Woman Hating Duke 37 - 38

Sizh

37 Julia’s Heartbreak:

When I returned to the mansion, I quickly changed my clothes and went to apologise to the Earl for worrying them, but he was absent. I was told he had gone out since last night but had not returned. I spoke with the Countess and headed to my room.

On the corridor, I met Isabel standing there, waiting. I wondered if she had come to deride me again. I stopped before her and waited for her tirade while being vigilant. Shoring oneself up was the only way to stand Isabel’s sarcasm. Once, I retorted, and she hid Hannah’s clothes from her. She would never retaliate directly; I hated her.

She was dressed opulently and stood with her arms folded across her chest, with an expression of triumphant confidence on her face.

‘Oh Julia, I heard you and James had been kidnapped. I am so happy you are safe and well, but it’s too bad about your hands; you won’t be able to attend the tea party this afternoon. There is an important announcement I wanted to tell everyone.

‘The tea party you have with the other ladies? Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend. What is the important announcement? Might you tell me, since I will not be there?’

I could tell she wanted to brag about something, so I asked her obediently. I would be released from this torture once that was done.

‘The Duke and I are getting married!’ She announced, ‘We made love so long, I didn’t know that James collapsed. I am sorry about that.’

‘Marriage? The Duke of Magnaria and you…?’ I asked incredulously. I could not hide the surprise.

The Duke had said he would do something about Isabel, but how come they were suddenly getting married?!

‘Yes. Father has been out and about trying to get our wedding plans going as soon as possible. It’s very embarrassing, I’m sure you understand.’

There was only one reason an aristocratic daughter rushed to the altar; it could only mean that they have had that kind of relationship and they were trying to tie the knot before the pregnancy starts to show.

My expression went dark; that was why the Earl was not at home, and why he had been cold to me. (Zuben: Face-palm)

‘So, please join us at our wedding. I have to go, let’s have tea next time, alright?’

She left, but I did not notice.

My mind could not catch up with what was going on. My head was filled with images of Henry and Isabel together; when did they begin this relationship? Since when has Henry be deceiving me. I could not think.

My mind was dazed, and I forgot where I was.

When I realised it, I was sitting on the opulent carpet crying.

‘Oh. I can’t wipe my face with bandaged hands.’ I said in a daze.

I closed my eyes.

I realised I liked Henry more than I had thought. But it was too late. I wallowed in my sorrow thinking about the future.

I had to be strong. I escaped three engagements; I could get over this one. I was sad right now but something new would come along and occupy my mind. (Zuben: Numpty)

I rose and decided what to do next.

I returned to my room.

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‘Hannah, I know we are supposed to stay here for another six weeks but I want to go home.’ I said to Hannah as I was writing my thank you letter to the Queen, ‘But if we went home right away, you won’t be able to see Thomas anymore.’

‘Are you alright, Miss? You must be traumatised from the kidnapping. Did they…?!!!’ She fired at me her face turning blue.

‘No! Not at all! I am still intact. Do not have strange thoughts!’

She must realised something had happened since I had been looking forward to spending so much time in the Kingdom. She really understood me. I could not tell her I had been fooled by that Duke and almost got robbed of my virginity.

‘Did it not work out with his highness, James?’

‘James proposed but I don’t want to marry him. I think that marrying royalty would be such a heavy responsibility. If I remained here, James would not let me find a good man. And I can’t go anywhere with my injuries, I can’t even join a tea party. That’s why I want to go home.’

‘You were proposed to?! By the Prince! And you refused!! Miss!!!’

She really was blue now, I feared she was going to faint. But, Hannah has been my maid for years, she was strong, she immediately took a deep breath and looked at me seriously waiting for me to continue,

‘But, I don’t want you to lose your fateful encounter.’ I gave her a conspiratory look as I said, ‘How about if we stay in the Central Ward, and not tell anyone.’

‘Please don’t attempt such a reckless thing. Don’t worry about me; let’s go back home to Hermiata. If we look patiently, we will find a nice man for you soon enough.’

‘Come now, Hannah. Let’s find a nice inn to stay in the Central Ward; most inns cost 100gira a night for two. Father gave us money we haven’t used and if we need more we can just sell the emerald necklace.’

‘How do you know how much a night at an inn costs, Miss? Nevertheless, no! If it became known that you were staying in the Central Ward with the commoners, your reputation will be tarnished!’

‘Then we can disguise ourselves, you can be my elder sister like the last time. With this injury, I can't socialise in polite society, so we can go to the Central Ward and use to the time to promote our Hermiata caramel! No one would miss an impoverished aristocrat like me.’

