“Oh, be quiet. You might have girls swooning for you back where you come from, but if you want to impress me then you’re going to have to do more than just look pretty,” she teased.
“Well, at least you think I’m pretty,” Gregory said with a sly grin. “Give me ten minutes and then I’ll come down and meet you at the stables.”
“Make sure you are ten minutes, then because otherwise I shall ride off without you,” Isabella said as she walked away from the room.
“I have no doubt,” Gregory muttered to himself as he closed the door and turned back into the room.
He didn’t know what it was, but there was something about Isabella that had him addicted. The way she answered back to everything he said was infuriating, but he knew that anything less would be boring. She was starting to sink deep beneath his skin, and he hadn’t planned for that to happen at all.
********
The ride out turned out to be better than Gregory could have hoped for. He found the more time that he spent with Isabella, the less annoying she became. He was surprised to find himself laughing at her sarcastic remarks and pushing her into saying things that no other girl would in polite company. He had realized in the space of a day that she was something that was rare to find. It made her precious, not unlike an uncut diamond.
He’d caught her lingering looks at him, too. It seemed that her earlier remark about his good looks had been true, although she was unwilling to admit it when he asked her. He couldn’t help but wonder whether, perhaps, their fathers had gotten it right and maybe they could work together as partners. He was starting to wonder whether he should rebel against his father’s wishes or whether he should surprise him and capture the rarest gem he had even discovered.
It took them until early evening to get back to the house, and from the moment Gregory got off of his horse, he could tell that something wasn’t right. The hairs on the back of his neck started to stand up against his skin as he walked over to the front door. He looked over at Isabella to see whether she was being struck by the same sense of wrongness, but she looked happy and oblivious to whatever was carrying through the air.
Isabella walked into the house first and then Gregory followed. He found his eyes meeting Phillip’s the moment he walked through the door, and he could tell from the sharp look in his eyes that he wasn’t happy.
“Gregory, I’d like to talk to you,” Phillip said with a voice devoid of all emotion.
“Father, what is the problem?” Isabella asked before Gregory had a chance to speak.
“Don’t concern yourself, Isabella, this is between Gregory and me,” he said in a soothing voice that held no trace of the anger that had started to spark in his eyes.
“I think it’s every concern of mine if you wish for me to marry him,” Isabella replied stubbornly. She crossed her arms over her chest and let her head dip forward, as though solidifying her point against any other arguments.
Gregory held himself back from laughing at her as she tried to appear taller than she was against her father’s silhouette, which seemed to loom over them both.
“I suppose you are right, Daughter. I think you should both follow me into the dining room.”
Isabella didn’t reply, but she looked at Gregory curiously as she followed her father. Gregory could feel her eyes as they explored his face for answers, but he refused to meet them with his own. He couldn’t be sure what Phillip wanted to talk to him about, but he could tell that it wasn’t good. They all stopped at the doors to the dining room, and Phillip pushed them open and then ushered them both inside before closing the doors behind him.
Gregory swallowed hard as he watched Phillip lock the door and then walk over to his seat. The atmosphere in the room felt heavy and the air too thick to breathe in. Gregory could feel his lungs burning against the lack of oxygen as he held his breath and waited for the silence to be broken with an explanation of what was happening.
“You were seen,” Phillip said with no other explanation.
“I’m sure I’ve been seen by a lot of people,” Gregory said with a confused face. “I’m sorry. I can tell that I somehow greatly offended you, but I’m unsure about what it is that you think I’ve done.”
Phillip’s face turned a darker shade of red as his eyes clouded over. Gregory could tell that there were thoughts racing around in Phillip’s mind, and he wondered which one would win and make it out of his mouth.
“You come to this town in the hopes of marrying my daughter. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know you have a reputation, as does my daughter, but you came here in the hopes of fixing your ways, and I welcomed you into my home. My daughter took you riding. We have done nothing to you, and yet you sneak out of the house in the night and go down to the tavern. You not only do this behind our backs, but you leave with some girl and sleep with her down an alley? You’ve brought shame to my household and you do not even belong to it. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Gregory looked at Phillip. He wanted to say something, but his mind was offering him nothing. It was like Phillip’s words had somehow blacked out his brain and he was unsure whether it would ever work properly again. He could feel the seconds passing him by as he desperately tried to explain his actions without making himself look any worse than he already did, but there was no explanation. Anything he did offer up would fall flat.
“The girl he was seen with was me,” Isabella said, and both the men in the room looked at her with surprise. “I’d asked him to meet me at the tavern, so that we could get to know each other without our fathers breathing down our necks,” she explained with a small smile. “We both had a little too much to drink and, as you had hoped, we got along so well that we didn’t see the point in waiting until after we had gotten married. Neither of us are strangers to the other’s past, and we’re accepting of that, Father. I hope you can be too,” she finished with sincere eyes that almost had Gregory sold on the lie.
“Is this true?” Phillip asked Gregory.
