The Duke's Revenge (15 page)

“
Nay, that is, of course
not. I was...” She bit her lip and commanded herself to think of a
lie.

“
You were?”

“
I, I fell down the stair
yesterday. It did not hurt much. I’m sure it will heal itself in a
few days.” She shoved the hem of her skirt to cover her
leg.

“
Aye, it will heal itself
soon enough,” he said, his gaze still on her.

She turned to look at him and saw him moving
his head toward her, slowly like a lion would toward its prey.

She hesitated and moved her head back. When
his face was only inches from hers, he grinned. “But, Ivy,” he
said, his blue eyes gazing deep into her violet ones, “that is not
what the servants have told me.”

She widened her eyes in shock.

He grabbed her chin between his fingers and
thumb and said, “Our noble butler told me, my dear mistress, that
you tripped over the mattress in the drawing room. Your lady’s
maid, my dear, told me that you fell out of your bed and sprained
your ankle, and Mrs. Price told me you fell down from a chair while
helping her fetching some herbs up in the kitchen cupboard. Now, my
dear, from all of these stories I’ve heard so far which should I
believe is the truth? But then the one that is likely to be true is
the one that comes from the person who has her ankle sprained,
would that be right?”

Ivy lowered her eyes and looked down at his
large, strong hand touching her chin. She was ashamed to actually
have been caught lying. But what could she do? He weren’t supposed
to find out.

“
The truth, Ivy,” he
demanded.

“
I...I fell from the
mare.”

“
Where?”

She looked at him and said quietly, “In the
town.”

He released her chin. “Did I give you
permission to go?”

“
Nay,” she said with her
head bow.

“
You only need to ask if
you want to go out, for I will gladly accompany you
myself.”

She couldn’t look at him because she was
ashamed of herself and so she sat there uttering not one word.

Suddenly he lifted her up in his arms and
carried her over to the sofa.

“
Thank you,” she said once
she was seated.

He stood there looking at her, and all the
while her heart was beating furiously within her chest.

She heard him sigh and turned to look at
him. She saw him turned on his heels and left. She stared after
him, wondering why he did not punish her as she thought he would
for disobeying his order. This was not at all like him--like how
she would picture his character.

She was relief but her relief, however, was
short-lived when that evening a maid that she did not recognized
came into her room.

“
Where is Lisa?” she
asked.

The maid bowed her head and said, “M’ lady,
the duke has ordered me to help you dress for dinner.”

“
Aye, aye, but Lisa is my
lady’s maid. She will help me dress. You may go. I don’t need
another maid to help me.” She turned to the wardrobe, looking
through the many dresses, searching for ones that wouldn’t show too
much of her skin.

After a moment of shoveling dresses about,
her hands froze. She knew that something was not right. She turned
to look at the maid. “You may leave,” she said as calmly as she
could master though she knew her voice was shaking, echoing her own
fear out into the room.

“
M’ lady...” The maid
looked at her for a fleeting moment and quickly lowered her eyes
again, afraid to see the fear in those violet eyes and afraid of
her own pity as well.

“
What is it?” Ivy walked
to the maid, searching into the very round face and grey
eyes.

The maid shook her head and said instead,
with her eyes downcast, “I will look for your gown, m’ lady. The
duke specifically said that he wanted you to wear one of the gowns
he had bought for you.” She stood hesitantly for a moment and then
rushed to the wardrobe.

“
Wait!” Ivy knew her voice
was shaking, but she really couldn’t help it. There was something
wrong, and it was probably because of her.

The maid stopped and turned.

“
You must tell me where
Lisa is,” she asked, touching the maid’s shoulder. “You must know,
err...?”

“
Oh, it’s Meg, m’ lady,”
the maid supplied. “I’m the parlourmaid.”

“
Meg, please understand
that Lisa is not only my maid, she is also my friend. If there is
something that has happened to her, I must know.”

The maid turned to look at Ivy. After a
moment she sighed. “M’ lady, ‘tis not my place but the duke, he was
mad, he was always mad, but not this mad if you know what I
mean.”