‘Miss!’

Once the plan was out, the wheels were turning about how to go about it. As I planned with Hannah, I thought I would be fine. So what if I had been deceived by that Duke.

So when the Earl returned, I spoke to him. I should be able to move to Central Ward, Myseln in a few days. Since James might want to visit me, I decided to fob him off with a letter informing him I was ill. Fortunately, he was too busy dealing with the fall-out from the incident, that he could only send me a letter full of saccharine words and a large bouquet.

When it was time, I would stay in Myseln as a young lady from out of town for a month and a half.

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38 Myseln:

‘Hannah, there is still time until our next shipment arrives at the inn, why don’t we go into town? Let’s go to Hilda’s café and have lunch.’

Hannah and I had been staying at the inn for two weeks. I was posing as a young lady who came from a small town in Hermiata. Lying to get here had been troublesome, but we managed.

I told the Earl I would like to go and recuperate at a health spa because of my kidnapping ordeal. So I asked him to keep most of my personal belongings, and have it sent to Hermiata because I would be going home directly from the spa. Hannah would go to the Manor for any letters from home. The caramel I was selling was directly from a farmer who I was friends with, it had nothing to do with the Manor, so father will not find out I am staying in the town. (Zuben: Convenient)

I sent letters to James and the Duke. I told James not visit me because he would disturb my mind, and I was going to a health spa, and I also turned down his proposal. I was likely to be pursued should I return home. I wanted to be in an environment where I could not think about the Duke. (Zuben: And the central ward is it?) I was at a loss as to what to write to the Duke, I wanted to let him know I didn’t want to see him again, but not directly. Eventually, my letter was filled with sarcastic sentences, I was very proud of my workmanship. With this, I will not meet the Duke again. 

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I became absorbed in life in the Central ward. The Rupen Inn had only five rooms, Hannah and I rented one of them. My hands were in bandages for a while, but soon I could take them off and wear light gloves. The scabs eventually peeled off and the scars began to heal.

‘Julia, Hannah, are you going out for lunch?’ Our hostess, Shirley asked from behind us, ‘I’ve finished cleaning, so may I go with you to the Montbull café?’

Shirley was a lovely girl with curly light brown hair and impressive hazel eyes. She had round cheeks and a dimple when she smiled. She was the only daughter of the couple who owned the inn. She was seventeen years of age. She regarded me as an elder sister, perhaps she had been longing for one. Or perhaps, it was because I beat up a swindler who tried to con money from the inn on my first night here. (Zuben: Of course you did)

I didn’t mind it. I liked the feeling of being an older sister.

‘Sure, Shirley, let’s go together. Meals are more fun with more people.’ I said.

‘Lovely. Please wait while I tell mother.’ She replied with a happy smile and she rushed off to look for her mother, Ann.

She was an adorable girl, very dependable and pure.

‘Shirley, please take care. We have time, so don’t rush.’ I called after her.

My new experiences were very fresh and exciting. I was enjoying my time as an ordinary commoner. There were many things to learn and do, and I was gaining an understanding of the lives of the ordinary people that I would never have as a noble lady.

Every day was fun.

Since Hannah can meet with Thomas every day, she laughed a lot more. It seemed to be true that women in love did change. I wondered whether I would be like that when I met my future lover. (Zuben: No.) The Duke’s face appeared in my mind. I quickly waved it away; why did I have to remember that hateful face? Just the memory made me angry.

I never wanted to see that dark duck^? of misfortune ever again. Even if he attempted to find me using his network of spies, he would not be able to. I doubt he would imagine that I was staying in the Myseln.

I had cut my hair and dyed it brown. When I go back home, I would tie it up until it grew back again.

But selling caramel was risky. The Duke knew I was trying to sell caramel, and it seems likely he would try to look for me using that as an avenue.

After lunch at Hilda’s, Shirley and I decided to take a walk to the market. The vibrant Market Square had become my favourite place. Even though it wasn’t market day, there were many white canvas stalls in the square; it was crowded with customers. I watched the people come and go for a bit, then headed up to say hello to a fruit seller I had become acquainted with,

‘Hello, Julia, Shirley, just got this batch of apples. Here have one each and one for your sister, Julia.’

‘Thank you, Ms Susanna. Where is Jolie?’

Susanna’s stall always had the sweet scent of fresh fruit around it. She always shared her fruit with us, so in turn I walked her dog, Jolie, a very smart young border collie. I was really looking forward to walking the dog because; I could not do such a thing in Hermiata. Though, there were dogs, they were usually wild, so you really couldn’t take one a walk. Jolie was usually sitting or lying beside Susanna’s stall, and barked happily whenever he heard me come by.

