The Duke Who Loved Me

by Rachelle Stevensen

  She turned, grabbed her bags and walked outside. She couldn’t abide talking to the man for another second. The poor Duke was treated as though he was garbage, and she knew that if she ever met the man, she would apologize to him. He was probably a nice man, and even if he wasn’t he didn’t deserve for people to treat him in such a way.

  After asking around at two more places with horses and getting the same story she knew she was stuck.

  So, she had limited options, could either walk by herself, or wait two or three more weeks before someone could take her the long way around. Which seemed unlikely since she hadn’t the funds to stay at the inn, and no one would hire her to help out.

  With no other option and refusing to stay in the ridiculous town and their beliefs, holding her bags in one hand, and finding a good sturdy stick to help her walk the long way, she limped out of town and down the road in the direction she needed to go. Her anger at the villagers pushing her along. Helping her maintain a good brisk pace.

  After a while, her leg ached fiercely, but she refused to stop. She prayed her leg wouldn’t give out on her. Or do what it normally did when she walked too much, melt out from under her and refusing to hold her weight.

  No matter what she tried to strengthen her leg, it still gave her grief at the best of times.

  She just had to take it one step at a time. She knew it would be difficult, but she had done difficult things her entire life, this was nothing new.

  She could do this. It might take her well into the night, and possibly part of the morning, which she didn’t relish out here in the country, but she would do it. She was just grateful there weren’t a lot of wild animals about.

  And as an added bonus, it didn’t cost her a dime, so she could actually stay in an inn after she got there, and hire a carriage. She had a little way still to get to her grandmother’s cottage, but with the money she saved now, she could make it there quickly.

  She just had to get through the Duke of Ablewood’s cursed land. She couldn’t believe what the men had told her. There was no such thing as magic, curses or any of that nonsense. If there was, Rhia would have found someone to fix her leg, or her father.

  No, the poor man who lived on these lands probably had a very hard life. Especially when people spread rumors about you. Rumors that no one knew if they were true or not. Rhia wished the man good health, and hoped that someday, he would be accepted.

  She kept going at a slow and steady pace. But it seemed that the further she walked, the more sinister the woods looked around her.

  But she refused to be afraid of some far-fetched nonsense. Because that was all it was, was nonsense. No one had the power to curse a land, it wasn’t real. “Ridiculous.” She said as she kept walking.

  She kept her head down, not wanting to spot something in the woods. She wasn’t fast at running, in fact fell quite a bit, so she wouldn’t give into the fear.

  So she walked and walked, proud that her leg was doing so well. It was quite shocking to her, but she was grateful. And she was proud of herself for getting this far. She knew she had to rely only on herself, and here she was, walking and making her way to Scotland, alone.

  But, as she walked, it grew colder, the wind picked up and whipped her skirt around her legs, trying to trip her up. It was hard to walk with large strides, or small ones, but she pushed on.

  It was harder to walk as the soft breeze that had made the beginning of her journey pleasant, had become a howling wind. Whipping her skirts around her legs, blowing sand and dust into her eyes. And pushing her back, when she wanted to keep going forward. And, to her utter dismay, the sky grew darker and darker as the day bled into night, and thick clouds covered what was left of the sun’s rays.

  The storm moved in quickly, and Rhia wanted to curse the elements for not staying pleasant. She felt like crying, and tried to push herself faster, wanting to not be in the storm. But, knowing it would be of no use. Storms here came on fast, and hard. Rhia knew she was in for a long night.

  Thunder rumbled above and lightning streaked through the sky in brilliant arcs.

  And then the skies opened up and the rain poured down. It was as if the rain decided that it wanted to come down in sheets, rather than a light misting, which is what she was hoping for. But, alas, it fell in buckets and buckets. In minutes, she was soaked through.

  Her pelisse and her clothes were no match for the maelstrom that had started up. She had had to sell all of her fine bonnets, and cursed the day, because it seemed that she would never be able to see through the constant barrage of rain.

  She was freezing and wet. Never a good combination. Especially being out in the middle of nowhere. Oh what a miserable thing to have happen. Biting her lip, Rhia pushed her hair, and the water from her eyes, and kept going. There was nothing to do, but keep going.

  She was too far now to want to go back. She had already walked for at least three hours. Maybe longer. She had lost track and didn't have any way to check. She just knew her leg wouldn't take her that far back. Not without resting somewhat.

  Her thoughts were chaotic. She was upset that no one would help her, that she had to try to do this on her own. It felt like that would be the staple of her life. Always alone. And while it was nice in some instances, Rhia dearly missed Julia and her strength.

  She kept pushing on. Walking through the rain and wind as best as she could.

  But, with the rain, the road became a pure bog, nothing but mud everywhere. It made her slip and slide and she fell to her knees.

  Her gown, soaked from the rain was not much protection against the mud, and it was hard for her to stand back up.

  Her leg hurt so bad from the fall and all the walking. Using the stick, she struggled to her feet. Cursing, Rhia wanted to scream at the injustice of this day. But she had to keep going. Otherwise, it would be very bad indeed.

  With determination, she kept going. Wiping rain from her eyes to help her see better, she grit her teeth and pushed through the pain she was feeling.