“Completely,” Gregory said as he nodded his head and tried not to look shocked.
*******
Gregory looked down the chapel aisle as the music started to play. He could feel the nerves in his stomach twisting into knots as he waited to see Isabella walking through the doors. They opened and the congregation stood up. He could hear the shuffling of their feet, but he paid no attention to it as the room filled with the beautiful, warm glow that only Isabella could bring.
She looked beautiful. Her blonde hair had been pulled back into a loose bun that had soft curls falling from it, as though they carried the spirit of a waterfall. Her dress was stunning. It was white and made out of lace. It pulled in at her hips and then spread out in a princess cut to the floor. Her outfit was finished off with a tiara that sat on top of her curls and sparkled down on her. They were nothing, though. Gregory didn’t care about the hair, the dress or the tiara. The only thing he cared about was the smile on her lips, which was reaching up to her eyes and setting the stars alight with radiant beauty.
She walked down the aisle with the grace of an angel and stopped when she reached him. He could smell the scent of vanilla getting mixed with the roses that sat on the end of every bench. He smiled with warmth as the vicar began to read their vows. The ceremony wasn’t long, but it was beautiful, and Gregory was happy in the knowledge that Isabella had gotten everything she deserved for her special day.
They spent the evening celebrating with friends before they finally found themselves alone. Gregory had been waiting for this moment since they had been sitting in the dining room with her father in front of them. Isabella had lied for him that day. She had covered up his secret and she’d married him as a result, and he had to know why. He had to understand why a beautiful, spirited girl like Isabella would tie herself down to someone like him.
“I need to ask you something,” Gregory said as his eyes reached out and met hers.
“You can ask me anything,” Isabella said with a playful s
mile on her lips.
“I need to know why you lied for me to your father. I mean you knew that I’d slept with another girl, but you lied to him and made him believe it was you. You’re married to me now, and yet you know that only a few short weeks ago I slept with someone in your village. I need to understand why you chose to do that? I need to know that you are happy with the way things have worked out.”
“Does my happiness trouble you?” Isabella asked him with curious eyes.
“It does if I am the reason that you do not feel it,” Gregory said truthfully.
“And you would like to be the reason that I am happy?” Isabella asked him.
“I’d like to think that I could be,” Gregory said, and then he nodded.
“Then I’m happy with my choices that led up to this marriage.” She shrugged as though it was that simple. “You are not the only person in this relationship who carried a reputation. I was known to be difficult and cold. People in my village used to say that I would never find any man willing to marry a girl as unruly as me, but here we are. I know you’re not perfect. I’m not perfect either, but the day that we spent together riding was fun. We laughed, and you didn’t berate me for speaking out of turn. You proved to me that you had more to you than just your pretty face.”
“So, you do think I’m handsome.” Gregory grinned.
“I think I could have done a lot worse,” Isabella teased gently.
“Well, that I can be sure of, too,” Gregory said as he walked over to Isabella slowly and wrapped his arms around her waist. He didn’t pull her body into him; he waited for her to come close instead. He wanted to know that she wanted this, too. He didn’t want her to feel like the girls that he had led on in the past. Neither of them were strangers to each other’s faults, and he could tell from the intense feeling growing inside of him that truth would be the changer of everything.
He held her tightly as she pushed herself up onto her toes and kissed him gently on the lips. Her lips were soft against his, and he traced her movements with his own as he let the taste of cherries take over his senses. He could feel her body heating up against his skin as the moment stretched around them, and then she stepped away and looked at him without saying a word.
Her eyes said everything that needed to be said, though. He could tell that she was willing to accept him for who he was. He could tell that he’d managed to find the one girl who had enough spirit to keep him in check. Their fathers had been right, although he would never admit that. They were perfect for each other. He had found happiness in the one place he never thought he could: marriage.
He knew that they had years ahead of them, and not all of those years would be good. He knew that at times their faults would work against them, but he didn’t doubt for one moment that he’d found the one girl who would stand by his side regardless of how hard things got. Isabella was one of a kind, and Gregory could only consider himself lucky to have married her, but even more so that he’d put his stubbornness aside for long enough to fall in love with the most amazing girl he could have ever hoped for.
*****
THE END
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The Duke’s Pregnant Maid
Jessica pulled her rough woolen shawl closer to her body as she shivered in the cold wind. The day had started off bleak and gray, and time had made no improvements. She gazed ahead at the long line of women who were all suffering with her. They all looked the same, with her included. The line was just a mass of brown shawls and dirty dresses, which still showed patches of damp from where they had been desperately cleaned that morning.
The line of women moved forward a little and the hanging silence was broken by light coughs and shuffling feet. Jessica moved forward and placed her hand on her stomach without thinking. It took a moment before she realized that her thumb gently stroking the barely noticeable bump would arouse suspicions that she simply did not need.