‘A regular customer took him for a walk today. I think they’ll be back soon. Please wait a bit, I’m sure Jolie would love to see you, Miss Julia.’

‘Really, how delightful!’

Shirley gave a small laugh behind her hand, ‘Julia, you really like Jolie.’

Just as I was about to reply, there was a bark and something heavy jumped on my back almost knocking me over.

‘Jolie! Calm down!’

There was a replying bark.

Jolie had jumped unto my back, and he was breathing excitedly. As soon as I turned around, Jolie was licking my face.

‘Oh! Jolie!’

‘Julia, are you alright?’ Shirley asked anxiously. I nodded and looked over Jolie at the person who had walked Jolie today. The person was familiar, his face was flushed and his eyes surveyed the surroundings. He was wearing rather fine clothes for an ordinary person. But when his eyes landed on Shirley, he looked like he lost his soul.

This was Percy! Percy, one of the Duke’s subordinates, who I met at the Grust hideout. How come he’s here! I stiffened as my heart began to beat faster, and tried somehow not let him see me.

‘Luke, thank you so much for walking Jolie,’ Susanna said cheerfully, ‘You haven’t been around for a while, are you back in town for while?’

Percy, who was known to Susanna as Luke, did not reply. He was gazing longingly at Shirley. Many passers-by passed between them, but they were stuck in a world of two.

‘How cute, I thought you were an angel. What is your name, Miss?’ He asked Shirley.

At first, I thought that he had been tasked with the Duke to find me, but I soon realised I worried for nothing. Percy had eyes for nothing other than Shirley. It was clear he had fallen for her at first sight. Anyway, while he was not aware of my true identity, it was better to leave as soon as possible. I suddenly regretted not taking on a pseudonym, but I didn’t because of Hannah and Thomas. (Zuben: There must be many Julias in the world) If they searched for a woman named Julia who injured her hands, they would soon find her.

I turned to Susanna watching Percy and Shirley with a warm look on her face.

‘Susanna, Shirley, I’ll get going. I see you later, alright?’

‘Hmm? Sister, I will come too.’ Shirley answered. Percy returned to sanity, and placed his hand on my shoulder with a desperate plea,

‘Are you her sister? My name is Luke, I’m not a suspicious person. Is her name Shirley? What a lovely name. Where do you live?’

His eyes met mine, he could see my face, but there no sign of recognition.

‘Luke is a travelling peddler; he stops at my store when he is in Myseln. He is trustworthy, so you don’t have to worry.’ Susanna said on his behalf. (Zuben: Hmmm)

Susanna, this person is really a royal spy! “Luke” is a pseudonym! He’s a liar, he is not trust-worthy at all! But I could not day that out loud. Working for the Royals is an elite job; Shirley would not see it as a bad thing if she liked him.

‘Sister, I am not a bad man. I have fallen in love at first sight! I will make Shirley happy.’ Percy said with heightened excitement in his eyes.

I am not your sister! Why are you saying things that imply a proposal?

Shirley replied quietly, ‘Mr. Luke, my sister is afraid. She would be troubled hearing something like that from a man she didn’t know well.’

Percy’s expression fell like it was the end of the world, and dropped his hand from my shoulder. He turned to Shirley and said, ‘I am so sorry, Shirley. I just got carried away because you were so beautiful. I am amazed and overwhelmed. Please understand I would like to marry you.’

Shirley shyly dropped her gaze as she blushed from his confession. It must be the first time she had received such a burning love confession.

‘If that is true, then I will think about it. I will let my sister judge if you would be a good person for me.’

Eh?! Why do I have to judge?!

Percy, Shirley, Susanna and the people passing by were all staring at me; I wanted a hole to open up there and swallow me. So I took a deep breath and said,

‘If you’re really serious about Shirley, come back in a month’s time. You say you fell in love at first sight? If you still like Shirley in a month, you can start courting. Would that be fine?’

I came up with a good plan! In a month, I would have returned to Hermiata. It didn’t matter; Shirley could get along with Percy and marry him if she wanted to.

‘I understand, Sister! I will show you my integrity and determination!’

Other people had been listening to our conversation (Zuben: Busybodies). When Percy accepted, the crowd cheered and applauded. Jolie got excited by the excitement and began to bark and wag his shaggy black and white tail.

Zuben: I don't understand why she did not go and find him to confront him. It just seemed so out of character not to, or is that just me?

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