ROMANCE: Romantic Comedy: Love in 30 Days - The Best Plans Don't Always Work! (Plus 19 FREE Books Book 13)

by Jane Keeler

  She could see that Alan was still carrying logs from out back through the garden and into the Kitchen. He certainly did have a good physique. Even though his lower body was covered with a pant, she could see the tense muscles underneath them. Alan did not have a big body, but a slender and well-toned one. He had a chiselled body with bulging biceps which seemed to be accentuated right now given the heavy lifting that he was doing. Suzanne felt herself biting her lips thinking about him. Suddenly, Alan looked towards her as if he could feel her eyes peering out of her window looking at him. As soon as Alan saw her, she pulled the blinds over her. She cursed herself as she felt a blush creep upon her face. Her maid knocked on the door and when she let her in, she handed her a note which seemed to have come from Daniel. It asked her to be ready by 5 PM when he would come to pick her up to take her to a ball. She rushed downstairs to her father and he told her to give him another chance and so she agreed. She just wanted to get Alan out of her mind and since her father was trying so hard for this marriage to go through, she thought she should at least given it an honest chance. Moreover, she was pretty sure that there wasn’t going to be a better hand in marriage that she could ask for in the whole of England right now. And there was no way that she could even think about Alan being married to her – that would be preposterous.

  Her brothers and sisters had come back to her room after hearing that she had agreed to go out to a ball with Daniel. Violet and Elise could not stop heaping praise upon praise for Daniel and it seemed both her brothers had a great deal of respect for him too. With Violet and Elise’s help she picked out the gown that she was going to wear for the evening too. By the time she was ready, Daniel was already downstairs sharing a drink with her father. He got up as she was descending the stairs and offered his arm as she walked up to him. They got into the carriage together as it pulled away from the Swan Manor.

  Chapter 4

  Daniel complimented her as soon as they were alone in the carriage. She thanked him for his kindness and thought that she would try and keep her thoughts to herself lest she cross a line again like she did the other day during the match. Daniel even apologized for the incident from that day, albeit half-heartedly. He kept telling her how he thought that Alan had escaped a severe beating because of her.

  “From what I hear, it was you who skipped a beating, Daniel!” quipped Suzanne.

  “Where did you hear that from?” asked Daniel laughing.

  “A little bird. I hear that guy has quite a story! It seems that he has even wrestled a bear once with his bare hands.” declared Suzanne.

  “He is not match for me! I am a boxer and a hunter! He is just a servant!” shouted Daniel.

  “Please Daniel, do not raise your voice in front of me.” said Suzanne sheepishly.

  “I am so sorry, Suzanne! Anger gets the better of me at time!” said Daniel.

  An awkward silence fell over the carriage as the sound of hoofs pounding against the road took over. Till the time they reached the place of the ball, no one spoke a word. Once they had reached the place, Daniel quickly jumped out of the carriage and held the door open while placing his hands for Suzanne to reach out to, when trying to alight the carriage. They made their way inside the ball with Suzanne’s hands around Daniel’s arms. She could feel everyone’s eyes being squarely on her since the moment she came down from the carriage.

  “Don’t worry about them. You will get used to it!” said Daniel winking at her.

  Suzanne detested Daniel’s brashness and arrogance but she had given her word to her father that she would try to be nice to him so she played along. After having a couple of drinks, Suzanne went dancing and after yesterday’s event she was happy to let her hair down for a bit and enjoy the music and the dance for the time being. Daniel it seemed had a few too many drinks since he could not be seen dancing with any one woman at a time. He kept moving from one woman to another as if she was not even there. After enjoying as much as she could, she decided that it was better she left for home before it got too late. Seeing her step out, Daniel ran towards her to the door and got a hold of her arm.

  “Where are you off to, soon to be wife?” asked Daniel his words slurring from the excessive drinking.