  After a few minutes of walking, she fell again, catching herself on her knees again and her outstretched hands.

  The stick clattered to the ground with a splash in the mud. This fall was bad. She landed wrong on her outstretched hand, and had sliced open her hand on the only rock in the entire road. At least that is how it seemed.

  Streams of red, mixed with the mud, came out of her palm.

  She screeched, wanting to yell, but cradling her injured hand, struggled to her feet again.

  She noticed her leg hurt even more than normal, lifting her skirt to look at her hurt leg, she saw the blood running down her leg from a cut on her knee. Her already hurt leg was swollen, and Rhia could tell that she was in for a very long recovery. Her leg would not be easy to use in the coming days, and she loathed the pain. And with the cold air hitting it, it started to sting and throb.

  She tried to rip some of her petticoat off, but it was too wet. She just let it be. It couldn’t possibly get worse could it? She tried to keep her thoughts positive now. But it was getting harder with each step to not want to cry.

  Straightening up slowly, she took a few steps when she staggered again. The pain from the fall was starting up now, and combined with the pain of her leg already, it was not quite agony, but close. So close. Rhia tried not to focus on the pain. Just trying to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

  Taking a few more steps, her leg completely gave out, and she fell again. She ripped the cut on her hand open more, and felt rather than saw her other leg get hurt.

  This was getting to be too much. But, what could she do? She was in the middle of nowhere, and no one was going to come to her rescue. She had to care for herself. No one would come save her from her tribulations. This was her doing and only she could fix it.

  Gritting her teeth against the pain, she cradled her hand to her chest and stood, slowly.

  She decided that maybe walking close to the middle of the road was not the smartest thing to do, so sh
e got close to the edge of it, where hopefully she could lean on a tree, at least until the rain stopped. She needed some kind of reprieve from this. A minute of rest. It was all her thoughts could handle right now. Was trying to rest.

  She found a sturdy tree and set her bags down. They had gotten so heavy, mile after mile, she could hardly lift them anymore.

  She dug through one of them and found a handkerchief, which she wrapped around her hand. She tied it in a knot with her teeth. The white handkerchief quickly turned red, but Rhia didn’t care. Didn’t have any way to fix her hand. She had to wait. Rhia was struggling now. Hurting, both inside and out.

  Since she stopped moving, she started to really feel the cold, and she was shivering. She debated on whether or not she should pull her other cloak out of her bag, but it wouldn’t do much good to her. It would just soak straight through and that would be even more weight that she didn’t need.

  She couldn’t stay here, she had to push on, maybe find the Duke’s property and beg a room for the night. She knew it wasn’t proper, but if she didn’t find shelter, Rhia had a feeling she wouldn’t survive this night. She was beginning to see the mist her breath left when she breathed out, and Rhia was so cold. So tired.

  So, the Duke’s home was her last chance. It was closer than Scotland, and she could only hope he wasn’t an evil man.

  With a plan in her head, she carefully picked up her bags again and pushed off the tree. She had only gone a hundred yards or so when her leg give way beneath her. She sat on the wet ground for a moment, trying to breathe. Trying to ignore the throbbing pain that was now her companion on this lonely road.

  She had walked so far today, never before walking so much when her leg was feeling poorly. Or since her accident. She had stuck to her house, and would sometimes travel to the market, but this was beyond her, and her abilities. She had overestimated her ability to walk this far. But, Rhia was stubborn, and refused to give up. She could do this. Had to do this.

  Getting up once again, Rhia bit her lip to keep from crying out. The pain was so great, that tears welled in her eyes, and one slipped free. She had done too much this day, after being stuck in the stage for three endless days and then the horrid walk this far, her leg simply refused to bend, to move.

  Taking a shaky step forward, Rhia fell once more. She tried to not hurt her already injured leg, or her hand. Thankfully, this fall was not as bad as the previous ones. She sat in the mud, and rested. She was breathing hard, and she hated her leg with every passing second. Hating the fact that she just couldn’t walk, and that the rain kept pouring down.

  This was not how this day was supposed to go. She should have already been closer to her new home, not out in a horrid storm in the middle of nowhere. She should be happily ensconced in a warm coach, not walking down this dark road, alone. Rhia cursed the men, and the town.

  Rhia wanted to cry. To scream and curse this stupid storm and this horrible day. But she didn't. Taking a deep breath, she stood up again, and kept going. Had to.

  She was so wet, freezing cold and muddy. Not to mention bloody, and she felt it would get worse before it got better.

  She couldn’t stay here. Not out in the open, not when the rain seemed to get worse, with every passing second. She couldn’t see three feet in front of her eyes, the rain was that heavy.

  Rhiannon pushed her leg to keep going. Her good leg shook with tiredness and her bad leg didn’t want to put weight on it. She was unsteady and didn’t know what to do. She had lost her stick somewhere back on the road, after one of her falls, and she hadn’t tried to pick it back up again.

  She definitely couldn’t make it to find the Duke’s house, so she would have to stay beneath that tree and hope someone came along. She prayed that someone- anyone- would come and help her. But she knew the truth. That she was alone.

