Chapter thirty one"You two look terrible! Were you eaten by sharks or something worse?" The words were said by the only person capable of inflicting pain when comfort was needed; Earl Robinson.He gawked at the Duke and the lady, dripping wet and adorned with what looked like sea weed as they half ran to them.Philip Forland squeezed his hair and immediately stepped on the stirrup of his horse, mounting it efficiently and pulling the reins in his grip, "I would not have had to be a fish today if you all had done as told!"Genuine confusion settled upon them as they all frowned, obviously trying to make sense of what he meant.But then something more demanding sought their attention. As they looked back in through the gates they'd just left, a man pointed a finger towards at them all. Soon after, a small group of guards followed his direction and began chasing after them.At that point, nothing delayed them. Philip reined his horse into the walkway and set it trotting at full speed.H

Chapter thirty threeElizabeth brewed eight cups of coffee, fixed them beautifully on a tray and lifted it in her hands. With it, she strode round the mansion with the hem of her skirt swooping over the floor, searching for any living soul to no avail.It was empty…Where was everyone?A gunshot from outside made her heart jerk. She took the next few seconds to panic and suck in enough strength to think of what to do next. But then, she suddenly stopped fussing when she remembered the men practised every morning, so the gunshot was justified. Clearly, everyone was outside.She walked towards the back door, the cups vibrating upon the saucers beneath them. At the door, she found all eight upon the lawn, occupied with one thing or the other to even notice she was around.Faking a wide grin, she declared, "Good morning everyone! Who's in for some coffee?"As if it was planned, all eyes fell on her at that instant. Then almost immediately, most of the eyes left her and refocused their att

Chapter thirty fiveIt was a bright morning like any other day, coming with the usual swarm of light filling the mansion through the wall length windows.The boots made rhythmic stamps on the floors while they walked through the English corridors. One last stamp and the pair of feet turned left to face the Duke's office."My Lords," Monica grinned wildly and continued the stamping of boots into the chamber.The men were gathered around Philip who was seated behind his desk. From the looks of the scene, they had to be discussing something disturbing. The Duke's head was buried in his hands in a helpless state, and the ones with the deepest glower seemed to be Raymond and Timothy.The lady stopped when she reached them and braced her hands upon the desk with a sense of leadership, "There seems to be a problem." That was not a question.With no further ado, Jason yanked out a sheet of paper and held it to her. The woman had snatched it readily and was already studying the words on the le

Chapter thirty sevenPlacing the dish upon the counter, Elizabeth swirled herself round the house with a grin on. She found herself being happy for some reason she did not quite understand.She made a circle with her dress and went on gliding upon the marbles.But then, it was about to be short-lived.She felt a hand clutch her wrist tightly just before she was pulled in through a door.As she came to her balance, her hands first came up to arrange her hair, then nurse her wrist.Now who was that peacock who could have pulled her like…As she looked up, her mouth opened in shock. Wasn't it charm himself…"Earl! What…what is the matter with you?" Elizabeth cast him a look that should have scared him.However, the Marquess was nonchalant. If he reacted in anyway obvious, it was just a roll of his eyes, "I should ask you the same thing. What evil deed of yours were you trying to pull Monica into?"Her open mouth closed as she blinked blankly at him. "And what does that have to do with yo

Chapter thirty nineRebecca stood still like a sculpture, gawking while Tiffany brought in the limp looking Anna hanging from his arms. Her daughter laid unconscious with her entire body red and swollen, her hair unkept and dress battered.All she knew was, Anna had disappeared for three days, a wild search was organised, and their butler along with the others had finally returned.They found her alright, but Rebecca's eyes filled up with tears as they followed Tiffany's motions to keep her daughter on the chaise. "What happened," she managed to finally ask.The butler ignored the question and had his concentration on waking the younger lady up. With her head rested upon the chair's support, he tapped her cheek gently.When they did not work well, he was handed a glass of water which he sprinkled lightly on her face.Anna squeezed her faced and hummed tiredly. But a deeper side of her made her smash her eyes open and bounce into consciousness with a shriek, "Mother!"Immediately, Reb