A True Lord
The final tale in the kingdom of Tyndall
Lord Wedgwood stood in his parlor, looking out his window. He was waiting for Lord Swift. Somehow they needed to rectify the situation. He had told the King he would weed out the bad apples. There were three people that he had pinpointed as such. Nostrum, who had been taken care of, and Remington and Lady Ambear. Lord Wedgewood thought back to the events of the Welcoming Ball. It had started out so well. He had so masterfully embarrassed Lord Remington to a point from which he would not recover. And Lord Swift was dancing with Lady Ambear. Both Remington and Ambear would be taken care of.
But then, disaster struck. When a man named Wesley Aaren had tried to do away with the Lady Josephine. Lord Swift had caught Aaren that same night.
Apparently, Mr. Aaren had had a run-in with Josephine a short time ago, when Pride Island had begun its colonization. One morning he had come across Josephine near the docks in Berten. He had made advances at her, which she had rebuffed. According to Lord Swift, Aaren had not liked that answer and tried to grab her horse’s reins. The horse bucked and sent the unprepared Josephine to the ground where she was knocked unconscious. Fearing that he had inadvertently killed her, Aaren carried her to his small boat. Once out at sea, he dumped her overboard. Then she had washed ashore on Pride Island, alive, lost, and with no memory of any of these events. Mr. Aaren saw her introduced at the ball and, not knowing she had no memory of him, tried to kill her once and for all.
What luck, Lord Wedgwood thought to himself. All of his work and planning were rendered useless by an act of random stupidity by someone he barely knew. “Well,” he said out loud, “the King of Tyndall is coming, but there is still time.”
A carriage pulled up to the manor and Lord Swift hopped down. “Finally,” said Lord Wedgewood.
Lord Swift was shown to the parlor and Lord Wedgewood started right in. “Lord Swift, there is still time. We must act quickly. But there is still time.” His next words were cut off by Lord Swift, who raised one hand and removed his top hat as he spoke.
“Oh, has no one told you?”
“No one told me what?” replied Lord Wedgewood.
“You are no longer calling the shots,” replied Lord Swift in a smug voice. Before Lord Wedgewood could think to respond, Lord Swift continued. “Lord Remington is the talk of the town. Lord Remington and Lady Josephine have stolen the hearts of the island. In fact, I am inviting them over for tea tomorrow. They are a love story for the ages.”
“But Lord Swift…” started Lord Wedgewood.
“I wasn’t done,” replied Lord Swift. “And Lady Ambear and I, well we are getting along swimmingly. In fact, the other lords and ladies seem to see it as quite a fine match, as well. And I am as popular as ever, after catching that fleabag Wesley Aaren.”
“The King is….” tried Lord Wedgewood.
“Oh, yes the King. How could I forget? I have sent him a letter already and I do believe he will be quite happy with my report on the happenings of the island. I am quite sure he will seek me out as soon as he lands at the docks. And I am sure he will want to meet Lord Remington.” Lord Swift returned his hat to the top of his head. “Oh, I was sorry to hear that your purchase of Lord Nostrum’s land didn’t go through.”
“What are you talking about?” scoffed Lord Wedgewood.
“Don’t worry, it belongs to me now. Good day, Wedgewood,” said Lord Swift as he left the room, leaving Lord Wedgewood at a complete loss for words.
I stood on my favorite spot. Overlooking the water and feeling the morning breeze against my face. A man on horseback had just arrived and Josephine had gone out to meet him. A few minutes later Josephine was by my side again.
“Look, Remy, a letter from my parents!” she exclaimed. “And here is one from Lord Swift.” She offered me the letter.
I accepted the letter, broke the wax seal and unfolded it to reveal an invitation from Lord Swift and Lady Ambear. It was an invite for Josephine and me to join them for tea tomorrow at Lord Swift’s estate. A smile stood proud on my face. I had done it! Lord Remington. Not just a name now, but a true lord. Although it did not go as planned, and it involved Josephine almost dying, I had done it just the same. Lord Remington, invited to tea with the most popular and influential lord on the island.
“Remy, my parents are coming next week! They want to meet you and stay with us for a little while,” said Josephine, barely able to contain her excitement. Any frustrations between her and her parents had been forgotten. Her parents were so overjoyed that she was okay, and that in itself had restored Josephine’s confidence in them and their love for her.
“That’s great,” I replied and then shared with her the invitation.
“So wonderful,” she exclaimed. “Remy, you did it!”
“We did it,” I replied.
At the start of my journey, I had set out with the desire to establish myself as a respected lord. And Josephine needed to learn what happened to her that had left her stranded on an island. And somehow we had achieved both those goals. But throughout the process, we had somehow found something better than that. Better than respect, and better than clarity. We found each other.
Josephine put her arms around my waist, and I put my arms around her shoulders, hugging her close. “I love you,” I said.
She kissed my cheek in response and said, “I love you too, and not just because you saved my life, twice.”
We both laughed at the craziness of it all before we fell silent again. Comfortable in each other’s arms and the new life we were about to start together on Pride Island.
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