Bonnie looked to her left; there was indeed a carriage waiting and it was empty with the exception of the lone driver who sat waiting patiently for the return of his passenger. It certainly seemed like the man was telling the truth, but it would still be a risky decision to go home with him until she was absolutely sure that he was all he claimed to be. She turned from the carriage to the street behind her. The grey of the pavement looked colder and more uncomfortable than ever before; could she really stay on the street that night after the attack from Big Wallace? Maybe it was best she go with the "Duke" and take him up on his alluring offer of spending the night in his manor; after all, whatever he would do to her could not be worse than what might happen to her if she decided to spend another night outdoors in foggy London.”Alright" Bonnie said after thinking it over in her head one final time, "Lead me to your carriage."
"Splendid."
Chapter Two
The Duke turned his key and unlocked the front door of his manor. Though she had not yet even been inside, Bonnie was in awe of her surroundings. She was intimidated by the sheer size of the manor and driven into insignificance by the immensity of the grounds on which it was built. She had never fully understood units of measurement, but she guessed that the grounds had to be at least several acres.
"I hope you can forgive my manor for not being as clean as it could possibly be,” he said, as he pushed opened the door and revealed to Bonnie the glories of his home.
"Oh my goodness" gasped Bonnie, stepping inside, "this is spectacular."
The manor was indeed spectacular, especially when compared to the standard of living which Bonnie had grown accustomed to. The front door led straight to a living room which one would have to pass through in order to get to any other room in the house. However, finding a reason to leave the living room would be no easy task. To Bonnie, it seemed that this one room contained everything a human being would ever need in order to survive in comfort. A fire crackled and roared in the centre of the room, with a red velvet couch sitting before it. The couch was covered in dozens of cushions (all appearing to be worth an unfathomable amount), and sat next to a small coffee table, which was covered in a variety of biscuits and cakes. In the far right corner of the room, there stood a rather large bookcase - at least twice the size of Big Wallace - which was stuffed to the brim with tattered, old and no doubt extremely rare books. The door at the end of the room had been left half open and Bonnie could just about see into what looked to be the hallway, which was illuminated by candles.
"I hope you can turn a blind eye to this mess" the Duke said, once again fearful that Bonnie would judge him for the state of his house. Bonnie, however, did not see anything wrong with the condition of the manor. After spending so long living on the messy and unkempt streets of the nation's capital, her new location seemed to be absolutely pristine. That being said, anybody who had not just come in from the streets would have seen that the Duke's home was indeed a tad on the filthy side. There was a steady stream of muddy footprints leading from the front door to the end of the living room and cobwebs hung high and low from that massive bookcase. Accompanying the biscuits and cakes on the coffee table were three empty cups which had all been used by the Duke and others at various points throughout the day.
"I fear my maid has not been performing her duties as she should,” he explained to Bonnie, "She is but a young girl and quite used to her parents doing everything for her."
"But my lord, this manor is immaculate."
"I fear you may be looking at it through the eyes of somebody who has never before been in such a home. As soon as you have grown used to it, I am sure you will notice the mess."
"I don't believe so, my lord. As far as I can see, your maid has been doing a wonderful job."
"I would like that to be true, but I'm afraid I must disagree with you. I would release her from her duties here at the manor if it was not so hard to find another maid." He walked to the fireplace and began to warm his hands on the roaring flames which had been awaiting his return from the cold English night. "I should point out now," he added, "it is not necessary for you to call me 'my lord'."
"What shall I call you?"
"Edmund."
"Duke Edmund?"
"No, my dear. Just Edmund. I am a human just like any other. Now, come and warm you hands on the fire; you have been out in the cold and the frost for far too long."
