Page 56 of Taken By the Dangerous Duke

The Decision Is Made

“Ihave to get out of here,” said Margaret with no emotion. She left Victoria knelt on the floor and stormed for the door. She could not believe what she had just been told. Her entire world had been rocked, the foundations pulled out from under her. She was at the door when she felt her arm being pulled back.

“Please,” begged Victoria. “Please, you can’t tell the duke. Please! I don’t want to lose my job.”

“You should have thought about that when you decided to poison me.”

“Please, Your Grace. I am begging you. Please let me explain myself.”

“You have explained enough,” said Margaret. “I fear we shall have to clean house after this. It was not just you who did this, was it? It was everyone.”

“Please, no!” screamed Victoria. “I am the only one who knew about the tea! No one else knew about the tea!” She screamed the words out of the doorway.

“Stop it,” said Margaret. “I will talk to all of the help, and they will tell me what has been going on. You can’t save them, Victoria, though it is noble that you are trying to save them. It is too late for all of that now. My decision has been made, and much as it pains me to have to do this, you will not be working in the residence anymore.”

“I really am sorry,” whimpered Victoria. She let go of the duchess’s arm as the tears started to flow.

Margaret thought about comforting the maid, but they were beyond that. Her trust had been broken, and there was no chance of repeating it now. Victoria sobbed into her hands and slumped against the frame of the door.

“Just tell me why,” said Margaret. “Why did you do it? I thought… well, do the staff really dislike me that much? I have always been kind to everyone, but this? How could you have wanted to drive me away? What have I ever done to deserve this.”

“No, it was not about you,” whimpered Victoria into her hands. “We did this for the duke.”

“The duke?” asked Margaret. “What does that mean? You wanted to drive me away to help him?”

“No,” sighed Victoria. “We did it so you would stay around for longer.”

“What?”

“The duke has not been secretive about why he brought you here. We all know that you are to give him an heir, and then you will separate. We thought that if we could keep you around for as long as possible, he might… well, he might be happy for a brief moment in his life.”

“Will you speak plainly, Victoria? I have no idea what you are trying to tell me.”

“The duke has always been a good man, and we all enjoy working here. He pays us a fair wage, and he treats us with respect, much more than most nobles do. But, he has never been happy. In all of our time here… well, Doris is the longest-serving of us, and she has not seen the duke happy—not truly happy. He might smile and joke, but he has been depressed ever since his father passed, but he was sad before that too. And, he won’t admit it to his aunt, but we could see the change in the duke when his aunt’s husband left. But then you came along.”

Margaret did not know what to say. She waited for the maid to continue.

“It was obvious from the moment he brought you back to Garriot House that he was a changed man, and the more time you spent here, the more we could see it. Your aunt was not lying when she said that His Grace was happier with you around. I believe this is the first time any of us has ever seen him truly happy. He is happier with you around.”

“What does that have to do with you?” asked Margaret quietly. “And, why did you try to poison me?”

“No, you have it all wrong. We did not try to poison you, and we do not hate you. You are right about treating us well. We could not have dreamed of a better duchess to have in Garriot House, but we knew it would not last. Though, perhaps now… but, maybe not. Anyway, it is not for us that we did this—it is for the duke. We only want for him to be happy, and you have made him happy.”

“You did something to me. It might not have been positioning me, but you forced this medicine on me, and you have made me infertile.”

“It is only a temporary this. That is why… I am even ashamed to say it, but that is why I tried to force it on you. I feared that it would wear off and you would get pregnant, and then you would leave, and the duke would be unhappy again. It is not for us, it is really not. We just can’t bear to see someone go through life like that. Everyone deserves happiness.”

“So, it was not just you? How many of the staff were in on this plan?”

The question was met with silence.

“You don’t have to answer that question. I will assume that everyone knew about this.”

“What are you going to do?” asked Victoria.

“I don’t know yet,” answered Margaret. “But, I am not going to drink any of that tea anymore, and you will not be my lady’s maid. I will have you assigned somewhere else in the house.”

“Oh, thank you,” said Victoria, realizing that she was not going to be fired.

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