They walked in silence for a while as they neared the mansion then slipped inside unseen and headed towards the guest wing. Once he verified the hallway was empty he asked her which way, she told him the second floor and they continued on.
"So did you think of how to use me yet?" she asked mentally slapping herself for sounding too eager and not phrasing that better.
"I have an idea or two but I need to find out if you're capable enough first. Among other things. I also need to know why you offered such a thing and how serious you are in keeping the vow."
"I'm very serious," she assured quickly, maybe a little too quickly, while he'd already guessed there was less than altruistic reason for her offer so she might as well fess up now while he was giving her the chance. "I don't want to stay with my aunt, or be sold off into a political marriage that will kill what little freedoms I have, nor do I want to be considered useless and shunned by society for not fitting the mold they want to shove me into. I want to be useful, but for my skills as a person rather than just a last name or womb and I am rather skilled in certain useful areas so I feel confident I can pay back my debt in a year or two tops."
She was beginning to get used to his lack of response to her outrageous word vomit but this time he froze and she almost bumped into him. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have-." he suddenly turned and grabbed her wrist pulling her into an alcove. When she opened her mouth to ask what was going on he clamped a hand over her mouth and pushed her against the wall. What was going on?
He gave the universal sign to be quiet then grabbed the lower ends of her dress and pulled them up, she almost kneed him in the balls before she realized he hadn't exposed her, on the contrary, he'd pulled the flared-out bottom of her skirts in and handed them to her before stepping in closer.
At first, all she could hear was the pounding of her own heart, then she could hear the giggling of a lady and the heavy steps of a man. She understood now that the duke didn't want to be seen by anyone, and any sign of him or his guards would cause a stir.
It was good for her too since an unmarried girl out unchaperoned at night would cause all sorts of scandalous rumors, especially if she was seen with someone else's guard. He must have realized that too which is why he'd pulled in the sides of her dress allowing his dark cape to block her from any wondering eyes. To think he claimed not to be chivalrous.
The laughing couple neared but then stopped just past their hiding spot by the windowed seating area there was a kissing sound and a moan and she tried to peek around the broad shoulder blocking her view but all she saw was the back of a bright red dinner dress and a man's arm around the waist. "Not here we might get caught," the woman said breathlessly.
"Don't worry, everyone will be at the party, no one will see, besides isn't this more thrilling?" the Man asked and the kissing sound started up again.
Large hands pulled her face back into hiding and his hands clamped over her ears cutting out the sound of another moan. She looked up at the duke but he was staring at the wall over her head and for the first time, he looked annoyed bordering on angry.
Did he know either of them? Most people she knew would be thrilled to happen upon such gossip, that is of course as long as the person they walk in on isn't someone close to them. Was he trying to protect a friend's Identity? Was that why he wouldn't let her peek or listen to their conversation? Well, that was annoying; she wanted to know who was doing something so scandalous as kissing in public.
After a minute her curiosity turned to boredom at not getting to investigate and she became aware of the duke's warm hands still over her ears. Was it her pulse or his that she could feel racing where his wrists pressed against the side of her neck, hadn't she calmed down from her initial shock of being shoved back here?
She looked up again noting the veins popping out of his neck, something only noticeable in their dark corner because her eyes had adjusted to the dark by now and the fact that they were just inches from her face. She looked straight ahead again noting the way the side of her face brushed against his uniform lapels and for the first time since he pulled her in there she was aware of how close they were standing.
The tip of her nose just barely brushed the dark blouse-shirt under his jacket, the same shirt of her's he'd ripped up… twice. But his smelled so much better. She couldn't for the life of her think of "what" it smelled like exactly, but it reminded her of the warm heady scent of hot mulled cider in the middle of the night when sick.
It smelled more of men after a light workout in the training field mixed with leather and pine and something she still couldn't name but it felt like the steam from that cider and how it always made her sick tired head spin in the most pleasant of ways. How drinking it made her chilled body feel warm from the inside out spreading from her chest outwards.
A delayed effect of the spirits she was given to numb the pain?
She took a deep breath to clear her foggy head, but her nose was filled with that heedy sent again and she needed more. What was that drink she'd been given and why did it react so strongly to the scent of, of the duke's shirt? Was that a thing? It sounded crazy even in her head, but she had no other explanation. She just knew that if she kept breathing this in she might just melt into a warm puddle of bliss and pass out cold for the rest of the night like she would from the mulled cider in order to sleep through the violent coughing of a winter cold.
But she wasn't sick and she wasn't alone in her room so the sudden urge to pillow her head into his shirt would be a very bad thing she thought. Gathering her wits from the misty swirls floating around her she tugged her head to the side and breathed in the much cooler fresh air. Why was he so warm that mere inches away the air in the manner felt cool?
But she didn't have time to puzzle that out as her head was forced back to where it was and the pressure on her ears grew tighter, not painful but also not as gentle as before. Did he think she was trying to peek again? She wasn't she just needed to breathe. She looked up and opened her mouth to tell him so, but his jaw was clenched so tight she worried his jaw might break and was glad it wasn't her he was so mad at. She closed her mouth not wanting to anger him anymore by making a sound that might give them away.
She'd thought the rumors of his temper, since he'd come home from the war were as greatly exaggerated as the rumors of his mutilated face and missing eye since he hadn't lost his temper once at her for the situation she'd put him in. But now he looked like he was barely hanging on to any sense of control. Again she wondered who the people in the reading nook were to him to make him this upset, a friend's wife cheating? a lover of his cheating? But she had no intention of adding to his distress.
She let her eyes fall back down his neck fighting the sudden impulse to trace the tendons and veins in his neck. The thought surprised her so much she clapped her eyes shut. Why had such a strange and stupid thought crossed her mind? The strangely addicting smell washed over her again making her thoughts float off. If they stayed like this much longer she just might lose her mind.
She could feel the heat in front of her face and the smell was too much to resist... She'd just blame him for this one, he's the one that made her drink the strong spirit and trapped her here just yards from her bed with a warm chest of mulled cider. With that she gave in and rested her forehead on his chest, she was just so tired.
Her makeshift pillow stiffened but with her nose buried in his shirt the intoxicating sleepy sent overpowered every thought and she let herself relax, sleep quickly settling over her.