Although the table was set with an assortment of delectable foods Amelia could stomach nothing else but juice made of blackcurrant berries, buttered bread and coffee. The perfectly cooked cheese omelette that she normally opted for only made her nauseus. Even the bread felt like it stuck to her cardia after she swallowed and she silently vowed to never drink again.
Amelia estimated it to have been around lunchtime when the servant had come to her quarters and offered to serve them their breakfast here. Although Dario had been chipper in the morning he seemed to have been lost in thought the entire time that they ate. He had been quiet and whenever Amelia snuck glances at him his absent expression indicated that his mind was elsewhere.
"You should tell me. About what you did not want to say yesterday" she finally prompted, nonchalantly refilling her cup to not show her anxiety.
This seemed to bring him back to the present. He hesitated, then cleared his throat before he spoke.
"I have to leave for the border."
Amelia paused just as the rim of the coffeecup grazed her lips.
"The situation has become uneasy again. It's quite common and probably nothing to worry about, but we have to reinforce the area to make sure that the northerns are kept in check."
Amelia looked at him and wondered why he seemed so worried if it truly was nothing out of the ordinary.
"When do you have to go" she asked him instead.
"Tomorrow. We are leaving at dawn. We'll return once the situation stableizes. Usually we're not away for more than a fortnight or so" he said, then looked at her and reached over the table to touch her hand.
"You don't need to worry."
Amelia put on a strained smile but was unable to completely mask her apprehension. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat.
"I'm headed into town this afternoon. There's something I've got to do. If you want to come with me you can. I'd also like to take you somewhere. Before I leave."
She nodded without thinking twice about it.
"That sounds nice."
Dario called for a servant right after they'd finished their breakfast, and asked that they bring Amelia pedestrian clothes to wear.
It was Sophia who came to serve her. The maid who didn't look to be in a much better condition than Amelia herself this morning still did her job dutifully, braiding Amelias hair back into a simple, low knot.
To wear she was given a beige plaid gown in a heavy fabric, a quilted bonnet with matching brown gloves as well as a thick wool shawl in a moss green color. The clothes were nice and in good conditions, albeit simpler than what Amelia usually was given to wear. In the mirror she looked similar to the adults that she'd see in the town square when she was little. The one's who she and her friends would try to pickpocket.
When she met Dario by the front entrance he looked different than usual as well. Although he always dressed simple his clothes had a rougher quality today and were plain in palatte. A white cotton shirt, brown striped vest and a heavy black coat.
He smiled happily when he saw her and Amelias chest tickled. He was so very handsome.
When she saw him like that however, appearing like a common man rather than a noble, she couldn't help but notice that same, unpleasant feeling of familiarity. She immeadiatly pushed it aside like she had gotten so good at doing.
She took his arm and a knight who stood by the entrance opened the doors for them.
When they passed him Dario briefly stopped.
"Would you ask Paul to come to my office when I return?"
"Certainly my lord" the knight answered and gave them a small bow.
"Are you not going to bring an escort" Amelia asked when she realised that neither the knight nor anyone else had followed them out.
"Where we are going it is best to be... inconspicuous. Bringing protection would be counterproductive. Besides, I'd rather have as few people as possible knowing my business."
"Then why are you letting me come" Amelia wondered.
"Because I trust you" Dario answered with an amused grin on his lips, as if it was something obvious.
She did not think that it was though. They had certainly grown close but he hadn't known her for long nor had she done anything in particular to prove herself trustworthy.
Rather, she was keeping a secret from him. A big, important secret.
The thought only occurred to her now that it might be best to tell Dario about the marquis. Although it could put him in a difficult spot given his position and the king's apparent faith in Radford, what could she realistically do on her own?
"Is that why we wear these clothes; to look 'inconspicuous'?"
Amelia couldn't get the right words out. At least not until she was sure that her suspicions were correct and not a projection of her own feelings towards the man. Perhaps Radford had truly switched sides when he saw that it would be most beneficial for him. If he had, she was certain that it would be impossible to find any evidence of his past involvement. He would already have disposed of everything.