The General Who Took My Lantern and Broke My Heart Chapter 17

The General Who Took My Lantern and Broke My Heart Chapter 17

His voice was hoarse, as if every word had been forced out of his throat.

“Aveline, I fell for you long before I understood it.”

Aveline did not answer.

“It wasn’t all use. It wasn’t all calculation.”

He lifted his eyes. They were red.

“It was real.”

Then he started talking.

He told her that, yes, he had approached her at first because of Cressida. He told her that somewhere along the way, he had fallen for her without realizing it, and when he did realize it, he had been too much of a coward to admit it.

He told her he had been afraid she still cared for Thorne, so he had let them lock her in the family chapel.

He told her that after she disappeared, Thorne refused to help him find her. So Bram had men keep an eye on Thorne, and that was how he learned she had come to Vesper City. After that, he petitioned for an early return.

By the end, his voice was shaking.

“I know it’s too late for this. But I owed you the truth.”

Aveline listened quietly.

Then she picked up the cup in front of her, took one sip, and set it down.

“I understand.”

Bram looked at her. His lips parted, but no words came.

He had waited so long to stand in front of her again, yet all she had given him were those two words—no anger, no questions, no tears.

Not even forgiveness.

After Bram left, Aveline’s life returned to its usual calm.

But Bram did not disappear.

He began showing up near Rook & Ember often. He did not bother her. He did not come inside. He only stood at a distance.

Sometimes he left a small bag of sweets she used to like on the front step, then turned and walked away. Sometimes he sent someone to ask whether she was feeling well or whether the shop was too busy.

Aveline accepted none of it.

The sweets were given to the staff. The messengers were not allowed through the door.

A few days later, another visitor came to the shop.

Thorne stood at the counter, thinner than before.

He did not make small talk. He only said he wanted to buy one of her fragrance blends.

Aveline said nothing extra. She turned, took a small box from the shelf, and placed it on the counter.

“Thirty dollars.”

Thorne paid and took the box.

He lowered his head, looking at the small wooden case in his palm. His thumb brushed lightly over the crabapple blossom carved into the lid.

He seemed about to speak.

But Aveline had already lowered her head and gone back to the ledger.

News of all this soon reached Rafferty.

For once, the man who usually smiled through everything let his face go cold.

Two days later, he hosted a small winter reception at the Quillan conservatory.

When Rafferty sent someone to invite her, Aveline meant to decline. But the messenger said it was only a casual gathering. Writers, collectors, and local business owners from Vesper City would be there. A brief appearance might help her shop.

Aveline thought it over and went.

The conservatory was warm beneath the glass roof, lined with winter orchids, camellias, and potted citrus trees.

Guests stood in small groups with tea and sherry, talking business, books, and city gossip while servants moved quietly through the room.

Aveline had only just sat down when the mood near the entrance shifted.

Bram walked in.

He was out of uniform, dressed in a dark traveling coat still marked with road dust, as if he had come straight from duty beyond the city.

His gaze moved past everyone and landed directly on Aveline.

It stayed there for a moment before he forced himself to look away.

Before the guests could react, another stir rose at the entrance.

Thorne had arrived too.

His face was cool and distant. He held a dark walking cane in one hand and moved with his usual calm.

Rafferty sat at the head of the gathering. Without a trace of panic, he lifted his glass toward Bram from across the garden.

“Captain Caulfield,” he said lazily. “I didn’t realize you were free to make social calls.”