Chapter 10

"Kidnap?!" Count Fleuret got up so stormily that he knocked his chair over. "How dare you even speak of it?"

Alek's mouth hurt from smiling the whole time, so he ignored the count and turned to Lady Fleuret instead. "My dear, may I speak to your father in private?"

She nodded uncertainly and left the room with her maid.

When the door slammed shut he looked at the count again and his smile disappeared in an instant. He rubbed the corners of his mouth, slightly annoyed, and then got up quietly.

The count had been calm the whole time, but Alek could still see his anger. "I will now explain to you what will happen next. You threaten to have me arrested if I take your daughter with me and I'll probably start laughing at you." Alek stepped closer and closer to the count until he was only a few centimeters away from him." You know, I would really appreciate it, should you try to stop or threaten me. Then I would have a good reason to get rid of you."

Count Fleuret began to tremble all over, but he stayed on his feet longer than most of those Alek came so close to. He was taller than most people, so he was intimidating even to men. In addition, there was no one who did not know his nickname.

"You will not get away with this so easily, Your Grace. There are laws and you have to adhere to them as well. I won't make it that easy for you", pressed the count between his teeth.

Alek took another step back and put a hand on his shoulder. "I very much hope this is a promise," his look became icier, "because I'm not finished with you either."

With that he left the room and no sooner had he closed the door behind him he heard the loud sound of dishes breaking.

"Are you all right?" He heard a worried voice and saw Lady Fleuret approaching him. Did she really think he couldn't deal with this old man? How sweet. "Everything is fine. Just a little disagreement. We'd better pack your most important things now."

"Pack?"

Alek raised his eyebrows. "You heard me didn't you. I intend to kidnap you."

"You were serious?"

Amused, he brushed her hair behind her ear and lingered there a second too long before pulling his hand back again. "I don't often joke about important things. But you will learn that in a while. So, are there a few things you would like to take away with you? I'll have the rest fetched another time. I didn't expect to take you with me today either."

Lady Fleuret thought for a moment and then looked at her maid. "Can I bring Lora with me too?"

Apparently she liked this rude maid more than he'd thought. Too bad, he was hoping to leave her here.

"Lady Celia, I will not go with you," she replied suddenly.

Alek couldn't and didn't want to suppress a grin. "Is that so? Oh what a shame. But there is probably nothing I can do, I will of course take good care of your mistress", he assured the maid and put an arm around his fiancée, who immediately froze.

Lora, on the other hand, looked at him with narrowed eyes. Suddenly a small evil smile formed on her lips, which worried him for a bit. "How is your steward doing?"

Alek backed away slightly. How was it possible that this woman knew about it? It had only been a few days since he had ... taken care of him. He looked carefully at his fiancée, but she didn't seem to understand why her maid asked about his steward in the first place.

So this time he gave up, gritting his teeth. "Should you change your mind at some point, you can of course take a job in my property at any time," he offered her without answering her question. He couldn't scare off his fiancée at any price. A truly worthy opponent this maid.

Lora nodded satisfied and they could finally go to Lady Fleurets room.

He was amazed that her chamber was so far from the main rooms in this building. But when they entered her room, he understood why.

"You live here?" That was not a room, it was a storage room. The chamber might be larger than that of the employees, but all the furniture was old and clearly damaged. There was only one window and he even discovered mold in one of the corners due to a wet spot on the ceiling. Whatever she was taking with her wouldn't be worth more than trash.

Lady Fleuret was pulling out some clothes from her closet and blushed slightly. "Unfortunately it's not very nice, but I hope you don't feel too uncomfortable."

He would be feeling uncomfortable? What about her? Had she had to live like this all these years? Abused by her father who was only thinking of his own benefit? His hands automatically clenched into fists. I let this bastard get away with it way too easily. All the anger he had been holding back up until now came out suddenly. "That's not acceptable," he yelled, impulsively tossing an easel around which was standing by the window.

Several papers flew through the air and as they fell to the ground he looked straight into the fear-filled eyes of his fiancée. Damn it!

+++

When the Grand Duke pushed over the easel, Celia was slightly surprised. But when she saw the picture she had painted just before dinner landing right at his feet, her heart almost stopped. Did he see it? Would he cancel the engagement now? To say that she found him very attractive was one thing, but a nude painting was another thing entirely. After all, she had met him for the first time today and didn't even know if he actually looked like that. So he would realize that she had imagined him naked.

She wanted to see his reaction, but the Grand Duke averted his gaze from her, which is why she remained uncertain. "I've changed my mind, leave your things here. We're leaving right now."

Not wanting to upset him any further, she did what he asked. She left her clothes and followed him out of the room. Due to his long legs, however, she had problems keeping up with him and fell back. After they were almost at the front door, she suddenly stopped. She couldn't possibly walk without HER. "Your Grace," she cried bravely, and the Grand Duke stopped abruptly. "There is one thing I still need."

"And that would be?" He turned to her and Celia asked him to follow her. She led him to a door next to the stairs and shook it lightly until it finally jumped open. It was pitch dark in the room, but the ray of light from the open door fell on exactly what she had been looking for. She removed the cloth that lay over the object and looked directly into the beautiful face of her mother.