Ivy didn’t know what the maid meant, for she
herself had always seen him in some kind of foul mood.

“
You see, Lisa and Mrs.
Price, there will be a new housekeeper I trust and a new butler,
too. But I really don’t know how we’ll cope.”

“
Yes, Meg, what about Lisa
and Mrs. Price? And the new butler? Meg, I don’t
understand.”

“
Oh, m’ lady, ‘tis not my
place to gossip. I don’t want to get into trouble. The duke--he’ll
give me the sack, too, if he finds out I was talking.” She shook
her head. “Please, m’ lady, stop asking me questions.”

There was no use interrogating the maid, Ivy
thought. The woman was determined not to talk.

Meg helped her dressed into a delicate
Primrose gown and fashioned her hairs into ringlets. Once her
toilette was finished, she didn’t bother looking at herself in the
mirror. She knew that something was not right, and she was
determined to find out. As soon as the maid turned her back, she
limped up the stairs and into the servant’s quarter. She went to
Lisa’s door and barged in without knocking.

Shock was probably the major part of her
turmoil feelings right then and next came anger.

“
What are you doing?” she
asked, limping into the room.

“
You shouldn’t be here, m’
lady, ‘tis the servant quarter,” Lisa said calmly.

“
Just tell me what you
think you’re doing,” she snapped, her voice was now
shaking.

“
M’ lady, you must admit
that someday we have to part—”

“
No!” she cut in sharply.
“We don’t ever have to part. You are my friend, you think to leave
me?” She stared at the maid, her eyes brewing with
tears.

Lisa lowered her eyes and turned to pack her
clothing.

Suddenly, Ivy knew Lisa did not want to
leave by her own free will. What was it that Meg had said? A new
butler and a new housekeeper. How were they going to cope?

Oh God!

She shook her head as she staggered
backward.

“
M’ lady, don’t faint!”
Lisa shouted.

Ivy slumped on the floor, her hands
clutching her stomach as tears streamed down her pale cheeks. She
was shaking her head as she repeated again and again to herself,
“No, no, no...”

“
M’ lady, I’m sorry.” Lisa
sat down and embraced her.

“
Oh, Lisa, it was all my
fault, it was all my fault. Now I will have no one,” she cried,
shaking her head, hating herself for her weakness and hating every
turns of her miserable life.

“
M’ lady, ‘tis not your
fault. We will leave in the morrow morning. I wish all the best for
your life. You must be strong, m’ lady.”

“’
Tis all my fault, if it
wasn’t for me wanting to go to the town so much, you and the others
wouldn’t be sacked, ‘tis my fault.”

“
Hush, you must be strong,
‘tis not your fault,” Lisa soothed, patting her
shoulder.

“
What’s going on
here?”

Ivy turned to see Mrs. Price standing at the
doorway.

“
Mrs. Price!” she cried
and rushed up to hug the woman. “I’m sorry, ‘tis my fault. You lie
to the duke for me and now you’re sacked. ‘Tis my
fault.”

“
M’ lady, ‘tis not your
fault.” The woman patted her shoulder. “Lisa, take Lady Ivy to her
room.”

Lisa stood up and helped Ivy down the
stairs. They were at the corridor when Ivy stopped.

“
M’ lady, what is
it?”

“
I’m fine, Lisa, I need to
be alone.”

Lisa looked at her for a moment, nodded, and
then left. When the maid had disappeared, she turned and limped
down the stairs as fast as she could. Once she reached the door she
barged right in and all the while her heart was bumping hard in her
chest.

Max looked up and frowned when he saw her.
He stood up and walked toward her. “You’re not to be here, did I
not tell you that?” he scolded as he grabbed for her arm.

She jerked his hand away. “Why?” she
started.

“
What’s this?” he asked,
reaching for her arm again.

