The Touch Of The Outcast

by Amalia Altman

  “You know exactly what I’ll do, old man,” Julian warned. His uncle chuckled.

  “You’re too weak, boy. Too much of a coward.”

  Julian gritted his teeth but tried not to let it get to him. It was the same words his uncle had always spoken, even when Julian was just a boy. Jack had always been jealous of the fact that Julian was set to inherit the title of earl. Julian had been born late in his father’s life, and up until then, Jack had expected to remain the heir. But then Julian came along, a surprise, and dashed the man’s hopes. Ever since then, his uncle had loathed Julian, who hated him just as much in return.

  “Stay quiet,” Julian warned, and left his uncle alone in the room, locking it twice behind him. He went down the hall and knocked softly on Mary’s door.

  “Mary?” he called softly. “Can I come in?”

  There was a snarling sound on the other side of the door, so low and fierce it was almost inhuman. The sound made Julian shiver, as it usually did. He unlocked the door anyway and looked inside to see Mary on all fours in the corner, staring up at him with wild eyes.

  “How are you, Mary?” he said, keeping his voice gentle and even. She growled instead of answering, warning him not to come closer. He stayed away, staring at the girl as she huddled near the floor.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he told her. “I promise.”

  “Potts,” she said. “Where’s Potts?”

  “He has the day off,” Julian told her gently. Potts was the only person that Mary would deal with, the only one who wasn’t at risk of being attacked by her.

  Mary growled again, moving a few steps closer, crawling on the ground like a spider. Julian took a step back, wary, but it was too late. She leaped at him, clawing at his shirt, tearing it open with her long nails. Julian fought to get her off of him, trying not to hurt her, but she was stronger than her small frame made her seem. She got her hands around his throat and began to squeeze, and he had no choice but to rip her off of him, tossing her backward onto the bed. She scrambled up, trying to go at him again, but he managed to get out of the door before she could latch onto him. He quickly locked it behind him, breathing heavily as he started toward the stairs again.

  Julian went to bed that night thinking about Elise, knowing he owed her an explanation. He was hesitant to tell her what he’d truly gone over there for—to relieve the tension she had built within him. Instead, he would tell her he just went for a visit, came back, and went to bed. He hoped that she would believe him instead of questioning him further.

  In the morning, Julian awoke early. He found Elise cleaning in the kitchen, her back to the door, and wished that he could go to her and wrap his arms around her waist again. It had felt so good to hold her close, despite the fact that he had never gotten the chance to touch her skin.

  “Good morning, Elise,” he said. She turned to him, meeting his eye. A heat passed between them, one that he tried to ignore. He had convinced himself the night before that he was getting much too close to her—if he took Elise into his life the way that he wanted to, into his bed, he would bring her too close. He would have to answer her questions, something that he couldn’t afford to do.

  “Good morning, my lord,” she said.

  “I was wondering if you’d like to go for a ride with me today,” Julian said. She looked at him, studying his face.

  “It depends,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Are you going to answer my questions?”

  “A few of them,” he said.

  “I want a promise,” she said.

  He laughed.

  “Why else would I want you to go outside with me?”

  She swallowed, not answering. The thought crossed his mind then that maybe she did think it was possible that he had killed Duchess Waverly.

  “Are you afraid of me, Elise?” he asked.

  “No,” she said, but her voice sounded unsteady. She gathered herself then. “I wasn’t planning to take the day off.”

  “You can get to work when we get back,” Julian told her. She raised her eyebrow at him but followed him outside.

  “So tell me,” she said.

  “I did go over to her estate the other night,” Julian said. She looked at his face as they walked toward the stables. “But I didn’t—I would never hurt her.”

  “Why did you go over there?” she asked. Julian looked over at her.

  “Because I needed to,” he said.

  “But why?”

  He took a deep breath. “Thank you for lying for me, Elise.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said. “I just want to know what I did it for. If you didn’t kill her—“

  “I didn’t,” Julian said firmly.

  “Why does the inspector seem so convinced that you had something to do with this?” Elise asked.

  Julian said nothing as they got to the stables. They split up to mount their horses and met up outside. Elise didn’t even seem uncomfortable in her dress. Julian watched her as she guided the horse in gentle movements, obviously a natural. The horse responded to her warmly, as if they were meant for each other. The way she rode was elegant and sensual, and Julian couldn’t take his eyes off of her. It was good in that moment they were on their horses because if that feeling had passed through him while they were standing, he surely would have touched her.

  “Tell me about the ghost of the manor, my lord,” Elise said. Julian looked at her in surprise.

  “Where did you hear about that?”

  “From one of the girls at the brothel,” she said. He stared at her.

  “Have you gone back to the brothel?”

  Elise didn’t answer. She bit her lip as if she was nervous. “I’ve heard noises at night.”

  “Those are nothing,” Julian said. “Ignore them.”

  “It isn’t fair for me not to know,” she protested. “I’m—I’m frightened.”

  “There’s nothing to be frightened of. I’ll protect you.”

  She looked over at him with a wry expression. “Protect me from a ghost, my lord?”