  Rhia didn’t want to start crying, knowing that this decision had purely been on her shoulders and hers alone. She could have waited, gone around. But stubborn as she was, she refused. And now? Now, she would die out here in this storm. Never having even lived.

  Rhia had never known what it was like to be in love. Had never danced at a ball, had never seen the majesty that was a huge London ballroom. Hadn't done a lot of things in her short life. The last years of her life were filled with nothing but pain and sadness. And now she was going to die without knowing not and the love she had dreamed of so long ago.

  She cursed her bad luck, and hated the decision she had made. She didn’t want to give up, and she wouldn’t. Even if she had to crawl her way to the Duke’s home, Rhia would do her best to survive. Had to. Not just for herself, but for her parents. Her dreams. She could do this.

  She wobbled on her unsteady legs back to the tree, but before she got there, there was a root in her way that she didn’t notice until it was too late. She tripped and went flying. When she landed, the ground was so muddy and wet, that it gave way.

  She slid down a small embankment and end over end she fell until she finally landed face first in the mud.

  Shocked, bruised, hurting, tired, and feeling broken, she lay there for a full minute just breathing. Rhia didn’t know what to do, what to think now that she had landed. Except of course this day had gotten worse. Now, she was stuck down here.

  How could she go on? There was absolutely no way she could climb back up to the road, and her leg refused to bend anymore.

  Finally, after everything, her tears came. She was good and stuck, out here, in the open, with the rain pelting down on her with unrelenting force and with nowhere for her to go, she sobbed.

  What would she do now? Her leg gave an awful twinge that had her crying out at the pain of it, and she tried to move, tried to get up, find somewhere to go, but she slipped forward in the mud again, and put her head down and shivered, crying at the pain and the hardship she still faced..

  The day looked bleak indeed and had swiftly turned to night. She knew that if she didn’t find help or get moving, she would die out in the elements. Her good attitude she had moments before had slipped away when she had fallen. What was going to happen to her now?

  Chapter Six

  Aidan

  Northumberland England, Sept 1812

  Aidan rode his horse through the pouring rain checking the fences, making sure the herd of sheep were staying together.

  He knew in storms like this they would have wanderers that got lost and were never found alive again.

  It was rough, but Aidan had a current count and so far, no sheep were out of the huddle. And he was grateful for that small mercy.

  He was getting ready to head back, ready to be out of the blasted rain; when he heard a screech and a small sound like crying. He was shocked to hear such a noise out here.

  He knew sheep didn’t make sounds like that, so he turned his horse to investigate.

  He drew up alongside a rock fence, and there, on the ground was a person.

  They were on their knees and struggling to get up.

  The person was soaked through and covered completely with mud and what looked like blood? His thoughts swirled, and he sat there, frozen for a moment. What if someone had hurt this person, and was chasing them? Or what if they had hurt someone and was trying to escape?

  Upon closer inspection he saw it was a woman. As he watched her, she rocked slowly forward, up to her haunches and was almost up, when one of her legs completely gave way beneath her, and she fell, her hands out to catch herself in the mud.

  He jumped off his horse, completely surprised someone was out this far in this weather. He had no idea where she came from or how she got here, but he was worried about her state. With her freezing cold and sopping wet, Aidan knew it wasn’t a good thing. At all.

  He looked around for a horse or anything that would have carried her this far and saw nothing.

  He called out to her as he got closer, “Hello! Miss, excuse me, do you need some help?”

  She startled hard and let out a squeal of surprise. She sat back on
the ground and with shaky hands pushed her hair out of her face.

  She was covered in mud, her hair was soaked, and it stuck to her face, so pushing it back didn’t do much good. He felt for her though as she kept trying to push her hair out of her face.

  He squatted down on his haunches next to her and she finally looked up into his face.

  What he saw first as he looked down at her, was the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. In the face of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

  He was shocked speechless. This coming from a girl whose face was almost completely covered in mud and filth. He had never reacted to a woman this way before, and didn’t know what to do or say.

  He shook his head, knowing now was not the time to act like an idiot “Do you need some help?”

  She blinked slowly and he realized she was shaking with cold. Completely shivering. “I- I, wa-wa-was ju-just tr-trying to g-get to the D-D-Dukes home j-j-just f-f-for t-the night. C-c-c-could you p-please h-help m-me?”

  He was again shocked. “You want to go to the Duke’s house? Why?”

  She shivered again violently, and started to speak. “I-I wa-was tr-trying to ge-get to Sc- Scotland, and n-no one wo-would he-help me. I wa-walked this far. Bu-but it st-st-started r-raining and I-I am so so cold. I f-fell d-down that em-embankment, a-and I-I- d-don’t th-think I c-could walk any l-longer. I knew he-he lived clo-close by, so I wa-wanted to se-see if he wo-would let me st-stay in a r-r-room.”

  He shook his head in shock again. But shaking his head made her face fall. “I-I- I can tr-try to-to g-g-g-go b-back to th-the v-village, if y-you c-could just h-help me s-stand,”

  He shook his head again. “Oh, no. Please, you can stay at the mansion, of course. I was shocked you got so far on foot. Especially in this weather. I am sorry you had to.”