Chapter 35
After that disastrous dressing room incident, my hopelessly naïve self somehow found herself agreeing to ride back in Millicent's carriage. To be fair, what choice did I have? At the time, I had never so much as held a single coin in my own hand, let alone seen one up close with any real awareness of its value. Currency? That was a matter for the maids. And thus, I had no means to pay for transport.
So, there we were, the carriage swaying gently as it carried us back to the Vaneeri estate. I sat stiffly on one side while Millicent lounged with the effortless grace of someone utterly unbothered. A document rested in her hands, her crimson eyes leisurely scanning the words as though she were not sitting across from a woman battling a crisis of both mind and dignity.
Beside her lay a long, white thin package.
My traitorous eyes, however, had no interest in the package. No, they kept betraying me, flickering downward to her lap, where all had miraculously returned to stillness. Gone. Vanished. As though the monstrous thing I had beheld earlier had been nothing more than a fevered hallucination brought on by the heat of the day. No swell beneath the fabric, no telltale presence. Absolutely nothing.
Was this sorcery? An enchantment? How? How could something so... substantial shrink into utter oblivion? Limp and unassuming, yes, but to such a degree? It defied all reason! Had I imagined it?
Millicent's sigh shattered the silence.
"Go on, Lady Florence. I can feel your questions brimming from here. Ask what you wish." She said, setting her document aside with ease.
I was momentarily caught off guard by her audacity, but quickly composed myself. I was never one to squander an opportunity, particularly when my curiosity had been so thoroughly provoked.
"Very well," I said, summoning my most indifferent tone. "Can you... impregnate women?"
A slow smirk tugged at her lips. "I highly doubt it."
I narrowed my eyes, unwilling to accept such a flimsy answer. "And how can you be so certain?"
"Because, Lady Florence, I do not possess testicles."
There was a beat of silence in which I simply stared at her, utterly at a loss. Before I could think better of it, the words tumbled from my lips in a mutter, unfiltered. "So not only is it on a woman, it is also defective. A defect within a defect."
She chuckled.
Clearing my throat, I steeled myself. "Your Grace, who, then, is to inherit the governorship of Ivoryspire when your time comes to relinquish it?"
"An important question. I have long considered adopting a boy from the orphanage when I reach the age of twenty-five. A bright child, one who can be groomed to govern with wisdom and grace."
She leaned in ever so slightly, her lips curling into that infuriatingly smile. "Unless, of course, you are volunteering yourself for a different arrangement. Shall we test the limits of my capabilities? Perhaps you would care to see if I can fulfill your expectations as a prospective heir-bearer."
I stared, aghast, as the full implication of her words crashed down upon me like a tidal wave. A shiver ran down my spine.
"I beg your pardon!" I exclaimed, my voice reaching a pitch I had not intended. Instinctively, I pressed myself against the carriage wall.
Her laughter rang out. "Come now, Lady Florence, you must learn to recognize a jest when you hear one. You are far too easy to fluster."
My mortification deepened, my cheeks ablaze with indignation. "You have a rather perverse sense of humor, Your Grace," I bit out, crossing my arms as though that might shield me from further torment.
"And you, Lady Florence, are an absolute delight to tease. Your reactions are nothing short of priceless."
I huffed, resolutely deciding that silence would be my greatest weapon for the remainder of the journey. But despite my determination, my thoughts betrayed me, circling back to her words, her tone, and the unbearable charm she wielded like a blade.
And so, defying all reason, all natural order, and all sense of biological convention, a Vincent was miraculously conjured into existence later.