  “There is no ghost,” he said. They were riding around the perimeter of the property, walking along the edge of the trees that surrounded it. “That’s nonsense.”

  “Why have you lost so many maids?”

  “Because they were as nosy as you are,” Julian said to her.

  “You haven’t fired me yet,” she pointed out. “You could have at any time.”

  “I’m tired of going through maids,” Julian said.

  “Is that the only reason?” she asked, studying his face. He stared at her, then looked away. If truth be told, Julian couldn’t stand the thought of never seeing Elise again. She was rude and argumentative and riled him up in a way that nobody else ever had, but he found that he craved being in her presence when they weren’t together.

  “Yes,” Julian answered, though the lie was hard to tell. She went quiet as they rode and Julian led them along a path that had been created through the trees. He watched Elise’s face as she looked around in wonder at the massive trees around her, the rich forest that Julian had always loved and called home.

  “What do you think?” he asked her after a moment.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said, her eyes scanning the area. They lit upon the pond in front of them as soon as they were close enough to see it, and her face broke into a beatific smile when she saw how beautiful it was, the small, trickling waterfall that led into the pond. Julian dismounted from his horse and so did she, immediately taking off her boots and her stockings.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “I’m going to put my feet in,” she said. “Come on.”

  “No,” Julian said, though he couldn’t help but to grin at her. “No, you go ahead.”

  “Coward,” she said, stepping into the water.

  “Is there something in there to be afraid of, do you think?” Julian as
ked. “Why am I a coward?”

  “You’re afraid of getting mud on your fancy lord’s feet,” she said, a teasing look in her eye. “Too good to sit here and relax with your maid.”

  “Why are you so rude?” he asked her, amused. She fluttered her lashes at him in response, looking out at the clear water of the pond. He sat down next to her and took his boots off, carefully cuffing his trousers before dipping his feet into the water. It was cold but it felt good on his skin, and it felt even better to be sitting next to Elise.

  “Do you come out here often, my lord?” Elise asked.

  “No,” he said, his jaw stiff. “Not anymore.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “Something happened out here that I’d rather not remember,” Julian said. He felt her eyes on his face, waiting for more details.

  “Tell me,” she said in a soft voice.

  “My wife—she died out here. She drowned.”

  Elise’s brow furrowed.

  “It’s not what you heard, is it?” Julian asked.

  “No, it’s not,” she said quietly. “What was she like?”

  Julian closed his eyes. “She was miserable. She was a truly awful person.”

  “Oh,” said Elise, her voice surprised. “What happened to her?”

  “It’s a long story,” Julian said, looking over at her. He met her eye, wanting to send the message that he no longer wanted to talk about his wife. “I used to come out here a lot as a kid.”

  “I wouldn’t have guessed you would be that type of child,” Elise said.

  “What type is that?”

  “The kind who plays outdoors instead of staying inside and learning his lessons,” she said. “You’re so—"“

  She cut herself off. He looked at her curiously as she kicked her feet in the water.

  “So what?”

  “Serious,” she said. “You take yourself very seriously.”

  “Do I?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said. “You’re all ‘my lord’ this and ‘my lord’ that.”

  “I simply expect respect from my subjects,” Julian said.

  Elise snorted, an unladylike sound that she muffled with her hand. He looked at her with a question on his face.

  “I’m sorry, my lord,” she said. “It’s just—you sound like a prick.”

  The word caught Julian off -guard and he started to laugh. He caught her eye and held it, his gaze traveling to her lips, then downward, over the curves of her body and down to her hand. He thought about taking it, but knew better—it would be too intimate, bring them too close.

  “You’re earning that punishment more each day,” he said to her in a soft voice. She looked at him through her lashes, a coy look on her face.

  “I think you’re all talk, my lord,” she said, biting her lip. “I don’t think you have it in you.”

  “No?” he asked. She was bouncing her leg, squirming on the rock that they were sitting on.

  “No,” she said, giving him a sly smile.

  “I don’t think you should underestimate me.”

  “So what do you have in mind for this punishment?” she asked quietly, her voice tentative, almost shy. “Are you going to work me even harder than you already do?”

  “You have no idea how hard I could work you if I truly wanted to,” he said.

  “I think I have an idea,” she said. Her eyes were on his mouth and he scraped his teeth over his bottom lip, giving in to himself, leaning in to finally kiss her. Before their lips could touch, she pulled away with a smile, her hand going in the water to send it up at him, splashing his shirt. He stared at her, gaping as she giggled at him. She splashed him again, but this time he ducked and splashed her back, making her squeal as the water drenched her.

  “You bastard,” she said, wiping the water from her face. Julian couldn’t help but to notice that the water had soaked her front, and the thin dress was clinging to her breasts. He could see the outline of her nipples standing out against the wet fabric, the shape of her round, perfect breasts, and the sight almost took his breath away. He met her eye after he looked her over for a few moments, unable to stop himself from drinking her in.

  “My lord,” she said with a small smile. “I—“

  It was then that they heard the clopping of hooves on the ground, moving quickly toward them. Julian looked over his shoulder to see Potts flying along the path.