Those where the words Bonnie had been waiting to hear since she entered the home. The second she saw the burning fire, she had the same instinct any of us would have to go and defrost her hands. However, she remained standing at the front door for fear she would be intruding by taking her place before the fire without being asked. As soon as she was given permission, Bonnie hurried to be beside the fire and warmed herself for the first time in recent memory. She could not remember the last time her bones did not feel a depressing weariness brought on by being forced to live in the cold for every moment of every day. Even the pubs and shops, which she would occasionally visit to kill time barely, served to ward off the cold. Neither the Duke nor Bonnie spoke as they stood by the fire; instead, they remained silent and allowed the heat to return to their bodies while they listened to the crackling of the fire as it tore through the many logs in its flames. However, the sound of the fire was soon over powered by the sound of somebody descending the staircase in the hallway. The manor, beautiful as it was, had seen many years and the old stairs creaked as whoever it was made their way down them. Once the sound became too great to ignore, Bonnie turned her head to the Duke in search of an explanation.
"That must be the Duchess,” he told her, "she has been napping in our chamber."
Sure enough, the voice of the Duchess began to drift in from the hallway before she had even entered the room.
"Oh Edmund, have you returned already? I expected you to be out in the city for quite some time."
"I had planned to stay out my dear, but faith had other plans for me."
"What ever do you...” the Duchess stopped speaking as soon as she entered the room for she was quite taken aback by the image of a strange woman, clearly off the street, warming her hands at the fireplace. “Hello" began the wife of the Duke, not entirely sure what to say, "I do not believe we have met."
"Oh no, madam. My name is Bonnie; it's a pleasure to meet you." Bonnie had never encountered a royal woman before, but she had heard that one was supposed to curtsy when in the presence of a queen, princess or duchess and so she made a clumsy, almost cringe worthy attempt to curtsy before the lady of the house.
"Bonnie was having a bit of trouble with old Big Wallace on the street and so I thought it would be best if we took her in for the night" the Duke explained to his wife. "She has no place else to go."
The Duchess, who was initially quite unhappy to see Bonnie in her house, was filled with sympathy and uncrossed her previously crossed arms as soon as she heard the name Big Wallace.
"Oh my dear" she said, running up to Bonnie and flinging her arms around the woman, "I'm so sorry to hear you had trouble with that blasted Big Wallace."
"Come now, you two. Wallace is not such a fiend, he simply has had a poor time in his life."
"He is a fiend, Edmund,” protested the Duchess, still keeping her arms around Bonnie, "that Big Wallace is nothing but a brute." The Duchess and Bonnie held the same view of Big Wallace as all other women in London. The men, for the most part, saw Big Wallace as nothing but a harmless, if slightly misguided, zany character. This was because the men of London were fortunate enough to never have been subjected to abuse at the hands of Big Wallace (with the exception of one thin, particular effeminate man). Having too experienced Big Wallace's intimidation tactics, the Duchess took immediate pity on Bonnie and insisted she stay for as long as she needed to.
"You may even live out the rest of your days here if you so wish" she told the woman before pouring her a drink and sitting her down on the couch.
"In what room can poor Bonnie stay to
night?" the Duchess asked her husband, who was by now beginning to feel as if his wife was muscling in on his good deed.
"Well we have a great deal of unwanted gifts stored away in the big chamber next to our own, so perhaps it would be best to put her in the smaller chamber at the end of the hall for tonight. Then, tomorrow, we can rearrange the larger chamber for her."
"Oh that's really not necessary" interrupted Bonnie, "I shall be quite happy in the smaller chamber for as long as I'm here. I don't suspect I shall be staying very long."
"Well, why not?" asked the Duchess, almost insulted by Bonnie's intentions to not remain in the manor until her death.
"I do not want to intrude, madam. I am grateful that you have extended the invitation for me to stay as long as I please, but I am not a member of the royal family. I have no reason to stay among a duke and duchess.
"Nonsense, anybody who has fallen victim to Big Wallace and lived to tell the tale deserves to live with the Prince Reagent himself. Now, my husband will make up your bed in the smaller chamber and first thing tomorrow we will move you to the big chamber next to our own."
