Conquering His Cold Heart

240 Inn

While the guard was still standing there at the window, Caspian heard Vincent from outside, “Caspian, is everything alright? What happened? Why have we stopped here?”

Caspian waited until Vincent came into the view and then pointed his brows at Anastasia. “She isn’t feeling well. So, we will be spending a night here.”

Vincent instantly furrowed his brows and wrinkled his nose in disapproval. “Is it right to stay here in Xanmar? They might already be after us. What if they find us and attack us in the middle of the night?”

Caspian took a deep breath and said exasperatedly, “I know. I have also taken that into consideration. That fool might have given orders to his wer- soldiers to follow us and capture us. But...” He turned to look at his shivering wife and said, “Just look at her! Do you think she can travel the whole night?”

Vincent turned to look at the Queen. She did look pale and was shivering badly even when Tilla was tightly hugging her. His eyes met with Tilla’s.

And Tilla said in a pleading tone, “She cannot travel tonight. Please try to understand.”

Vincent gave a nod to Tilla and then looked at Caspian. “We can only spend one night then. No more than that. I will ask all the guards and the soldiers to be vigilant. If a fight ensues then I suggest you take the Queen and leave the enemies for us to handle.”

Caspian nodded in agreement. He was really glad that he brought Vincent along with him.

The guard who had gone to find the place then led the way while everyone else followed him.

.....

It didn’t even take three minutes for them to reach the said place. Caspian was glad that he asked the carriage to stop at the right place. They didn’t have to travel a greater distance to reach their destination for the night.

The inn where they were taken didn’t look like much. It looked like a small countryside farmhouse with a wide space available for all the carriages and horses to rest. There were barely two or three other houses in the surrounding. And the rest was vast fields. It was a perfect place in the sense that there weren’t many places where the enemies could hide if they were to attack.

‘Whoever found this place did a good job,’ Caspian thought to himself while darting his eyes around the surroundings.

He got up on his feet and then said while leaning closer to his wife, “Anna, let me carry you to your room.”

Anastasia opened her eyes and replied in a feeble whisper, “Okay.”

Caspian wrapped Anastasia properly in the blanket and then lifted her along with it. The coachman had already opened the door for them, so Caspian carefully stepped out of the carriage and followed one of the guards.

The guard took the King and the Queen to one of the best rooms that the inn had to offer.

An elderly couple was standing at the door of the room to welcome their rich guests.

“We are happy to have you here,” the old man said with a huge smile on his face, while the old woman simply smiled and then pushed the door open.

“Thank you,” Caspian gave a subtle smile and walked inside the room.

The room was nothing special. In one corner, there was a bed that looked barely wide enough for the two of them. On the other side, there was a small table and a chair. And the floor was covered with what looked like a rug made out of sheep wool. Other than a jar of water on the table, the room had nothing more to offer.

Caspian heaved a deep sigh and then looked at the bed. He wondered if the bed sheet was clean enough to put his wife down.

Seeing the reluctance from Caspian, the old woman smiled and said, “I changed the sheets before you arrived.”

Caspian gave a nod and then finally lay his wife down on the bed. He properly tucked her in and then turned to look at the old woman. “Will you prepare a hot bowl of soup for my wife? I will ask her handmaid to guide you about her taste.”

“Oh, sure,” the old woman happily agreed. And she also asked, “What about you and all the gentlemen outside? Shall I prepare a hot meal for all of you?”

“Er...” Caspian was dumbfounded when the woman suddenly asked that question to him.

Right at that moment, Tilla arrived in the room while huffing and puffing. She had heard the woman’s question. And seeing the dumbfounded look on Caspian’s face, she answered the old woman instead of Caspian, “Our master and the others already had their dinner. We came here after attending a ball. So, we just need the rooms and nothing more.”

“Ah!” The old woman nodded her head. She looked at Tilla from head to toe and then turned to look at Caspian. And she asked, “Is she the one who will guide me to prepare the soup?”

“Yes,” Caspian gave a nod and looked at Tilla to order her, “Tilla, why don’t you go along with her and prepare what Anna likes?”

“I will,” Tilla bowed.

And the two ladies walked out of the room.

The old man also followed after them so that he could prepare rooms for all the other guests.

Caspian then looked at his guard who was still standing at the door and ordered, “Ask everyone to stay alert. Take turns to patrol the area.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the guard said after bowing.

And before the guard left from there, Caspian asked, “Did someone leave to find a doctor?”

“Yes, I have sent Henry,” he replied.

Caspian sighed in relief and said, “Okay. Go and pass the order to everyone else.”

After the guard left, Caspian closed the door and went to sit down beside his wife. He looked at her with a sad look on his face. He couldn’t help but feel guilty because he felt as though he was the reason why she was in this state right now.

‘I should have never allowed that bastard to take her away. I know she didn’t have a fever until she danced with me.’ He gently caressed his wife’s cheek and thought, ‘She must have been shocked when he...’ He suddenly clenched his jaw when he was reminded of that incident.

And cursed Everard, ‘I swear I am going to break that mouth if I ever come face-to-face with him again.’