Page 56 of Her Cursed Duke
Prudence had barely nodded before his grip was gone, along with his warmth.
Aiden ran in the direction of the smoke, noting that the fire had nearly consumed an entire stall, stepping out of the way as men marched forward hastily with buckets of water to put it out. He glanced around, horrified when he spotted a child standing close to the burning stall, just as he heard the unmistakable splintering of wood.
Aiden did not think as he ran forward, swooping the child into his arms as the stall collapsed, sending embers and burnt wood everywhere. Luckily, no stall or booth next to it had caught fire, and the fire was quickly extinguished.
With a sigh of relief, he put the child down and dropped to one knee to gently ask her, “Where are your parents, little one?”
The girl looked no older than six, and it was strange that she had been allowed to wander off on her own. Before she could respond, however, someone took hold of her hand and snatched her away from him.
Aiden looked up to find a woman glaring at him. A man was standing by her side, looking more sorrowful than angry. “Please, Your Grace, do not curse our child.”
For the first time in a long time, the comments Aiden had been used to hearing seemed to wound him. Quickly, he tried to deny it. “I was simply asking—”
“Haven’t you done enough? You have already brought misfortune with you and ended the livelihood of another,” the woman spat, pointing at the destroyed stall. “Must you take our child with you?”
And then, the whispers and murmurs began.
“A child? I knew he was cruel, but—”
“Even after causing a fire. Despicable.”
“Has he no shame? To walk around so boldly, as though his hands are not covered in blood.”
“He deserves to be stoned or burned to death.”
“Did you see him light the match that caused the fire?”
The voice that said that statement was louder and fiercer, rising above the others. The crowd fell silent as Prudence stepped forward to stand beside Aiden.
“I’m asking if you saw him set fire to the stall,” she boomed, glaring at the crowd.
No one answered at first, but then a man pointed at Aiden angrily. “He did not need to do the deed for him to be responsible. He is to blame because everyone knows he is cursed. Wherever he goes, misfortune follows.”
“Now, you’re just being ridiculous. Such fickle people, always looking for someone to point their fingers at,” Prudence scoffed bitterly.
Aiden tried to reach for her, mumbling quietly, “Leave it, Prudence. Let us go.”
She ignored him, pointing at the destroyed stall. “If I recall correctly, that stall sold paper crafts and books. And there was a flame tamer that had been performing around. It is more likely that the accident occurred as a result of that, but rather than think logically, you would prefer to blame a man who had saved the life of a child. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”
The man who had spoken took a threatening step toward Prudence, immediately stopping in his tracks when Aiden stepped in front of her.
For a moment, no one moved or spoke, and then Aiden said, “we are leaving.”
Without another word, he took Prudence’s hand and led her away from the crowd, doing his best to breathe as they got farther and farther from the mess.
When they had gotten to a spot with fewer people, Aiden rounded on her. “What on earth is wrong with you? Why would you choose to antagonize them like that?”
“Me?” Prudence queried in confusion. “Aiden, you saved that child’s life. And what did they do? They blamed you for a fire that you had not even been around to see erupt. How is that fair?”
“Life isn’t fair, Prudence. This was a reminder of that. I am long overdue for an awakening.”
There was something in his voice that made her feel uneasy, and she tried to reach for him, her heart sinking when he pulled away. “What do you mean? Aiden—”
“This is wrong. All of it. Me, out here, parading about as though I have the right to enjoy any of this. I let you delude me into thinking that it was all right to partake in all of these activities,as though I was supposed to live as anything other than a cursed man.”
“Are you saying that this is my fault? How dare you—”
“I am saying that I never should have let you convince me to do this. Because I know the feeling of being hated, of being termed a disaster from hell. But you… you do not deserve to have your name dragged through the mud alongside mine. I should have known better than to put you at risk like that.”