Chapter Three
Upstairs, in the small chamber at the end of the second floor, the Duke struggled to pull the creases out of the bed sheet as he spread it across the mattress. As he did so, he cursed the lazy young girl who was supposed to be fulfilling her duties as a maid. Before beginning the task of making the bed, Edmund had spent several minutes calling out the girl's name and searching the manor for her, but she was nowhere to be found; even her room was empty and provided no clue of where she had gone.
"Never again shall I hire somebody so young to do a job in my manor," he muttered through gritted teeth. "I am a Duke, for God's sake. It is not my job to be folding sheets and making beds." Once the sheet was fitted, the Duke took a step backwards to take in the bed and admire his work. The sheet was still creased and he hadn't quite found the corners of the cloth before endeavouring to place it on the bed. Being a noble man, he would have removed the sheet and tried again, but he had been at the task for the past twenty minutes and so he felt justified in simply covering the mattress with the duvet and pretending everything was in order.
Once the bed looked as if it has been made, the Duke called down the stairs to his wife and his guest to share the good news with them.
"Why Edmund, whatever took you so long to make this bed?" asked the Duchess as she climbed the stairs, closely followed by Bonnie.
"I am not used to making beds, my dear. You may be shocked to learn, but I am a duke, not a maid." The Duchess ignored the sarcastic reply of her husband and led Bonnie into the room where she would be staying.
"I hope this will be alright for you, dear. Mind you, it is only for tonight. Tomorrow, we will set up the bigger room as promised."
While Bonnie appreciated the Duchess' insistence on moving her to a larger room, she really did not see what was wrong with the room which had just been prepared for her. Maybe it was because she had spent so many long nights out on the streets, but her room on that first night seemed absolutely perfect. It was warm, there were no holes in the roof and it was practically void of all bugs. That small room was everything she had been dreaming about and she would be happy to spend the remainder of her life confined to it.
"This room is ideal,” she told the Duke and Duchess as she clasped her hands and omitted the kind of sigh one would expect to hear from a woman who had just fallen in love.
"I'm glad you like it. Now, the Duke and I shall leave you to get settled in. If you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to call us. Our chamber is at the opposite end of the floor, so make sure you call as loud as you can."
"Oh, I won't be needing anything, madam."
Satisfied that they had taken care of their guest to the best of their abilities, the Duke and the Duchess bid goodnight to the formerly homeless woman and left the room, closing the door behind them to give her some privacy. For a moment, Bonnie stood in the centre of the room, unsure what to do next. It was the first time she had been alone in over a year and it certainly felt strange. She had forgotten what it was like to sit and be alone with her thoughts without the sounds of horse-hooves clacking against the pavement and drunken businessmen yelling at each other. It was almost too difficult a thought for her to comprehend, but on this night she would be able to lie down in an actual bed and have a good night's sleep; she would not even have to worry about Big Wallace or any of the other burly and dangerous men whom she had known at one time or another.
On the door of the room hung a nightgown, something which Bonnie had not encountered since she lost her home. Since finding herself out on the streets, she had been sleeping in the same pair of clothes, which she was also forced to wear day in, day out. Excited to once again have an actual nightgown to sleep in, Bonnie quickly undressed herself and grabbed the thin, white cloth from the door before throwing it over her head and onto her body. It felt like Heaven. The fabric rested gently against her skin, which had been left red and raw from the ragged old clothes, which she had been living in.
"Oh to be a royal" she whispered to herself, "to be royal and wear clothes this soft every night and day."
