Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Two-faced
"What? Is that really true? I didn't know that Lady Veraya was such a two-faced person."
This was one of the many comments that the ladies had been murmuring around Veraya to hear. The news regarding Veraya acting as a savior to Lady Rose who she had hated so much had caused a ripple of a shock to pass through the whole of high society in such a manner that people had started spreading rumors about her.
The thought of their entertainment vanishing because of Lady Veraya turning 'good' had caused many ladies to turn against her as they tried every way to test her new change.
The lady who had just given this statement had been seated close to Veraya on a nearby table with many others who had been continuously passing their comments to hopefully crack the shell that Veraya had been wearing.
'You can do this; just don't listen to their petty words.'
Veraya mentally reminded her as she took a deep breath in and letting it out she sipped on her tea again. The hostess of today's party was Lady Nora Ros the sister of one of the six dukes of Aethel and a popular lady. It was therefore important for Veraya to attend this tea party that she had been invited, to maintain the peace between the two Dukedoms. She had wished to leave the party or even to give the ladies a piece of her mind but she couldn't afford to create a scene like she had done the previous time as the hostess of this party had been equal in position to her.
"I know, I heard it from Lady Sena myself that apparently, the poisoning had caused Lady Veraya to lose her mind, and therefore she isn't acting like herself anymore," Another of the ladies said a little bit loudly as if she had been hoping to get Veraya to clarify that rumor for her.
"Maybe she had been deliberately poisoned by her brother to finally put a stop to the cruelty that she showed to Lady Rose and therefore Lady Veraya has changed her behavior towards her."
This statement had been the most prevalent rumor and was the one that hurt Veraya the most. It was nowhere mentioned in the book that a maid had ever poisoned Veraya and that she had fallen sick, so she didn't know whether it was true or not but the more she thought about the actual ending of Veraya in the book, the more it seemed true to her that her brother might have tried to kill her in reality.
"Yes, you are right, I heard that there wasn't even a formal investigation regarding the case and except for a minor punishment the maid received nothing else for her negligence of harming a noble," A lady snickered casting her gaze towards Veraya who could no longer keep her back straight and head high as she had before.
If Camden had killed the original Veraya in the novel then it might have been true that he had tried to kill her that day as well.
This thought hadn't come to her mind before the rumor had reached her ears and it started making her feelings and love that she had for the main characters shake a little. She felt like she had been cheated but even if Camden had tried to poison and kill Veraya then it was the villainous one and not her, she tried to remind this fact to her but the lines between the memories and feelings of Veraya and Sophie were slowly blurring and she had started accepting Camden as her true brother with each passing day.
"Does she even have anyone to back her anymore if her only family also hates her?" one of the ladies asked making Veraya understand the risk of the rumors that had been surfacing. If they started believing that Veraya had no favor from her brother then all the power and respect that she had would soon be lost.
That would be a real disadvantage to her then as surviving in this world would become difficult for her.
Realizing that the longer she stayed silent the more she risked her position and rank she was brainstorming on how to finally get her power back without causing a big scene when she heard someone say, "I didn't know that malice is the new fashion this season."
"P-Pardon me but what did you mean by that Duke Ros," one of the women stuttered as the party suddenly became silent.
Turning her head Veraya met eyes with the man who had interrupted the hub of rumors. His eyes contained a sharp glint of humor in his grey orbs that intrigued Veraya.
"I am talking about the defamation that you all had been gracefully bestowing on Lady Veraya who had been kind and tolerable enough to remain levelheaded even after your impudence," he said calmly as if he hadn't just called them out on their wickedness and at the same time praised Veraya as a greater noble all in one instance.
"You must have misunderstood us, Duke Ros, we weren't trying to hurt Lady Veraya instead we had been concerned about her," one of the evil ladies defended herself as she spoke up. They had only dared to say those words about Veraya because they had truly believed that she had remained with no power but to see a duke defending her had put them back in their places and Veraya felt grateful to her hero.
"If that is so then let me ask Lady Veraya herself about how she would judge your words," he said as he turned his gaze to Veraya, and with the humor still intact in his gaze he asked, "Do you think I had misunderstood as well my lady?"
Veraya cast her blue eyes on the shriveling group of ladies that were now being targeted by all the gazes present there and taking the golden opportunity that the Duke had provided her with she said, "Absolutely not, Duke Ros, they have been spreading rumors about me for quite a while now."
They hadn't expected the quiet sitting Veraya to oust them like this and before Duke Ros could say anything further Lady Nora Ros stepped in as she said, "Dear brother let me talk to these ladies, why don't you escort Lady Veraya to the parlor where I have prepared some gifts for her in apology to the discomfort that she had suffered in my gathering today."
Lady Nora had been wise enough to stop the matter from getting further out of hand than it already had been she knew her brother well enough to know that he would eventually make one of the ladies cry with the way he had been handling the matter.
