The Nanny of House Herzen - Chapter 74
But before she could even confirm the maid’s request, Beth appeared at the end of the corridor.
“Madam.”
Evelyn glanced at the head maid without much thought, but Beth’s unusually flustered expression made her tilt her head in curiosity.
“What is it?”
“Well…”
Beth hesitated before continuing.
“The master has been summoned by the King and had to go to the palace. He wanted to apologize for not being able to inform you personally due to the urgency.”
It took Evelyn a moment to process the maid’s words. She repeated her husband’s message to herself as if it were in a foreign language, slowly comprehending it before asking again.
“He was too busy to even stop by my room in the same corridor?”
Beth, though it wasn’t her fault but hastily explained.
“Perhaps because you were in the Young Master’s room nursing at the time…”
Not wanting to show her disappointment over something so trivial, Evelyn turned away.
“Prepare my bath, Ellie.”
She didn’t want to change her previous instruction to the maid, though her early bath now seemed likely to be a much gloomier affair than she had planned.
4. Reconciliation
In the vast mansion, there was nowhere Evelyn felt she could truly settle without him. She ended up spending the next few days almost taking over the nanny’s duties in the nursery.
She waited and waited, and finally, the sound of hoofbeats echoed through the estate three days later. Yet, despite knowing her husband had returned, Evelyn pretended not to notice and continued to focus on Fritz.
If Fritz had been awake and needing to be fed, it would have been a perfect excuse not to go greet him. However, the sleepy little one was in a deep slumber.
Soon, there was a somewhat urgent knock on the door.
“…Evelyn?”
She had pretended only to recognize his presence at her name being called.
“You’re back?”
Seeing his wife on the verge of tears, Carius’s heart sank. He should have sent a messenger. In his haste to return from the palace, he hadn’t thought of it.
His lips moved on their own, spewing unasked-for explanations.
“The Crown Prince fell off his horse. They said his leg might be broken, so I couldn’t delay going. It turned out to be just a sprained ankle, but His Majesty…”
Evelyn barely heard her husband’s detailed excuses.
The truth was, Evelyn had been worried.
She was worried he might be angry at her for ignoring him. That he had left without a word and didn’t send any message because of his anger. She was worried he might deliberately return late because he wanted to be away from her.
Carius misunderstood Evelyn’s tightly pressed lips as a sign of anger, thinking she was holding back her temper.
“Evelyn.”
He approached her urgently and added.
“I shouldn’t have left the room like that. I’m sorry.”
A tear slipped down Evelyn’s cheek at that moment. Carius felt his heart drop as he immediately knelt on one knee.
“I was wrong. Please forgive me, okay?”
Evelyn swallowed her sorrowful sobs.
Seeing her husband kneeling in apology melted away her recent emotional struggles, but the tears that had begun to flow wouldn’t stop easily. She finally managed to speak between sobs.
“I love Fritz because he’s your child. I love him more and cherish him because he resembles you…”
“You’re absolutely right. I was wrong.”
Carius kept apologizing. He was hardly aware of his words.
Evelyn had brought sudden light into his previously desolate and foul-smelling life. He couldn’t forgive himself for having hurt her again, for making her cry. He had resolved long ago not to cause her pain, at least outside the bedroom.
“Don’t cry, Evelyn. Please don’t cry.”
Carius gently reached out and wiped her tears away. She sniffled, speaking with a soft sob.
“I thought you stayed away because you were angry and resentful, and that you came back late on purpose.”
Her candid words made him frown deeply.
“Why would you think such nonsense? You know how much I loathe being at the palace.”
“But His Majesty always manages to cheer you up… He must have shown you plenty of things to make you happy….”
Listening to her, Carius realized Evelyn wasn’t angry. Despite his indifferent departure, his innocent wife had simply waited for him, worrying and not holding any resentment.
Carius was relieved. He stood up and hugged her tightly.
“That’s a ridiculous thing to say. I was longing to come back to you every night. If only the Queen hadn’t fallen ill, I would have returned late last night.”
Evelyn, still sniffling in his arms, asked.
“The Queen? Is she very sick?”
Unlike the King, whose thoughts were often hard to gauge, the Queen was warm and upright. Evelyn liked her a lot, so she often accompanied Carius to the palace whenever he suggested it.
Carius answered gently.
“She’s better now. But it seems she recently had a second miscarriage. The atmosphere was quite grim, and I couldn’t just leave my brother there. I’m sorry.”
Only then did Evelyn nod. She realized she had been standing at the nursery door, crying without properly closing it. She hastily grabbed the doorknob and as soon as she did that, their lips met.