  “Let go of me Daniel. You are not in your senses right now and I do not want to embarrass you right now. Let go of my hands and we will speak tomorrow.” said Suzanne calmly.

  “Just who do you think you are, talking to me like that? Do you know the number of women who are ready and waiting for me to make a move to get into their dresses?” said Daniel.

  “Yes, I saw that. Since you seem to enjoy the company, why don’t you just let go off me so I can go back home?” asked Suzanne.

  “Alright! Let me see you off to your house then!” Daniel said as he screamed for the carriage to be drawn up to the front of the building.

  Suzanne was really scared for the first time in her life. Daniel was too strong for her and she was not able to control his behaviour which was going from bad to worse after he was drunk. She thought it best to just play along as long as she did not reach her house and then she could let her father know all about the evening’s proceedings in detail. The carriage was over to their side soon enough and they boarded it as the carriage pulled out of the driveway to the building.

  As soon as they were in the carriage the stench from Daniel’s mouth was quite noticeable to Suzanne. She shoved herself towards her side of the window so she could get some fresh air. Daniel kept on talking all this while about the new firearms deal that he had struck for his father and how much he would soon be making for his family and himself. Suddenly, Daniel placed his hands over Suzanne’s and she jerked it away from him swiftly shocked.

  “Come on! You should loosen up a bit Suzanne! It’s alright to have some fun! And I am your betrothed. There is no shame from me!” exclaimed Daniel.

  “Get off you drunk bastard!” shouted Suzanne.

  “Come on. There is no need to use such words” said Daniel as he was now hovering over Suzanne trying to kiss her and put her hands on her breasts.

  Suzanne kicked him and he fell towards the seat on the opposite side of the carriage, she looked out of the window to see that she had almost reached home. She asked the carriage driver to stop at once and jumped out of the carriage. She started sprinting towards the gate screaming at the top of her lungs. When she reached the gate, she saw Alan standing there and she then heaved a huge sigh of relief. She was surprised, however, when she felt a hand pull her over her shoulder and as she turned around, she felt a push which made her stumble back and drop to the ground.

  Alan was now standing right beside her as a drunk Daniel tried to reach her again. But, he was not able to touch her as he wasn’t even able to budge Alan off his feet. Alan got a hold of him in the friendliest manner possible and put him back inside his carriage, asking the driver to drive away and take his master back to his house.

  “Thank you for that! I almost felt as if he was about to rape me! I have no idea what I would have done had I not stumbled upon you.” exclaimed Suzanne.

  “I am sorry madam that I could not rush over sooner. May I please escort you to the manor?” asked Alan bowing his head.

  “Yes, I would like that.” said Suzanne smiling. “That bastard is going to get it from my father tomorrow.” she added.

  “It is not my place to speak about such things madam, but I don’t think telling your father about this will help much.” said Alan.

  “And why would you think that?” asked a surprised Suzanne.

  “Things like this incident are common among your kind of people, isn’t it?” asked Alan.

  “I hope not! He is supposed to be my betrothed. Is that how you treat your wife-to-be?” asked Suzanne.

  “That is certainly not how a gentleman conducts himself!” said Alan.

  There was something about the way Alan spoke that pushed some very sensitive nerves on the back of Suzanne’s head. That image of his body glistening in sweat in
the morning kept flashing back to her mind. She stopped Alan with her hand and proceeded to kiss him on his lips. Alan did not move at first, but he quickly pushed her away from himself.

  “I am so sorry!” he said again bowing his head.

  Suzanne licked her lips and asked “What have you done to be sorry about?”

  “I did not mean to disrespect you.” said Alan.

  “Well then, kiss me again!” said Suzanne with a smirk as she leaned over to his face again.

  Alan did not push her back this time and they kissed long and hard. They had almost reached the garden area and Suzanne scared that someone might see them pulled away from him.

  “It seems quite enough right now but I see a few servants are still up and about. Throw a stone at my window once everyone is asleep and then I can open the window so that you can come up to my room.” directed Suzanne.