"I am really sorry for my negligence of letting this situation arise at my estate, lady Veraya, I hope you would forgive me. I should have been aware of the wellbeing of my guest and to have failed to cater to you well I am very ashamed of myself," she said this facing Veraya as she bowed her head slightly and then rising it with earnest eyes she assured her, "Please do not worry I will talk to these ladies and put an end to these rumors that have been spreading about you. Also, since they belong to my dukedom I will alot them with rightful punishments for their behavior."
The humiliation those ladies had suffered and the backup she had received from a duke would be enough to stop all rumors but nevertheless, thanking her she left the grounds with Duke Ros who escorted her to the parlor.
Duke Ecrin Ros the loyal best friend of the main lead was a friend of Camden since they were kids. He had therefore also known Veraya but not much had been written in the book about their relationship for Sophie to use to understand his behavior towards her. She knew him best as a just man who helped everyone and she considered this the reason for him to help her.
She had been feeling down before but now that she had met another one of the characters of the book she felt her spirits rise and especially so when he had been the one to save her from a horrible situation.
"Thank you Duke Ros for helping me back there," she, therefore, said after a few seconds of walking together in silence.
"That was what I should do as a man who is aware of the truth of the situation but I am worried about one fact," he said stopping in his path as he looked at Veraya's face with an observant eye, "I hope you do not believe those rumors about your brother poisoning you."
The smile on Veraya's face slipped before she could control it and that in itself was all the answer that Ecrin had needed to understand her feelings. He had sensed it the first time when he had seen her sitting alone at the table when the others were talking about her and that had been the main reason why he had stepped into the matter.
Sighing he said, "I find it hard to believe that 'you' do not believe in your brother. You love him the most in this world. He has been everything to you for a long time then what caused this change?" he asked. He hadn't been blind, any person who had known Veraya since birth would know that she hadn't been acting herself.
Even then Ecrin believed that everything about Veraya could change, all her emotions and manners but for one, Veraya Amias would never doubt or distrust her brother. This, therefore, made him worried more for her than for him, for Veraya to lose her trust in the only family left would be a very sad thing.
"I am not sure Duke Ros but I think my brother doesn't like me anymore," she said for some reason feeling the need to explain her emotions to him. She didn't like the worry she saw in his eyes and although it was nice to see someone care about her she didn't want him to get involved.
"Why would you say that Veraya?"
The voice that had spoken those words froze Veraya in her place as she refused to turn around to look at him.
"Camden, please be understanding with her and think back to what you might have done wrong," Ecrin said at once sensing the anger building in his friend.
That made Camden stop as he stared at his sister's back. Her shoulders were sagging and like how before she would perk up at a single word from him she was now hiding her gaze to avoid looking at him. That hurt him and sighing he nodded at Ecrin and said, "Please leave us alone Ecrin, I'll take my sister back home. Let's reschedule the meeting for tomorrow."
Saying this Camden stepped forward and taking hold of Veraya's hand started walking towards the palace gates.
Before Rose had entered their life Veraya and Camden had been the closest of siblings, ever since their parents passed away. For the original Veraya, Camden had been everything and for that brother to divert his attention and give it to someone else had made her possessive and hateful of Rose.
Camden knew that in some cases he was to blame as well for not helping her sort her feelings well and to help her out with her insecurities and therefore he felt the guilt of the situation now weighing on him. He had wanted to make amends more than ever but each time that he would decide to do so Veraya would somehow hurt Rose and that would again make him angry at her.
That cycle was difficult to break but after seeing how much she had changed recently and after the recent help that she had provided Rose with he had already decided to forgive her but now that this happened he wished he had talked to her sooner.
"I am sorry for not being there for you," Camden said as he looked down at the little figure that had been awkwardly walking beside him trying to hide the sadness on her face.
"I love you my little sister but I won't deny that I had been angry with you for your behavior with Rose before," he said making Veraya look up at him and then quickly move her gaze away on meeting his eyes. She felt sad inside to think that the real Veraya could never hear her brother say these words or try to make amends like how she had been doing now.
Sighing at the reality check that he had given her she despondently looked at him and said, "I know that I had made many mistakes before but couldn't you see how hard I had been working to fix them? What must I do to make you trust me, to make you realize that I am a changed person?"
"I agree, I took a longer time than I should have and I am sorry about it," he said apologizing again and that made Veraya feel better. She knew how difficult it would be to put his trust in her but to hear him apologize for it even if it was to only make her feel better she couldn't stop a smile from slipping on her face.
That instinctively made Camden feel better as well and stopping right by the carriage before they could enter he asked, "There is a lot that we need to talk about and settle but do you want to start over again? Let's try and forget everything that happened in between and go back to the way we had always been?"
Veraya couldn't be happier to hear it as she said, "Yes, I would be glad to."
But more than that Sophie knew that no one would be happier than the original Veraya's soul, wherever it was to finally see her brother make amends with her and love her.
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