Chapter 116: Price Of Resentment [2]

Chapter 116

The girl’s frightened expression hardened into a glare. "You speak as though a handful of gold can mend every misfortune, Your Grace. You know nothing of what folk such as myself are forced to endure."

Sigrid raised an eyebrow. "Then enlighten me, child. I should be most interested to learn what grievous injustice could compel you to trespass into my bedchamber with such intentions."

The girl’s defiance faltered. Her lips parted, but no answer emerged. Instead, her eyes darkened as though something dreadful had risen from the depths of her memory, dragging her back to a place she desperately wished to forget.

Then Sigrid’s vision seized her.

Her crimson eyes glowed faintly as an unfamiliar scene flashed through her mind. She saw the girl kneeling upon a wooden floor, tears streaming down her cheeks as she pleaded with two adults standing before her. The woman regarded her with undisguised contempt, whilst the man looked upon her as though she were little more than an inconvenience.

"This is cruel beyond measure!" the girl cried in the vision. "Rony must be saved! We possess the means to aid him, so why must I be made to do this?"

"You are a child, Rosie," the woman answered coldly. "There are matters beyond your comprehension, and this is one of them. Do not be a fool. You shall distract that wretched duchess, and if the opportunity presents itself, you shall finish her. Otherwise, Rony’s remaining days shall be few indeed. So be a dutiful daughter for once in your miserable life and do as you are told."

The vision shattered.

A searing pain tore through Sigrid’s head, forcing her to wince as she pressed a hand against her temple. For a moment, the room seemed to tilt around her, the lantern light blurring at the edges of her vision. She drew a slow breath, fighting through the lingering agony until her surroundings steadied once more.

Yet the pain was nothing compared to the sorrow that settled within her chest.

"Rosie," she whispered.

The girl’s eyes widened. Her struggling ceased as she stared at Sigrid with naked disbelief. "How... how came you to know my name?"

Sigrid lowered herself until they stood at nearly the same height. "Rosie, hear me well. If there are those who have wronged you, you need not conceal their deeds out of fear. Better to speak the truth whilst there remains an opportunity to set matters right than suffer in silence until desperation drives you to commit an act you may regret for the remainder of your days."

The girl’s lower lip trembled. Sigrid studied her closely, remembering the vision she had just witnessed. Those adults were almost certainly her parents, and the boy they had called Rony was someone Rosie loved deeply enough to risk her own safety for his sake. Whatever the circumstances, the child before her was not acting out of malice. She was acting out of desperation.

"I give you my word that no harm shall come to you at my hands," Sigrid assured her. "But if I am to aid you, you must first tell me what has brought you to this desperate pass."

Rosie’s eyes glistened with tears. "My parents..." Her voice broke, and she swallowed painfully before continuing. "They compelled me to do it, Your Grace. I swear upon my life, I never wished to bring you harm."

"Then tell me what dreadful circumstance led them to demand such a thing of you."

"My little brother, Rony, is gravely ill." The words came tumbling out as though she could no longer bear the burden of keeping them inside. "They said he would perish if they could not obtain more money, and they made me do whatever was necessary to secure it. I believed... I believed that if I obeyed them, they would at last seek a physician for him."

Sigrid’s expression tightened. "Yet the gold they received this morning ought to have afforded them ample means to secure medical assistance. What, then, became of that payment?"

Rosie let out a strangled sob. "They seized it all! They declared it insufficient and claimed Your Grace owed them a far greater sum for their years of service to the Duke. They have not even sought a physician for Rony. They care for nothing save the prospect of acquiring more gold."

"And by what means did they intend to acquire it?"

"They meant to plunder the treasury." Rosie lowered her head, her shoulders shaking. "They stole a spare key from one of the maids. They said they would leave me behind to delay suspicion whilst they made their... escape." Her face now a stream of sobbing tears.

For several moments, Sigrid said nothing. The audacity of the pair was almost astonishing. Not content with stealing from their employer, they had manipulated their own daughter into risking her life and intended to abandon her once she had served their purpose.

"Please," Rosie whispered, her voice scarcely audible. "I beg you, do not tell them I betrayed their confidence. They shall punish me for it, and Rony will suffer for my disobedience."

Something painful stirred within Sigrid. She knew too well what it meant to be betrayed by those who ought to have protected you. Rosie was only a child, yet she had been made to carry the burden of her parents’ cruelty as though their failures were hers to remedy.

Sigrid turned towards Chester. "Find those two and bring them before me. I suspect they have some rather unfortunate business to attend to before the night is through."

"By your command, Your Grace." Chester released Rosie only after Sigrid gave a small nod, then departed through the chamber door with his hand resting upon his sword.

Sigrid crouched before the girl and gently took her trembling hands. "Look upon me, Rosie. Whatever falsehoods your parents have impressed upon you, neither your brother’s illness nor their cruelty is yours to answer for. You have committed no wrong by wishing to save someone you love."

Rosie stared at her, seemingly unable to comprehend that someone had finally said the words she had needed to hear. Sigrid squeezed her hands reassuringly. "You have my word that I shall see this matter through. You need not face it alone any longer."