The carriage smoothly rode away from the Kennedy estate. The two strong brown horses pulled it easily through the busy streets of the city.
Inside the carriage, Camilla leaned her head back against the soft, comfortable velvet cushions. She let out a very long, very deep sigh. The rhythmic clop, clop, clop of the horses’ hooves against the stone pavent was actually quite relaxing.
She looked out the small carriage window, watching the city buildings blur past her. Her sharp mind was working very fast, processing everything that had happened over the last few days.
"Okay," Camilla thought to herself, crossing her arms over her yellow silk dress. "Let us review the current situation."
She began to organize her thoughts. " I cannot run away into the night," she thought. "I do not have any real money of my own yet. The original Camilla’s hidden fortune is tied up in legal docunts. Plus, the General’s guards are everywhere. They would catch before I even reached the city gates. Where do I even know where I am running to?"
She tapped her finger gently against her chin. A new, very clear plan began to form in her head.
"If I cannot break the rules of this stupid novel," Camilla thought, a slow, confident smile spreading across her face. "Then I will just have to play the ga perfectly. I will give this story the exact ending it wants. It seems I will just have to deal with Camilla’s enemies first," she planned internally. Her eyes sparkled with a dangerous light. "I will clean out the trash. I will get rid of anyone who tries to hurt or my brother."
Then, she thought about her grumpy husband. He had his own enemies. He had people who wanted to steal his power and might want to use her as leverage."
"And I will help Damon deal with his enemies too," Camilla decided. "I will be the perfect, helpful wife in the shadows. If I destroy all the villains, there will be no more conflict left in the book. That should bring about a perfect, peaceful ending to this story. And once the story is over and the kingdom is safe... he will gladly give my divorce, my bag of gold coins, and my freedom."
She nodded her head. It was a solid plan. It required no magic, just her brain and her assassin skills.
A short while later, the carriage slowed down. It passed through the tall iron gates of the Benson mansion and rolled to a complete stop in the large, paved courtyard.
The carriage driver jumped down from his high wooden seat. A young footman wearing a neat uniform quickly rushed forward. The footman opened the carriage door and held out his gloved hand.
Camilla took his hand. He helped her step down safely onto the smooth stones of the courtyard.
"Thank you," Camilla said politely.
She walked up the wide stone steps and entered through the massive front doors.
The grand foyer was bright and quiet. The old, grey-haired butler was standing near the entrance, holding a small silver tray.
This ti, Camilla did not make the sa mistake she made at her brother’s house. She rembered her noble manners perfectly.
As soon as she stepped into the foyer, she raised her hands. She untied the yellow ribbons of her bonnet and pulled the beautiful hat off her red curly hair. Then, she gracefully pulled the soft silk gloves off her fingers.
She handed the bonnet and the gloves directly to the old butler.
The butler looked incredibly relieved. He bowed his head respectfully. "Welco back, My Lady," he said, placing her items onto his silver tray.
Before Camilla could even take another step toward the staircase, a very cheerful voice called out to her.
"My Lady, welco!"
Camilla turned her head. Uncle Murry was walking briskly toward her from the dining room hallway.
Murry was wearing his perfectly tailored black uniform. His hands were clasped happily in front of him. He had a massive, incredibly bright smile on his wrinkled face. He looked absolutely thrilled to see her.
"Thank you, Uncle Murry," Camilla spoke warmly. She liked the older man. He was much nicer than the rest of the staff.
She stretched out her hand, giving out the large, round package. It was the ceramic soup bowl wrapped in the thick, insulated cloths. The bowl was completely empty now.
Camilla held the packaged plate out to him.
Murry stepped forward and took the package with both hands. He looked down at the cloths, expecting them to be full. But he could easily feel that the ceramic bowl inside was completely empty. Every single drop of the soup was gone.
Murry’s eyes widened with pure, absolute delight.
"Oh, excellent," Murry thought to himself, his heart dancing with joy. "The General drank the entire pot!"
Camilla let out a very long, very tired sigh. She raised her hand and rubbed her forehead. She was rembering the absolute chaos in Zade’s bedroom. She rembered the massive silk tent on the bed. She rembered Zade screaming in panic. She rembered having to dump a freezing cold bucket of well water directly onto her little brother’s face.
It had been an incredibly exhausting, deeply embarrassing afternoon.
"I don’t want this soup next ti," Camilla spoke out loud. Her voice was full of genuine complaint and deep weariness. She shook her head firmly.
Murry blinked. He looked up from the empty package. He kept his polite smile, but he listened very closely.
"It was too strong on his body," Camilla explained, waving her hand in the air to emphasize her point. She was talking completely about Zade and the terrible feverish reaction he had to the herbs.
Murry completely froze.
His ears rang. His mind completely stopped processing normal thoughts.
"His body?" Murry thought to himself. His eyes went perfectly round.
Murry did not know Camilla had gone to visit her brother. The carriage driver had not returned yet to report the change of destination. Murry fully, one hundred percent believed that Camilla had taken the carriage directly to the dusty military camp to visit her husband, the General.
Camilla let out another heavy sigh, completely unaware of the massive misunderstanding happening right in front of her.
"It stressed a lot trying to calm him down," Camilla continued complaining. She frowned, rembering how wildly Zade had thrashed around on the wet bed before the cold water finally worked. She dropped her hand to her side. "Now I’m completely tired."
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