Free Essence Of The Heart (The Royal Tutor) by Daris Howard

sadly, reached out and
kindly touched her face, and was quickly gone into the shadows of the night.
     

 
     
    Chapter 6
    Learning To Deal With Father
     
          Louise stood there in shock. She thought she had gotten Alexander
back, only to lose him again. She wanted to call after him, to make
everything right. She couldn't catch her breath, let alone call after him. Not
for pride was her tongue silent this time, but for shame. She was ashamed
that her father felt Alexander was not worthy of her, for, if anything, she felt
unworthy of Alexander. She was sickened by the knowledge that she, too,
had felt that way. That was why she had treated him badly all of those
years. She had always felt she was better than he was, yet the goodness she
had found in him made a mockery of her superior feelings. It had been
easier to hate him than it was to wade through the confusion in her heart.
     
          As the reality of it all stripped away the facade she had built up over
those many years, she collapsed, sobbing, into her pillow. Elizabeth and
Marina heard her and came to her.
     
           "Princess, what is the matter?" Marina begged to know.
     
          "My father is sending Alexander away!"
     
          She could hardly utter the words. They shot like arrows at her heart.
The girls tried to stay and comfort her, but she sent them back to bed. She
needed to be alone, to think, to contemplate. As her tears grew weaker, her
resolve grew stronger. She could feel a change come over her, a change she
liked - and she was not about to give Alexander up now.
     
          At first she was angry and determined to confront her father. She
would announce that if he was going to send Alexander away, she would
leave this place and go back home. But she reconsidered. She had to be
careful giving her father an ultimatum, for he might accept it, and she had
better be ready to follow through with her threats.
     
          Perhaps she should just demand he let Alexander stay. She
considered that she was in no position to demand anything. She could not
afford to anger her father, risking his reinstatement of the whipping he had
intended for Alexander.
     
          She contemplated Alexander's relationship with his parents. Why
couldn't she get along with her parents as he did with his? Then she
thought about the difference in how they each treated their parents.
Alexander was always respectful and considerate of his parents. He listened
to them, and in turn, they listened to him. He never did anything to break
their trust in him, and their trust only became stronger.
     
          That was it, then. Trust begets trust. Respect begets respect. It was
so obvious. But how could she get her father to let Alexander stay? She
couldn't disclose her feelings for Alexander, or her father would send him
away for sure. She had to appeal to something else.
     
          She never went to sleep at all, but by the time the sun was well on its
ascent into the sky, she was on her way to visit with her parents. It was late
in the day, but after the long night, her parents, Duke Reginald, and Lady
Margaret were barely sitting down to breakfast. She greeted them warmly
and smiled at them. Her father scowled at her suspiciously. "Did you get
some food after the ball?"
     
          Louise nodded as she took her place at the table. "Alexander was
kind enough to make sure I had something to eat. Speaking of which, where
is Alexander?"
     
          She looked around the table pretending to wonder at his absence,
though she knew perfectly well where he was. As she did, she nonchalantly
picked up some food to eat as if Alexander was only a secondary thought.
     
          Her father looked her straight in the eye. "I have commanded him to
leave by noon for military training."
     
          Louise frowned. "But, Father, is