Chapter Twelve: Shadows and Debts

The morning light spilled gently across the polished wood floors of the manor, creeping into every corner like truth unveiling a hidden wound. Jenny stirred from sleep slowly, her body sore, her thoughts tangled in memories too recent to escape.

Ramon was already gone.

For once, he hadn't lingered. Perhaps he couldn't. Perhaps he was hiding from the wreckage he'd left in her eyes. But Jenny didn't weep. She merely rose, washed herself quietly, and dressed in a soft lilac gown. Her reflection in the mirror didn't flinch. It watched her calmly, as though something fragile inside her had snapped back into place not whole, but determined.

She needed clarity.

She needed to understand him.

Ramon stood by the stables, speaking with the steward in hushed tones. He'd barely slept. The guilt hung heavy in his chest. Last night had been a balm, a chance at redemption but it did little to erase the horror of what he'd done before it.

He leaned against the stable post, eyes shut.

"What are you doing to her?" came a voice behind him.

He turned slowly. It was Evelyne, draped in a flowing black shawl despite the warmth of the sun.

"I'm not in the mood," he muttered.

"You're never in the mood anymore. Except when she's involved." Her lip curled. "What happened to us, Ramon?"

He looked away.

"You said you'd never forget what I did for you. That you'd always protect me."

"I haven't forgotten," he said through clenched teeth. "But I never promised to blind myself."

Her eyes narrowed. "You think she'll love you? After what you've done? You don't deserve her."

He walked away.

And yet her words clung.

Later that day, Jenny wandered the rose gardens. The air was still, the blooms in full flush. The scent reminded her of a time when hope was simpler before marriage, before secrets, before Ramon.

She sat on a marble bench, sketchbook in her lap. But she didn't draw. She just stared.

"Beautiful place, isn't it?"

Jenny turned. Lady Grace stood near a peony bush, her gloved hands clasped nervously.

"I didn't hear you," Jenny said softly.

"I didn't mean to intrude."

Jenny gestured to the seat beside her. "Please."

They sat in silence for a few moments.

"Your husband... Lord Ramon," Grace began, "he was quite taken with you at the ball."

Jenny offered a brittle smile. "He's complicated."

Grace hesitated. "People talk, you know. About his mistress."

Jenny's gaze sharpened. "What do they say?"

Grace lowered her voice. "That she's been with him since before his title. That her family... well, there's gossip. A scandal, years ago, involving forged deeds or bribery. Nothing proven. But her father died suddenly. Her mother vanished abroad. Evelyne surfaced later, charming her way into society."

Jenny said nothing.

"Be careful," Grace whispered. "Some debts don't look like chains until it's too late."

Jenny pressed her sketchbook shut.

That evening, Ramon found her in the music room. She wasn't playing, only tracing the keys with absent fingers.

"Jenny."

She looked up.

He sat beside her, not too close.

"I need to tell you something."

She waited.

"Evelyne and I... when I was younger, before my father passed, I nearly lost everything. I made a mistake. I gambled with family assets. She... her family... intervened. Covered it up. Saved me from ruin. I was supposed to marry her."

Jenny's breath hitched.

"But I didn't. My father refused. Said he had made arrangements with your family. Evelyne never forgave me. But I couldn't forget what she did. I felt... feel... like I owe her my life."

Jenny studied him. "So you keep her here. Let her destroy everything. Because of guilt?"

"She gave me freedom. I thought... I thought I had to repay her with loyalty."

Jenny stood slowly.

"She didn't save your soul, Ramon. She just bought a piece of your shame."

He didn't stop her as she left the room.

In her chamber, Jenny opened the drawer where she'd kept the necklace Evelyne had taunted her with at the ball. Her fingers traced the clasp. The insignia etched on the back wasn't from any house she recognized. But it stirred something.

Later, she slipped out with Grace to visit a jeweler in town. The elderly man took one look and frowned.

"This mark," he said, pointing, "belongs to a craftsman who worked exclusively for the Blaithe estate. That family was disgraced years ago. Their daughter disappeared."

Jenny's pulse quickened.

She thanked him and left.

Grace touched her arm. "Evelyne's maiden name was it Blaithe?"

Jenny nodded slowly.

Everything was beginning to fray.

That night, she didn't wait for Ramon.

She stood by the window, watching the moonlight pour over the cliffs beyond the manor.

"I will not be another debt," she whispered.

But this time, her voice held power