Grinning from ear to ear, Bonnie pulled back the duvet and climbed into bed without noticing the Duke's failed attempt to fix the bed sheet; even if she had noticed, she would not have minded for she was just happy to finally have a real bed to sleep in. The merry woman spent a moment tossing and turning and pulling the duvet up and down, trying to remember how to get comfortable in a bed. Finally, Bonnie found a position, which felt similar, to whatever way she used to lie before her life went awry and closed her eyes, intending to drift away into sleep. Of course, there is not a soul on this earth who could simply drift off to sleep following such an eventful day. Bonnie found herself lying awake for some time, her mind racing as it tried to understand everything which had transpired since the last time she had slept. She wondered what was going on back out on the streets of London as she was tucked safely away in the home of the Duke and the Duchess. Were any of the homeless women whom she spoke to from time to time looking for her? Was Big Wallace storming the town in search of her, hoping to finish what he had started? It was not of any real concern to her, but she would have liked to have known if there was anybody out there wondering where she had gone. It may seem strange that this was on Bonnie's mind, considering the fact she hated the majority of the people she had met on the streets and had no desire to ever return to them, but such is the mind of a woman who has been discarded by the world so many times. She had an inexplicable desire to make an impact, even on those whom she did not particularly care about.
Of course, Bonnie's train of thought inevitably led to her remembering her former husband. She wondered what he was doing as she lay alone in that bed. Was he still involved with the woman whom he had left her for? Or had he moved on from her too after finding somebody else? It was the first time in quite a while that Bonnie had really thought about her husband and she was rather shocked and disgusted with herself when she realised that she still missed him. Lying in a bed did not feel right without the man to whom she had been married for seventeen years lying next to her. She was almost ashamed of herself for still longing for his touch even after everything which he had done to her. Then again, maybe Bonnie was simply longing for the touch of any man. It had been a long time since she had consensual sex with a partner who was not offering her some kind of payment in return for her company. She envied the Duchess. She envied her not only for the luxurious, carefree life which she lled, but also for the fact that she was in a strong marriage with a man who clearly loved her very much.
Bonnie imagined what the Duke and the Duchess were doing at that moment, locked away in their marital chamber. She imagined the Duchess removing her clothing with the elegance of a dancer while the Duke watched on from the bed, his clothing already removed and thrown to the ground. The scene was so clear in Bonnie's head; she could see the Duke
smiling as his wife drew closer to the bed, ready for him to take her with her naked body illuminated by the light of the candle. She imagined the Duchess crawling onto the bed and positioning herself above the Duke so she could press her lips to his and give him one long kiss before pulling back the duvet to reveal his already hard penis. The Duchess, if she were anything like Bonnie, would take the Duke's not-quite throbbing member in her hand and slide her palm gently up and down the shaft before placing her cherry red lips on the head and beginning to cover it with her salvia.
Indeed, Bonnie would have quite liked to have been in the position of the Duchess. Alas, she was nothing but the humble houseguest of the Duke and Duchess and so could do nothing but imagine what was going on between the pair. A great deal of time had past since Bonnie had last pleasured herself, but on this night her hand was ready to once again make the journey to her mid-section. She began to rub herself softly while continuing to fantasize about the Duke and Duchess. She could see the Duchess bent over the bed, with the Duke standing behind her, spanking her plump rear with his right hand and pleasuring himself with his left. Then, when the Duchess could no longer take the teasing, the Duke would place both hands on her thighs and mount her from the rear. As Bonnie drew closer to orgasm, she removed the Duchess from the scene and placed herself in her position. With her eyes shut tightly, she tried to convince herself that her fingers were the powerful penis of the Duke, moving in and out of her body with great ferocity. She imagined the Duke's bare body on top of her, glistening with sweat and only getting wetter as he moved faster and faster. She envisioned him biting her neck and nibbling on her earlobe as he continued to enter and renter her, not once pausing or slowing down. For the briefest of moments, Bonnie managed to convince herself that everything she was imagining was, in fact, real. She convinced herself that the Duke was lying on top of her, she convinced herself that he was biting her neck and she convinced herself that her fingers were a certain throbbing part of this body. Though this moment did not last long, it was all that the woman needed to bring to orgasm. Up to now, she had managed to control her volume and remain quiet, but the very instant her juices began to flow from her body, Bonnie let out and loud and drawn out sigh which could have awoken the entire city.
The Duke's Dilemma: Regency Romance Menage Short Stories Page 9
