The Blackmail

~Penny~

"Let me get back to the point, Penny. Jeez, woman, you are so distracting." He made it sound as if I had entered his suite naked. His vulgar gaze didn't appear flattering to me anymore.

Walking over to his brother so that he could hear us, he said, "Look at her, Lucian. What do you think?" He gripped my arm and turned me roughly to the side so that his brother could see my back.

His brother's eyes traced me slowly before he gave a small, satisfied nod. "She looks sexy... inviting eyes, bewitching face, and yet so naive."

"Right? I'm sure that asshole Leander won't be able to resist her."

"I bet he will eat her pussy up for lunch, dinner, and breakfast the next day. Is she a virgin, though?"

Lawrance shrugged, "How would I know. She'll tell him she's one, of course."

"Leander?" They looked displeased at my question.

"The Duke of Mountbatten, Leander Vance Bauer," Lawrance replied, "How come you don't know him? Didn't you say you were from Mountbatten?"

"I am, but-"

"I don't care about your life story. You will go live in Mountbatten for a bit, as if you always lived there. Since you are originally from there, it will be much easier for you to blend in."

Blend in for what? A part of me ached for the familiar cobblestones of Mountbatten, a world away from this miserable life. But freedom wasn't an option. Not yet. My eighteenth birthday was only a week away. Perhaps I could defy my scowling uncle then and escape with my brother.

"Pay attention, Penny, will you? Leander will be officially investitured on his twenty-fifth birthday."

I stared at him without blinking. None of his words made any sense to me.

"Investiture... It's like crowning, but he gets a coronet instead. Anyway, his twenty-fifth birthday is only a couple of months away. He has become a constant, growing pain. To make things worse, his people love him too much. His political accession was years ago, but Mountbatten will formally and fully accept him on the day of his coronation, or investiture, whichever."

I was still lost. How did this have anything to do with me? I could barely remember the Duke's father from when I was eight or ten years old. Wasn't twenty-five too young to become a Duke, anyway?

"Ugh," Lucian stepped away from us, saying, "I have better things to do than watch you educate her on the basic shit." Lawrance waved him off. 

"How is Benjamin doing, by the way?" he asked, edging closer now that Lucian was gone. Ben was my brother. He was five years younger than me and had lost hearing in his right ear during the fateful train accident.

"He's well, Your Highness, hard at work in the stables as always," I replied. I had told him several times in the past about how my uncle was mistreating my brother and me. How had I failed to see that the Prince never really cared about me? It was more than obvious now. He didn't give a damn about me.

"At least he is alive... not condemned to the coal mines to scar his lungs with coal dust, or even worse, to the army. I wonder which would kill him faster. I'm sure he would prefer your uncle's beatings to that?"

My blood ran cold. This wasn't the Prince I knew. His eyes narrowed, a malicious glint flickering within their depths as he grabbed my wrist, his grip bruising.

"You have the option to keep your dear Ben alive," he hissed, "but not with prayers. You will do as I say. Leander cannot get that coronet, no matter what. Mountbatten should reek of discontent. And you will see to that. You will destroy him, Penny!" 

I shook my head in disbelief.

"H-how? And why me?" I knew nothing about Dukes or their coronets.  

"The weaker sex always makes for the best kind of spies. Besides, there is something about you, Penny." Inching his face closer to mine, he dropped his voice to a lewd whisper, "I'm sure you can bring any man to his knees and even accept defamation. Not to mention your juicy---" I grimaced in revulsion and cut him off politely. This could not be the man I was so infatuated with.

"What is defamation?" I asked, pushing his fingers off my lips.

"My pretty Penny. You will seduce him of course, which you darn well know how to, and then you will let him fuck you."

"Your Highness?" I could feel the blood draining from my head upon listening to his sinful words. Did I hear him wrong? 

"Don't fucking interrupt me again. And yes, you'll seduce him to have sex with you. Just once is enough. Enough to accuse him of rape. We will discuss more in our letters on how to sensationalize the rape charges. I will be right there in the audience when you come out screaming and crying your lungs out."

Betrayal clawed at me. Why did I keep convincing myself that he loved me but had to push me away because of being the Crown Prince? This was no prince. He was the scummiest of the scums who wanted to use me for some political goals. 

"Why don't you look excited? You have nothing to really lose by doing this. You lost your virginity already. In fact, you will get to live a much more comfortable life there. But... IF you fail, you won't see your little Ben ever again."

The threat hung heavy, but I knew it wasn't an empty threat. My words sounded like a desperate plea against his deaf ears. "Please, Your Highness, I'm not the right---"

"Shut your fucking mouth now. Your uncle will be happy to send you to work at the steel mill if I tell him to, fourteen hours a day, six days a week. Choice is yours. It's not really that hard to spread your legs for Leander. I heard he's quite popular with women." 

"I d---"

"I don't have to convince or beg you to do this, Penny. Get the hell out of here. And pack your bags soon."

"But---"

"We will talk more about where I might place you in the Duke's castle." I could feel his patience growing thin. "The only thing you should worry about during this mission is not getting exposed. If Leander finds out who you are, mind you, you will be dead the next moment."

I gritted my teeth, with fists balled by my sides. I was too scared to talk back. I hated feeling so powerless and helpless all too often. I was a mere pawn on a giant chessboard for the Prince to play his vile, ruthless games with the Duke.

Taking a deep sigh, I dipped a quick curtsy and left to pack my stuff.