Chapter 3 - three
"Wait, what? Broken heart? Explain!" she blurted, feeling a strange mix of concern and utter disbelief.
Doris looked down at her hands, then blurted out, "Your father, the Count, arranged your marriage to the Grand Duke. You... you weren’t happy about it."
Suzy’s brows furrowed. An arranged marriage?This was straight out of a bad historical romance novel! "Wait, arranged marriage? But I don’t even know this guy!"
"You will," Doris whispered. "But... well, because of the marriage, you..." she trailed off, a pained look on her face.
Suzy felt a cold dread pool in her gut. "Because of the marriage, I what?"
Doris hesitated, then blurted, "You tried to take your own life, Lady Cassandra. You went to the old well in the garden and..." Her voice trailed off.
Suzy’s heart hammered against her ribs. The well! The one she’d fallen into back in New York! Could it be the same one? Hope flickered in her chest. Maybe, just maybe, this well was the key to getting back home.
"The well?" she pressed, her voice a desperate plea. "Tell me about the well, Doris. Everything you know."
Doris’s eyes welled up. "It’s an old well, rarely used anymore. Some say it’s cursed. They say that on moonless nights, you can hear whispers coming from its depths."
Suzy’s hope deflated. Whispers? This wasn’t leading anywhere. "Whispers, huh?" she muttered, disappointment heavy in her voice.
Doris nodded, wiping away a stray tear. "The guards found you unconscious in the well just before dawn. The doctor couldn’t find a pulse, thought you were gone. But then, a miracle happened. You woke up."