The Princess's Bride by KT Grant Page A

Daisy's blood.
    "I have marked you," Daisy said in a low voice and held out a hand to touch Chelsey's face again. But at the last moment she backed away and wrapped her arms around her waist.
    Chelsey licked her finger and lips. "Take care, princess. Always remember me."
    "But of course I will remember you! Why would you say such a thing? We will see each other soon."
    Chelsey gave Daisy a playful grin and swung her other leg over the side. She took hold of the wooden trellis and climbed her way down the side of the house.
     
    Tuck let out a low cry. Daisy moved to the side and watched Chelsey’s descent. When she reached the bottom safely, Daisy released a gust of air she had been holding and covered her mouth with a shaking hand as Chelsey glanced around. With one final wave up at Daisy's bedroom window, she sprinted across the field and down the dirt path. She never turned back.
    Daisy kept watch until Chelsey vanished from sight.
    Daisy slid down the wall and pressed her face against her folded knees. Deep sobs overtook her as she wept. When all her tears were spent, she lay on the cool, dusty floor, breathing deeply.
    She eventually wiped her face and stood as the bright sun rose in the sky.
    Daisy looked out over the vast fields and valleys. "I love you so much, Chelsey," she whispered.
    She waited by the window the rest of the morning and late into the evening. When her father finally unlocked her bedroom door, she was still standing vigil.
    Day after day, week after week, Daisy waited for word from Chelsey. It never came.
    A year to the day after Chelsey’s departure, after all four seasons had passed, Daisy still waited.
    When her father passed away from a stroke more than five years later, Daisy still waited.
    And there was never any letter sent. Or any message. And most importantly, no Chelsey.

Chapter Four
    Eight years later…
     
    The cherry blossom tree standing in the middle of the garden was in full bloom. Bees buzzed around the sunflowers, and through the ankle-high grass, cicadas sang to one another in a symphony. Daisy sat on a bench behind the house, reading from one of her gardening books. She glanced up, taking in a deep breath, and lifted her face up to the shining sun on this spring day.
    In a few hours she would have to play hostess, but for now she had a moment to herself, away from all the chores that she was responsible for as the lady of the house.
    Soon enough she would be in charge of another household altogether, and that caused her stomach to tighten. To think at twenty-five she would finally be leaving her childhood home and running her own, one that was much larger and quite daunting.
    "Daisy?" Thomas called out as he walked across the patio and out onto the lawn.
    Daisy closed her book and placed it on her lap as her brother sat down next to her.
    "Taking a break?" she asked, giving him a small smile.
    Thomas pushed back his shaggy blond hair that was in need of a trim. "I finally finished the billing." He stretched his arms and covered a yawn. "Excuse me. I’ve been spending too many late nights in father's office."
    She patted his knee. "It's your office now."
     
    "Funny, it has been almost six years since father has passed, but I still think of that stuffy room as his."
    Daisy smiled fondly. "Papa would be so proud at you. He left the estate in good hands. I don't know of any other man at twenty-eight who could run a property as well as you do."
    Thomas pushed back his gray suit coat and crossed a leg over his knee. "There is only one I can think of who can do a much better job than I can. Your Lord Humphrey has a skill with numbers and supervising his workers."
    Daisy looked down at her lap. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted one squirrel running after another near the far corner of the lawn. "I guess he is mine now, isn't he?"
    Thomas laid a hand on her arm and squeezed. "He will be soon enough. In a week's time everyone in Flaundia will know that you are engaged to a