  “I think it would be better I did not madam!” said Alan.

  “Let me be the judge of that. And would you please stop calling me madam. My name is Suzanne as I am sure you are well aware!” said Suzanne as she sped off to the house.

  Chapter 5

  Suzanne sneaked into her room as most of the family members had already gone off to sleep. She changed into her night dress as she awaited the knock on her window.

  Alan was really perplexed how to deal with this situation. This was his last resort at holding a job. He did not want to lead the life of a criminal anymore. It was just too much blood and gore and he had promised his father that he would keep away from trouble. Alan had his fair share of women in the past and there was no reason for him to be excited at the prospect of sleeping with another. He knew that sleeping with the Master’s daughter would be an ill-fated move. But he still yearned for that kiss. He had never felt that way about any other women like he felt when Suzanne kissed him. She could feel himself just at the mere thought of that kiss. But there was no way that he was going to sneak up to her room in the middle of night. So he decided to just not do anything tonight and see how the situation unfolds in the morning.

  Suzanne was woken up by the sound of the knocking on her door and she started gaining her senses that she had gone off to sleep right beside the window. Alan had never come. She kept waiting for him for over two hours but the knock on her window never came. She was really annoyed that Alan did not follow what she had asked him to. She opened the door to her room to let the maid in and asked her to prepare hot water for her. She was looking out of her window and as the maid approached her, she casually asked which among the small barracks below belongs to Alan’s.

  Over the course of the next few weeks, Suzanne would wake up early in the morning and spend hours just watching Alan go about his work. Alan knew that Suzanne must be upset that he left her hanging that other night and when he noticed that she was looking at him, made a small note on a small piece of paper and hid it under a pot of plant outside the Kitchen. Suzanne saw it and after a few minutes went over and picked up the piece of paper quietly without letting anyone notice. Alan had written to her about how they should not be doing this and how this could possibly damage his whole life. Suzanne wrote back saying that she had fallen madly in love with him and there was no one in the world that she would rather be with than him. She also told him that she had received a letter of apology from Daniel, which she had not shown to her father yet. Alan advised her to speak to her father and get the issue with Daniel resolved instead of pursuing her love interests with him.

  One early morning, she crept out of her room wearing an overcoat over her night gown and took the stairs at the back to the garden and sneaked into Alan’s room. Alan was not in his bed and it was too early for him to be out doing work, so she decided to wait for him. That is when the door to Alan’s room swung open and Alan entered his room wearing nothing but a towel to hide his manhood. Suzanne had never seen a human body sculpted like the way Alan’s was. She was quite certain there wasn’t another human being on the planet with a body like that.

  “I had asked you to knock on my window with a stone pelt did I not?” asked Suzanne.

  “Are you trying to force me to sleep with you?” asked a frustrated Alan.

  “What? I am doing no such thing. But what are you so afraid of? You were a bandit for god’s sake! You are exactly the kind of people who take risks and get away with it don’t you?” asked Suzanne trying really hard to keep her voice down.

  “This is neither a situation where a bandit finds himself in usually and that life is in my past now.” said Alan.

  “Am I not pretty enough for you? I feel like a prostitute coming over to your room like this. I should just leave!” said Suzanne as tears started welling up from her eyes.

  Alan was gutted to see her cry. He could not bear to see tears on such a beautiful face and said “No! Stay. Please!”

  “Why should I? You don’t want to have anything to do with me. Daniel is probably on his way to the house again. He will probably manage to get his hands on me tonight and this time there won’t be an Alan to save me!” said Suzanne crying.