“
Why did you sack them?”
She glared at him, hating him for making her life miserable. “If
you want to punish somebody for what happened then punish me. It
was me that wanted to go to town. It was me that pleaded them not
to tell. It was me, your grace. Punish me, not them. They’re only
guilty for wanting to see me happy.”

“
Aye and they dare to
disobey me—the master. That, my dear, deserve the punishment. If
they lie to me, they are not worth living in my house, they are not
worth working for me.”

“
You devil!” she cried,
glaring up at him with hatred.

“
Have you only figured
that out, my dear?”

“
Damn you, punish me, I
was the one in the wrong. Whip me, lock me up for weeks, starve me
if you want to, just don’t sack them. They have nothing to do with
this,” she shouted each word angrily, tears streaming down her
flushed face.

Max frowned at her. Did she think him such a
monster? To whip her beautiful skin and lock her up and starving
her?

He caught her by the arm and forced her to
look up at him. “Listen, I am the master here. I punish whomever I
know is in the wrong. Now get out!” he said, “Out or else I’ll whip
you.”

“
Then whip me, your grace,
whip me and leave them alone. Don’t sack them,” she
cried.

“
Get out, Ivy.” He pulled
her toward the door. “They are sacked and that is
final.”

“
Nay, please...” She sank
her knees to the floor. “Please...” She sat there by his legs,
staring up at him. “Any thing, your grace, just don’t sack
them.”

He narrowed his eyes as he stood there,
looking down at her from his great height.

Her eyes were large with tears wetting her
thick, dark lashes, turning them spiky. Her cheeks flushed red and
her breasts were rising and falling as she breathed. He was
aroused. My God, but the woman was enchanting.

“
Punish me instead of
them, your grace. Do anything with me but don’t sack them. They
have nowhere to go. Please...”

He lowered himself and caught hold of her
chin. Staring into her eyes, he said, “You would do anything to
save their jobs?”

She nodded her head and said, “Yes.”

“
Rather unfair, don’t you
think? One tiny, insignificant chit to save three jobs?” He raised
his blonde brows at her.

“
Oh, your grace, ‘tis a
poor substitute I know but it was my fault and not theirs. You, you
could punish me in such a way as to make...make it fair,” she said,
shivering at the thought that perhaps he would whip her, lock her
up, and then starve her for weeks.

The part she feared most was the whipping.
Her mother had ordered Gale to whip her many times before. Those
were nightmare, but Gale was only a thin woman with a woman’s
strength. What of the duke? He was, after all, a man and a very
large and strong one at that. He could beat her up at this moment
with his bare hand, and she would die in a slip of a second.

“
Aye, you would do
anything to save them.”

She nodded.

“
Ivy,” he said, staring
into her eyes.

His timbre voice echoed in her head, making
her wonder fearfully what punishment he would perform upon her
person so that it seem fair to save three jobs.

“
I want you to come to me
by your own free will.”

She stared at him, dumbfounded. And as she
was staring at him she didn’t know that she was shaking her
head.

How could she overcome that feat? Living
with him was hard enough but to go to him with her own free
will?

“
I know you’re not up to
it but that is want I want. Tomorrow, Ivy, without my permission,
they will be banished.” He stood up and walked out on
her.

She sat there, gazing at the floor.

How could he possibly ask such a thing from
her? Oh God, this was the worst punishment ever. Whipping her,
locking he up, and even starving her all together didn’t even add
up to this cruelty.

CHAPTER 14

Ivy sat in bed and clutched the thick
blankets in front of her. Her room was warm due to the burning fire
in the hearth, but she was shivering from head to toe. Her stomach
was hallowed, and it refused to take in food. She was not worried
about food, however, for she was not at all hungry, and right at
that very moment, it was the least of her worries.

She had been sitting in bed for at least two
hours, staring into space. She turned to look at the clock on the
wall to her right. It was midnight. Her stomach knotted as the long
hand ticked away every second. She knew that every passing second
meant her time was getting shorter. In only six more hours the
people she cared about would be gone, and she would have no idea if
she would ever be able to see them again.