Camilla stopped reading. She dropped her book onto the mattress. Her eyes went wide with surprise.
She got off the bed. Her bare feet touched the floorboards. She walked over to the edge of the bed and squatted down on her knees to open the chest.
She reached out her small hand. She turned the brass latch and lifted the wooden lid.
Instantly, a brilliant, warm, golden light shone from the inside of the chest.
Dozens of perfectly minted, highly polished gold coins greeted her. They were stacked in neat, beautiful rows. The chest was completely filled to the very top with gold. The bright yellow light reflected from the oil lamp, shimring beautifully in Camilla’s eyes.
Camilla stood frozen on her knees, staring down at the fortune.
She slowly turned her head. She looked across the quiet room toward the chair where Damon was sitting.
"Did he send this?" Camilla thought to herself, her internal voice filled with sudden, deep shock.
She looked at the gold, and then she looked back at him. She rembered her complaints in the camp about him being cheap and stingy. She rembered calling him a terrible, cheap man.
Damon pretended not to see her looking. He did not turn his head. He did not look at her shocked face.
He focused completely on his military ledger again, holding the book in his hands. But he could not hide the truth. A very wide, highly satisfied, proud smile was plastered completely on his lips. His chest puffed out slightly under his white shirt. He looked like a king who had just conquered a massive territory.
Camilla looked at his proud smile. She looked at the beautiful gold coins.
"He’s not bad after all," Camilla thought to herself, her internal voice sounding genuinely impressed and slightly touched by his action. "He actually knows what I like. He actually went to the trouble of ordering a whole chest of gold for . He is a very attentive husband when he wants to be."
Damon heard her thoughts clearly inside his head.
He felt a massive, overwhelming wave of pride completely fill his chest. His heart beat fast with satisfaction. He had done it. He had successfully destroyed her "cheap" complaint. He had proven his wealth and his generosity.
Damon thought to himself, his internal voice filled with happy, eager anticipation.
"She always does the most unusual, unpredictable things," Damon thought, a warm feeling spreading through his chest. "I wonder how she would thank tonight? Will she run over and hug ? Will she say sweet, romantic words? Will she tell I am the best husband in the world? Will she kiss my cheeks again?"
He waited. He held his breath, fully prepared to receive her warm, grateful thanks. He was ready to act cool and tell her it was "nothing."
Camilla turned her head back to the chest. She reached down and picked up one of the gold coins, examining the smooth, cool tal.
Suddenly, her mind began to process the situation differently.
"Wait a minute," Camilla thought to herself. Her internal voice beca suspicious and highly questioning.
She stopped smiling. She looked at the neat rows of gold.
"Why would he suddenly give money?" Camilla asked herself in her mind. "A year ago, he ignored the female lead completely. He didn’t spend any extra coin or go extra mile with money for her. And even yesterday, he was acting so cold and angry. He is a very stubborn, prideful man. He would never just give a chest of gold out of the blue."
She tapped the gold coin against her chin, thinking deeply.
"I think..." Camilla’s thoughts continued, her mind forming a very logical, very wrong assumption. "I think this money is actually from Grandfather again. Yes! It must have been from him."
She nodded her head firmly, completely convinced of her own theory.
"Grandfather Carson was so worried about when he visited," Camilla reasoned internally. "He ordered Murry to take care of . He probably sent a ssage to Damon, ordering him to give more money so I could go shopping for the upcoming ball. Yes! The General only gave this gold because his grandfather forced him to do it. He didn’t do it because he is generous. He did it because he is afraid of his grandfather’s wrath."
Damon’s smile instantly froze on his face.
His eyes went wide with shock.
He blinked.
He blinked again.
He could not believe what he had just heard. His proud, happy chest completely deflated. The warm feeling in his heart turned into a cold, heavy lump of pure frustration.
Damon stared down at his military ledger. His eyes were glued to a single, random line of numbers.
He read that particular line. He read it once. He read it twice. He read it three tis. He read it four tis. He read it five tis.
The numbers had absolutely no aning anymore. His brain was completely glitched by her assumption. He wanted to throw the ledger across the room. He wanted to stand up, shake her by the shoulders, and tell her that the gold ca directly from his own private vault, not his grandfather’s pocket! But he couldn’t say a single word without exposing his mind-reading secret. He had to suffer the terrible misunderstanding in complete, painful silence.
Camilla was completely unaware of the ntal torture she was causing her husband.
She nodded her head happily, examining the chest of gold with complete satisfaction. Five thousand gold coins. It was a wonderful sum of money.
"At the grand ball next week," Camilla thought to herself, a sweet smile returning to her face. "I’ll make sure to thank Grandfather Carson properly. He is such a kind, generous old man."
She reached down and closed the heavy wooden lid of the chest. Clack. The shiny gold light vanished.
Camilla stood up from the floor. She climbed back onto the soft bed. She pulled the thick wool blankets back over her legs. She picked up her book, opened it to her marked page, and went back to her reading and laughing, completely relaxed and happy.
Damon slowly lowered his ledger. He turned his head and looked at her.
She was sitting in the center of the bed, smiling and giggling at her book, completely unbothered by his existence.
Damon stared at her. He felt a deep, sharp sting of deep hurt and imnse frustration in his chest. His perfect surprise was completely ruined. His pride was crushed, and his grandfather was getting all the credit for his hard-earned gold.
Damon leaned his head back against the chair. He let out a very low, very tired sigh.
Damon whispered to himself, his deep voice carrying a hint of pain.
"That thanks," Damon whispered into the quiet, dark room, "should have been completely mine."
He closed his eyes, realizing that trying to get a complint from his clever, unpredictable wife was the most difficult war he would ever have to fight.
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