  Alan walked up to her and swiped her tears away. He pulled her close and hugged her tight against his bare body. Suzanne tried to pull away first but Alan was too strong for her so she let herself go and cried over his chest. Alan pulled up her chin and looked her straight in her eyes. He moved his lips closer to her and they kissed passionately. He removed the coat that she was wearing and saw that she was skimpily dressed underneath in her almost see through night gown. Passion got the better of him as he pushed her into his bed and took the towel off his waist to reveal his bulging manhood. Suzanne let out a squeal of delight as let herself be taken by Alan. Alan moved on top of Suzanne as she lay down on his bed and pushed his manhood deep inside her. Suzanne had never felt emotions like this before as Alan kept doing her on the bed. Suzanne went through waves of orgasms as Alan pushed himself deep inside her stroke after stroke. They both climaxed after almost half an hour of intense love making. Alan then, pulled out from inside her and crashed beside her.

  “Why don’t we just run away Alan!?” asked Suzanne exhausted from the passionate love making.

  “What happens to my father when your father, my master, finds out that I have eloped with his beloved daughter?” asked Alan. “Let’s just get through each day right now. I have been on the run from the Police all my life, Suzanne. And I am tired of it all. I have seen things that no boy growing up should see. I have seen people killed in ways that I never thought were possible. By the time I was 15 I was able to take on men twice my size. I was used by my uncle to fight in pits where he bet money on me.” he added.

  “Oh Alan! How did you survive such atrocities?” asked Suzan stroking the hair on his chest.

  “I really don’t know. I have worked on board a ship, under a pirate and in a brothel. It took me nearly two decades to rid myself of the chains that my uncle had weaved around me since childhood.” Alan said as a tear rolled down his eyes.

  Suzanne got into a routine of coming over to Alan’s room every early morning when it was still dark and then pretend as if she had gone out for a walk. Sometimes they would keep talking for hours never realizing that everyone inside the house was looking for her. And they started finding new and innovative excuses to meet up outside the house. There was barely a place left outside the house where they had not had sex. Once afternoon, when all the servants had gone out for a ride to the market nearby, they even had sex in the Kitchen. They both found out very intimate details about themselves that day. They were not sure how long this sneaking around was going to last but they had made it a point that they are going to enjoy this as long it does. Suzanne had struggled with the idea of telling her father about Alan, but she was sure that the pride that he felt for his family would cloud his judgement and he would not be able to see the situation objectively. Suzanne and Alan had also worked out a plan to elope to America with Alan’s dad. Alan knew some people who had moved there and he was certain that he could find
a job decent enough to make a living. But Alan could not figure out a way to tell his father about it. Soon they realized that they had been keeping this up for over two months now and the more they kept at it, the more would be chances of them getting caught.

  Chapter 6

  One morning, after having a session of intense love making, Suzanne lay on Alan’s shoulders for a few minutes when she heard voices calling her name from inside the house. She put on her coat hurriedly and leapt off the bed to tidy herself before she went out. Suzanne sneaked out of Alan’s room stealthily and made her way to the house oblivious to the fact that Edward Jr. had just seen her walking out of the servant quarters. Edward then made a dash for the room that Suzanne had just exited and found that it was Alan’s room where he was getting dressed. Suspicious of the whole thing, he asked Alan what was going on.

  “It is not how it looks, sir!” said Alan fearful that he had managed to get himself into trouble again.

  Edward Jr. did not need to listen to another word before understanding just exactly happened in this room a few minutes ago. He asked Alan to stay where he was as he rushed to the house to speak to Suzanne first and then get his rifle.

  Edward Jr. along with Stephen who by now had heard from his brother an account of the situation that went down in the servant quarters, made their way to Suzanne’s room.

  “What were you doing in the servant’s quarters Suzanne?” asked Edward Jr. as soon as he reached her room.

  Suzanne was shocked to hear the question coming from Edward Jr. and that is when she figured out that he must have seen her exit Alan’s room.

  “It is not what it looks like, brother!” she exclaimed.

  “That is exactly what Alan told me. I am not really sure how you think this looks but as a custodian of my family, I have to say that this is really not something that we expected from you, sister!” declared Edward Jr. as he started to leave her room.