    !


    “Not right now, sweetheart,” I told her not taking my eyes off what was in front of me.


    10:25 Wed, 28 Feb U


    I got to the front of the tree and ran my fingers down the bark. The markings were intricate and


    although they were old, the writing on it was clear. Ryker must have noticed that I was staring fixatedly


    at something because I felt his presence behind me.


    “What’s wrong?” he asked and his eyes found the markings because he made a small sound of


    surprise. “It’s just a name, your father’s name. This is his property.”


    “I don’t know about you but thete king doesn’t sound like a juvenile who carves his name into trees


    for nothing. It is so small that anyone could have missed it. It is almost as if he was trying to hide it.”


    “Why would he want to do that? What are you thinking?”


    I sighed as I turned back to him. “I think there is something here.”