In the dark, Lord Derek Bourne stood by the glass door. In the clenched fist of one hand he held a mug half filled with coffee.
Even behind his mask, his eyes glowed with lightening mixed with darkness. This was his nature, the darkness was his companion.
All through his life he had lacked physical love, not because no one cared for him but because he chose to shut everyone out of his life.
He was born with a scar on his face, which made his junior brother mock him and regard him as ugly from childhood.
The insults he received brought about his insecurities but soon the insecurities he felt turned into anger, pain and strength.
All that he felt made him turn ruthless and emotionless.
Slowly he walked away from the glass door and went to sit on a kingly decorated chair.
It had been two days now since he met with the vicar of Snow Hill. He was lacking patience, he desperately wanted to see who sir Conner had chosen to be his bride.
He wanted to test her love and sincerity. He needed to be sure that she wasn't an imposter like his mother.
Of course there was a story behind his reason for not trusting women. It was his mother.
He was barely five when his mother kicked the bucket but those four years he spent in her presence made him realize how evil and wicked minded she was.
Whenever Lord Skyler, his junior brother would mock him with his friends, his mother would be in support. She would even threaten to harm him if he dared to report to his father.
The late duke, his father dearly loved him but because of his absence and lack of constant participation in the life of his family, he wasn't able to find out about the evil done against his first son.
Derek knew very much of his father's love towards him, so not for even a day did he try to despise or blame his father.
The late duchess, his own mother hated him for no reason. She must have dreaded him for his ugliness or perhaps because he seemed really worthless and shameful to her.
"Lord Bourne, Sir Conner is here to see you," one of the royal servants rushed in to deliver this message, interrupting the sad thoughts and memories of the duke.
"Ask the maidens to entertain him, I will be with him shortly," he ordered, dismissing the servant.
*****
"Why haven't they entertained you with the best of wines and fruit?" Derek asked, immediately he walked in and caught the vicar glancing at the nice view of the palace.
"Good afternoon. They did offer a lot to me but I declined. I had enough to eat before coming here."
"Oh I see," Derek murmured a reply; he darted his eyes behind the vicar, as if searching for someone.
Mr Conner looked back; he surely noticed the way Lord Derek's eyes were moving in that direction, in search of whoever and whatever.
"She is not here with me," sir Conner voiced out.
Derek moved. He swung his head to the direction of the vicar, giving him a hard and accusing glance.
"Is there a problem?" Conner asked with a bewildered expression.
"Not at all, I was expecting you would bring the woman whom I am to marry today but I see that even the special woman has rejected me." He looked away, shutting his eyes very tightly, in order to hold back his pain. The pain of being rejected.
Vicar Conner moved to his back, his hand found his left shoulder and slowly he patted him. "There is no need to worry about being rejected because that special woman is my daughter."
Derek turned around quickly. The look of guilt flooded his eyes. What was he guilty about?
His father's best friend was giving his daughter to him in marriage. He was letting his only child get married to an ugly beast like himself, this must have been his thoughts.
"I do not think that this is a good idea," he protested.
"But I do," the vicar countered, his bold glance was enough conviction that he wasn't intending on changing his decision.
"No," he said, he knew that by agreeing to this, he would be the most selfish man on earth. "You have been very good to my father, the least I can do to repay your kindness is letting your daughter be with a more desirable man. I am a beast, neither you or your daughter deserves to take part in my curse and suffering," he added.
The vicar nodded and let out a sarcastic laugh. "Before making this decision, did you really think that I had not thought about all of this? Your father had been a friend and brother to me, if he were to be in my shoe, I am very positive that he would have done the same. Getting you and my daughter married, will make our family bond much stronger, trust me."
"What about your daughter? Is she happy with the decision you made for her? Did she not have a love life before now?"
"She will learn to come to terms with this decision. The only thing you have to do is be yourself around her and never try to maltreat her, I am very sure she will grow fond of you," Conner briefed.
Conner walked to the window steel, "but what if she doesn't? What if she never chooses me? What of her past relationship? If I let her sacrifice herself and love, then it will be very selfish and wicked of me."
"She is my daughter and my only child. Like I said earlier on. I really thought about this before coming to this decision. You father was more than a friend to me, he was like a brother to me. On his death bed I promised him that his Kingdom will continue to remain in safe hands, by giving you my daughter's hand in marriage, I am fulfilling my promise because I know for a fact that she will work with you to make this kingdom great."
Derek looked at the vicar with a weak expression. From his face one could tell that he had already accepted defeat. Conner was a man of his words, there was no way the duke could make him rethink his decision.
"I see that you have already made up your mind and since she is your daughter, I believe that you must have told her about what she is getting into," he voiced out to sir Conner, after much deliberation within himself, on what to say.
The vicar nodded his head in a slightly indifferent manner.
"Why does your action reveal that she has no idea about this?"
"Of course I have revealed my intentions to are, you read my action wrongly. I did tell her but she got a bit angered by my decision."
Hearing the vicar's reply, lord Derek widened his eyes. He looked a bit insecure, hearing what Conner had just said.
"Then I believe that she too has no liking for an ugly man like myself. Why not spare her of this ill fate of mine? She doesn't have to suffer on my account, besides I am the duke, I can hire a concubine to bear a child for me."
"You will do no such thing," vicar Conner said in a high tone. He found the duke's words really offensive that he couldn't hold his tone down.
The duke seemed a bit amazed by his temper. Ever since he became a man with a mean and ruthless personality, no one had ever dared to talk to him in such disrespectful manner, except his brother of course.
"I did not mean to raise my voice, my lord but I won't stand here a d watch you think of ruining the great name of this kingdom by letting a concubine bear the next duke of this kingdom," he warned, this time around his tone was minimized.
"I wish I had a friend like you, someone that would care about me even when I am no more," lord Derek said and walked to a chair, then he sat down.
The vicar followed him shortly after. "May I sit by your side?" He asked in courtesy.
The duke said nothing, instead he nodded his head.
Conner sat beside him at once. "You have your brother and I am sure he cares for you. Friends will come when the right time arrives."
Lord Derek let out a painful but short laughter. "If there was someone who was ready to kill me then it would be my brother," he briefed.
"What do you mean?"
The duke ached his back higher, then he turned to sir Conner. "Nevermind, I do not want to talk about it."
Conner seemed to understand that he was in some kind of predicament, so he saw no need to push things further.
"If you are nice with my daughter, then you are going to conquer her heart easily and win her love. She has always been supportive to me since her mother left. With time you will also get to witness all these great attributes of hers," the vicar assured him.
The remaining words said by the two of them wasn't much necessary. They spent either talking about how to make this new and upcoming relationship work.
Soon it was time for the vicar to take his leave, he stood up and bowed in courtesy to the duke.
Lord Derek would have stopped him from bowing to him but the action of the vicar wasn't expected and he so he was taken by surprise.
Nevertheless, he didn't fail to remind the vicar never to bow to him again. It was only proper, since this man was soon going to be his father- in- law.