This job was her last chance of doing something with her life, and she couldn’t risk them finding out about her dirty little secret. She dropped her hand to her side quickly and checked to make sure that none of the other women had noticed her actions. They were all too busy in their own little bubbles of reality, though. Jessica could see the desperation in their eyes as they pleaded with God to allow them to get the job that Jessica was determined to get.
It took almost an hour for the line in front of Jessica to be conquered, but as she stood at the front awaiting her turn, she wished that she’d had a little longer to prepare. She could feel little shots of anxiety rippling up from her stomach as she thought about all of the rumors she had heard about Lady Beamount. She was meant to be a dragon and impossible to impress, but Jessica knew that was what she must do if she had any hopes of getting the job.
She was brought quickly back to reality when a dopey-looking man in his mid-twenties called out her name from the scroll in his hand. She stood still for a moment as she took in a deep breath of the icy air. It sank quickly into her lungs and stabbed sharply at her insides, before she pushed her foot forward and started to walk towards the daunting manor doors.
Jessica tried to hide the awe on her face as she walked through the manor house with the dopey man as her tour guide. It was beautiful though, and she had never seen anything like it. She could feel her eyes darting around the hallway as they tried to make sure that they didn’t miss anything. The dopey man stopped suddenly and Jessica almost walked into him before coming to a stop herself.
“The Lady of the house does not allow for clumsiness,” the dopey man said with a look of disapproval on his face.
“I’m sure. I was just looking at all of the beautiful artwork the Lady of the house keeps,” Jessica said quickly, in the hopes that her appreciation might soften his scowl.
“Well, she doesn’t keep it for the help gawk at,” the man said starkly, before he pushed open a pair of heavy wooden doors.
Jessica took a moment to soak in everything that she could see. The doors had led on to a study with a great open fire that was crackling loudly. The flames were filling the room with an orange glow, which made the book-lined walls and dark leather couch look cozy and warm, instead of daunting and filled with cold memories[S55].
Jessica walked into the room quickly after noticing the already bored look on Lady Beamount’s face. Even with the bored look she was beautiful, though. Jessica was quite sure that she had never seen anyone quite so beautiful, but she wondered whether that was the reason for her rotten core. “My Lady.” Jessica bowed after addressing the beautiful woman.
“Sit,” Lady Beamount said without an ounce of friendliness to be found in her voice.
Jessica nodded quickly and sat down on the sofa, which sat opposite the high-backed chair that Lady Beamount had chosen to take. “It’s a pleasure to meet with you,” Jessica said after she had arranged herself into comfortable position.
“I’m quite sure,” Lady Beamount replied with a dull voice. “Listen, I’m not here for flattery. I need a housemaid who I can trust. Do you understand what trust is?”
Jessica nodded, but didn’t say anything. There was a condescending look in Lady Beamount’s eyes that was riling up Jessica’s temper, but she reminded herself that she had to remain calm. She couldn’t allow the Lady’s poor personality to stand in the way of the job.
“Good. Listen, I’m getting pretty tired of looking at you ugly and quite frankly grotty girls, so I’m going to hire you. Don’t mess this up,” Lady Beamount said with beady eyes that were already full of accusations.
“Thank you. I won’t let you down,” Jessica said quickly when her brain had processed what had just happened. She waited for the Lady to reply, but
she didn’t. “Should I leave?” she asked eventually, when it became clear that no further instructions would be given.
“Obviously, “ Lady Beamount said rolling her eyes. “One of the staff will show you to your new room.”
Jessica stood up and thanked Lady Beamount again, before she left the room. The dopey-looking man was still standing by the doors and Jessica could tell from the disheartened look on his face that he had been listening to the conversation she had just been in.
“I believe you are to show me to my room?” Jessica grinned at the man who had started to glare at her.
“You’ll never last here,” he said with a shake of his head and then he turned without warning and started to dash off down the hallway. “Are you coming?” he called out to Jessica, who was still standing outside of the doors to the study.
******
Jessica walked into Lady Beamount’s bedroom and took in the hanging satin gown that she would be helping her mistress into. It was beautiful and the colour of the sky when summer has struck. Although it was on a hanger, Jessica could tell that the fabric had been made to glide and float across the air. She walked over to the dress and let her fingertips dance across the fabric.
“I hope you’ve washed your hands,” Lady Beamount said as she appeared from the adjoining room.
Jessica jumped at the sound of her voice. She had thought that she was alone. She would never have shown an interest in the dress had she known that her mistress was present. “I have, mistress.” She turned around and held her hands out for inspection, but Lady Beamount didn’t bother to look.
“Do you know who I’m meeting tonight?”
“I don’t, mistress.”
“Well, I’m meeting a very, very rich Duke who has travelled from far across the country to meet with me. Our fathers believed we would make a perfect match, but I am unsure.”
Jessica frowned for a moment. The mistress did not often talk to the staff directly to give instructions, never mind to open up on her heart’s troubles. “I’m sure your father knew well what was best for you,” Jessica heard herself say.
SEALing The Victory Page 63
