Page 54 of The Duke and the Enigmatic Governess
“You will sign these papers now. They give instructions about what happens to your fortune after your marriage. This document is necessary for the marriage ceremony to take place.” said Ethan, sitting behind a desk and holding out the pen for her to take.
“I will do no such thing,” she retorted.
“I believe you have no choice my dear sister. Remember what we said in the carriage about the child. If necessary, and despite my dearest Caroline’s dislike of children, we can transport little Sasha here.” He looked at her with cold emotionless eyes.
Audrey reached for the pen.
“Ah, I thought that would make a difference. Your signature, now please,” demanded Ethan.
“Does my future husband know you are embezzling my fortune?” she challenged. “You won’t get away with this you know.”
“Oh I believe we will my dear. You are never going to be sure of little Sasha’s safety, even in the future. I’m sure you wouldn’t want her to go through what you have today. We have plenty of space here at Rowton Castle. I’m sure we can find room for the child.”
“You are despicable Ethan. Are you truly going to these lengths for money? Did you gamble away your own inheritance? Now you have to deprive me of mine,” she said, with bitterness in every word.
“Exactly right, my dear. I spent too long at the card tables and made too many wagers. This place is at risk of repossession if I don't get access to your money.”
She signed the documents and then threw the pen at him, so the quill caught his cheek and ink covered his face. Swearing, he scrambled to save the documents.
Caroline took a step forward from the shadows to stand at her side. “You will follow me to your old room. We’d like your stay to be as pleasant as possible. The wedding is later this evening. Servants are preparing the chapel and a small reception in the dining room. Don’t worry, Audrey. You won’t be at Rowton for long.” She stared at Audrey with a glint of disdain. “My maid will dress you for the ceremony. You look dreadful and we don’t want the Duke of Batton to change his mind when he sees you.”
“You are evil, pure evil. You never wanted to marry the duke. It was all about watching and waiting for an opportunity to kidnap me. You left it too late. Jude won’t believe your false letter. He will find me. You won’t get away with this.” She had to believe that Jude would find her.
Caroline laughed in her face. “What a sweet naive child you are. I’m sure I can tempt His Grace into a liaison if I choose to. I could be such a sweet Mama to little Sasha.”
At that Audrey lunged forward, wishing she still had the pen in her hand and tugged at Lady Caroline’s dark brown ringleted hair. She felt a brief moment of satisfaction when Caroline screamed, before she was grabbed from behind by Ethan, and Lady Caroline gave her a stinging slap across her face.
“That’s enough dear sister. Remember the little girl. Her future happiness depends on how you choose to behave. I have two of my staff ready and willing to come forward and swear an oaththat they are related to Sasha. If you fail to comply with this marriage, or try to leave the Duke of Batton, then they will take the child, and believe me, we have documents to prove their relationship to her,” Ethan informed her, grinning sadistically.
“But you can’t …” Audrey stuttered.
“Actually, Audrey, I can. The couple will bring the child back here and raise her as their own, under my watchful eye. She will be raised as a servant in your childhood home. Believe me, Audrey, I have thought this through, and I am deadly serious. The best thing is for you to accept your fate and marry Batton and make him a decent wife.”
***
Locked in her room, she submitted to the ministrations of Lady Caroline’s maid, who, it seemed, had no idea she was an unwilling bride. She bathed and dressed the bruises on Audrey’s face and body, and told her she would return later to dress her in the wedding gown.
She lay on the bed, her body wracked with sobs, wishing her brother was a different person. She fell into anexhausted sleep for several hours, fearful of the future.
When she awoke,she paced backwards and forwards in an agitated state, looking out of the window, knowing it was too high to jump down, or even knot sheets to make her escape. Allshe could do was pretend to comply and hope to escape from the chapel or dining room. The reality was that she might be married before she had a chance to escape captivity.
When the maid returned, she complied meekly, as she was dressed in her late mother’s wedding gown. The maid told her she would return to dress her hair shortly before the ceremony. How, as a child, she had longed for the day when she would wear this dress, and walk down the aisle of the family chapel to marry the man of her dreams.
She had a vague memory of the Duke of Batton, approaching sixty, with his silvery grey hair and dark, austere clothes. He’d been a wealthy widower for many years and must be looking for companionship. It seemed as though he had no idea she was a reluctant bride.
Less than twenty-four hours before, she had been spellbound while held in Jude’s arms as he told her he loved her. Then they had waltzed together, and he’d told her how he could not imagine a future without her in his arms. Those were the memories she needed to keep alive in future. The reality was that she would submit, marry the Duke of Batton, hope he treated her kindly, and retreat into obscurity. Jude and his family would care for Sasha as part of their family, she need not worry about the tiny child.
She heard a scraping at the door and stepped back warily as it slowly opened. She took deep breaths, assuming it was the maid, returning to fix her veil, but it was Millicent, her maid from herchildhood days. She gestured for Millicent to come in the room, and the maid bobbed a curtsey.
“Mr. Jeffries said it was you. We were all talking in the kitchen. None of us like that Lady Caroline, and most of the staff have left or are leaving. Rowton Castle isn’t the same without you running the household. Mr. Jeffries has obtained a position as butler over at Brunston Hall, and reckons he can get most of us a position there.”
Millicent stopped to look at Audrey. “What’s happening, My Lady? Why are you wearing a wedding dress?” she looked perplexed.
“Because I’m apparently being married, later this evening to the Duke of Batton,” explained Audrey.
“None of the old servants know about this wedding. We were told to prepare a cold buffet in the dining room and to take the evening off. That’s why I came up to see you, in case you were gone tomorrow. I miss you, Lady Audrey. We all miss you.”
Tears welled up in Audrey’s eyes. The people who mattered in her childhood home still loved her. Despite what had happened there was goodness in people. She knew that without a doubt.
