It took two days of travel before Noah reached one of the towns in the West, which was also where the Chambers family was living. Parking his carriage in one of the expensive inns, he freshened himself before visiting the Chamber's mansion, which was ten minutes away from the inn.
It was post morning when Noah arrived in front of the Chamber's mansion and knocked on the door. A maid opened the door and asked,
"Good morning, Sire. How can I help you?"
"I am looking for Anaya Chambers. Is she in there?" Noah inquired, and when he smiled, the maid turned slightly flustered at the handsome man, not knowing who he was as she was appointed by the family very recently.
"Ah, Lady Anaya is occupied at the moment, but would you like to wait for her?" The maid asked him, and when he gave her a nod, she pushed open the door wide and welcomed him inside the house. "Please come in!"
Noah had visited the Chambers with his family in the past, having stayed here briefly, and it still looked the same. The maid took his coat from him, hanging it on the stand and led him to the parlour room. The maid asked,
"Would you like some tea and biscuits, Sire? And who shall I say has come?"
"Just tea will be fine. Noah Sullivan," Noah replied to the maid, whose eyes suddenly widened as she realised this was the man who was all over the newsletter. He was the ghost!
The maid moved her lips but didn't utter a word, and she quickly bolted from there to call her master and mistress of the house.
Mr. and Mrs. Chambers were quick to arrive in front of the parlour room, and they gawked at the dead man. While Mrs. Chambers was conflicted about seeing Noah in their house, Mr. Chambers cleared his throat and said,
"Duke Noah, what a surprise to… see you…here. You are still the Duke, aren't you?" He asked in doubt.
Noah stood up from his seat and faced them before offering them a deep bow, "Mr. and Mrs. Chambers, forgive me for showing up this suddenly without any prior letter. Yes, I am still a Duke."
Mrs. Chambers turned her face to her husband, while still staring at him. She asked in a hushed voice, "How is this true? We saw him buried, didn't we?"
Mr. Chambers smiled nervously at Noah, as his wife was nowhere as quiet as she thought she was, and Noah smiled back at them. Noah cleared the lady's doubts by saying,
"Forgive me for startling you, Lady Magdalene. I believe the news is yet to reach the West borders," Noah apologised, and the couple nodded. "I was passing by… and thought to pay you a visit. I hope it is alright."
Mrs. Chambers gathered her wits and finally nodded, "Yes, yes. It is perfectly fine. Though a little more than confused, I think you would be more than happy to share the news that we haven't heard later?"
Noah nodded, and when the maid offered tea, and the couple watched Noah pick up the saucer and the teacup, they let out a sigh of relief, happy to see that this man was not just a ghost who had come to haunt them, not that they could recollect on why he would haunt them.
Mr. Chambers told Noah, "Please sit down, Duke Noah. We are glad that you could come visit us today, because if you came tomorrow, we wouldn't be here," he joined Noah and his wife to sit down on the plush chairs.
"Pardon me, but were you going somewhere?" Noah politely asked.
Mr. Chambers replied, "Because of the wedding of course."
"Wedding?" Noah asked.
Before Mr. Chambers could say, Mrs. Chambers jumped in and said, "Yes, because of, you know Anaya…"
Noah felt his heart sink at the words. He had hoped to speak with Anaya, but he hadn't expected things to move so quickly in his absence, not that he expected her to wait, after all, they had spoken about it when she was in Woodlock.
"I see," Noah didn't know what to say.
At the same time, Anaya, who was walking with someone, stopped and looked more than surprised, mixed with shock when she caught sight of Noah in her mansion. Was she hallucinating?
"What's going on?" Anaya asked her parents in an unsure tone.
Noah's eyes fell on Anaya, who was in a beige dress, and her hair was braided before letting it rest over her shoulder. She looked the same, except for her expression. But his eyes moved to the man who stood beside her and too closely as if they were comfortable with each other.
Mr. Chambers turned to look at his daughter, his eyebrows raised, and he said, "Anaya, Duke Noah was passing by the town and he decided to drop by our mansion. He's in his good health, and very much alive."
"I must say very much so," Anaya murmured under her breath as she stared at Noah in disbelief.
The last time she had seen him, it was in the coffin. On one side, she stared at him, wondering how in the world he was alive, while on the other side, she felt the flutter in her chest on seeing him breathing and standing across the room.
Anaya had believed herself to be strong, but when she found out that Noah had passed away, especially after seeing him, only she knew how she had gathered herself. She wanted to smile at him, but nervousness filled in her stomach.
Before Anaya could react or greet Noah, the man beside her held her hand, and she turned to look at the person. It was Colt Grimes, a man she had met in one of the soirees, and they had gotten a little close. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her hand, saying,
"I cannot wait for tomorrow, Lady Anaya. I hope you are looking forward to it."
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