  “My lord,” Potts said, nearly jumping off of his horse before it even stopped. “You need to come quickly.”

  “What’s wrong?” Julian asked, standing up and quickly putting on his boots. Elise got up as well, looking bashful as Potts met her eye.

  “I um—“ said Potts. “You might not want to talk about it in front of the lady.”

  “Okay,” said Julian, knowing instantly what it was about. He gritted his teeth and started to mount his horse.

  “Wait,” Elise said,. “What’s happening?”

  “Don’t come back to the house yet, Elise,” Julian said. “Wait a few minutes. Please.”

  “Julian—"“

  “Please, Elise,” he said, looking into her eyes. The sound of his name on her lips made him warm all over. Though his mind was on the trouble at the house, he couldn’t help but to imagine what it would sound like coming from her lips in pleasure. For a moment, he was frozen, staring at her. Then Potts cleared his throat.

  “My lord—“

  “I’m coming,” Julian said, then turned his horse around, leaving Elise staring after him.

  Chapter 12

  Elise waited for a few minutes, staring after Julian and Potts as they galloped toward the mansion. It didn’t take her long to decide to follow them. She climbed atop Lovely and started the horse at a trot, careful not to catch up to the two men. She saw them disappear inside, and waited for a few moments before it was safe enough to bring her horse to a gallop. She rode all the way to the front, then slid off of Lovely’s back and started to go inside. She could hear noises inside—the sound of sobbing, harsh cries that echoed through the house and outside. Elise peered inside to see Julian carrying a thrashing body in his arms, a woman who was covered in blood. Elise’s eyes widened when she saw that it was Nikola.

  “What happened?” Elise asked, looking up at Julian’s grave face. Nikola was covered in what looked like massive scratches, claw marks covering her body. Even her face was cut, a long slash across her forehead that drenched her face in a vicious red blood that ran into her eyes and mouth. Julian gave Elise a look as he swept past her with Potts on his heels, a worried, sick look on his face.

  “Go get the carriage,” Julian said sharply. “Get Tom to bring it around. Quickly.”

  “Yes, my lord,” Potts said, and moved across the lawn with a quickness that Elise wouldn’t have thought possible in such a portly man. She remembered the look of love on his face when he looked at Nikola and knew how worried he must be. Elise stared at the woman in Julian’s arms, hanging limp now, no longer crying.

  “Is she going to be okay?” Elise asked. She noticed then that Julian had a rag placed to Nikola’s side, that it was becoming soaked through with blood.

  “I don’t know,” he said, his voice sounding choked. There was a look of concern on his face that struck Elise in the chest; she could see all the love and fear in his features.

  They waited a few minutes in tense silence, both of them looking at Nikola, watching her as she breathed steadily in his arms. Tom pulled around with the carriage and Julian quickly climbed inside the car with Nikola on his lap like a child. Potts climbed in beside him, but when Elise tried to climb on, she found there was no room.

  “We’ll be back,” Julian said, and didn’t wait another minute before telling Tom to hurry away. Elise watched them go before turning back to the empty house, filled with dread. She had no idea what had happened to Nikola—nobody had told her. Elise didn’t know what to
expect when she went into the mansion, but she knew that she didn’t feel safe.

  Elise took a deep breath and looked around. It was getting dark outside, and she was surprised when she realized how much time had passed while she’d been sitting at the pond with Julian. It had seemed like no time at all had gone by while they were together, like time stood still when she looked into his eyes. It was something she did frequently, something she couldn’t avoid no matter how often she told herself to look away for her own good.

  She paused in the doorway, unable to make herself go inside. Instead, she went to the garden, shivering as a cool breeze lifted her gown around her ankles. She went into the maze, wanting to get lost, wanting to disappear from the house for a little while. Elise knew that she could leave if she wanted to, but the thought of going to town, of being alone on the road after what had happened to the Duchess Waverly, frightened her almost as much the thought of going into the mansion did.

  Elise wandered through the maze in a fog, thinking over and over about Nikola’s face, the blood, the fear there. She was walking in silence when she heard the noise behind her and froze. It was coming from the other side of the bush wall nearest to her, a rustling like footsteps on the branches below. Elise’s heart thundered in her chest as she started to move through the maze again. She remembered the track of it, how far she had come. Somebody was on the other side of the bush from her, right around the corner.

  Elise held her breath as the footsteps grew quicker, darting around the corner, cursing when she hit a dead end. She doubled back, going around the other corner, praying to find the way out of the maze before somebody caught up with her. She didn’t know who it was, but she knew that it couldn’t be good. —Elise hurried, nearly running through the maze, but she could hear the person breathing behind her as he started to catch up with her. She let out a scream that was cut off when somebody grabbed her from behind, clamping a hand over her mouth. The moment his skin touched hers, images flashed through her mind, nauseating making her nauseous as they hit her all at once. There was blood, lots of it, and her own body limp and ragged on the ground. Elise could see herself clearly in his imagination, dead and mangled in a puddle of her own blood. She panicked, trying to fight him off of her, but it was no use.