Lady Marguerite "Maggie" Delaney Antoine Blanchard did not know how long she ran.
All she registered at the moment was the desperate rhythm of her own heartbeat, a frantic drum against her ribs. Somewhere between the echoing halls of the Crown Office and the looming silhouette of Huntington Hall, her world dissolved into a blur of greens and browns.
The miles gnawed at her shoes, the once sturdy, high-quality leather reduced to tattered shreds that flapped uselessly against her blistered ankles.
Rogue branches snapped at the hem of her dress, ripping the fine silk into shreds. The relentless assault did not even spare her socks.
Roots, like gnarled fingers, reached out of the darkest corners to trip her.
Slopes, slick with fallen leaves, sent her tumbling in ungraceful heaps, covering her in mud and soil.
Tears burned her eyes, mingling with sweat and tracing clear paths down her dirtied face.
Despite the arduous journey, the former Countess of Huntington was determined to return to her birth home.
Alas, she needed more than just determination. As twilight bled into a star-dusted night, exhaustion, a relentless predator, finally caught up with her. With a stumble that echoed her shattered world, Maggie plunged into a muddy ditch, the cold earth offering a stark contrast to the feverish heat that had coursed through her veins.
"Arghhhhh…!!!" she cried out in a mix of pain and frustration when she took yet another tumble. This time, she successfully ruined what remained of her shoes. The young woman scraped off the useless remains and forcefully pushed her weakened body upward.
Ignoring the throbbing pain in her limbs, she clambered onto the uneven ground. Never before had she been reduced to such a pitiful state. She barely recognized herself.
As she was wallowing in self-pity, a familiar sound pierced the heavy silence. It was the rhythmic clop of approaching hooves.
Horses!
Hope, a fragile bud, unfurled in Maggie's chest like a rising sun. With a desperate cry that tore through the night, Maggie flung her arms out, her voice hoarse but laced with a steely resolve. "Help! Please, someone, help me!"
The cart stopped as intended, and the driver, sitting at the front, poked his head out in curiosity.
"Hello?" he held a burning oil lamp in front of him to discover the source of the voice. "Hello, is anyone there?"
"I am here!" Maggie limped out of the tall grasses hiding her form and showed herself. "Please help, I need… I need to reach Huntington Hall this instant!"
The cart driver's mouth fell open when he saw the destitute state Maggie was in.
"But I… I am not heading to Huntington Hall at all," he blubbered.
"Please!" Maggie begged. "I will pay you two silver coins for your efforts!"
The ride to Huntington Hall was barely a tenth of the price Maggie offered. A complicated expression spread on the cart driver's face. The money was very attractive indeed, but it was not his main motivation to drive this young woman to Huntington Hall, he told himself.
He did it because the young woman looked so desperate, so much in need of assistance. Naturally, as a well-mannered gentleman, he had to help a damsel in distress.
Thus, Maggie was relieved of the arduous trek back to Huntington Hall.
A cart ride was considerably faster than her frantic run. Additionally, the brief respite allowed her some time for reflection.
Oh, if only she did not act impulsively and ran out of the Crown Office like a crazed woman. She was deeply ashamed of her behavior.
Then again, it all did not matter. Soon, she told herself, she would be back at home. Soon, she would iron out all the misunderstandings. And once she embraced the earldom again, she would pay the Crown Office another visit and apologize profusely for her rude behavior.
Luckily for her, the person she longed for was standing at the Huntington Hall's gate, as if waiting for her arrival. He was speaking to Richard, the butler, in a low voice.
"Nicholas!" Maggie cried out, her voice hoarse and broken from suppressed emotion as she jumped down the cart and bolted in the man's direction.
Her soon-to-be betrothed whirled around with round eyes, seemingly aghast at Maggie's unexpected appearance.
"… Maggie…?"
"Yes! It's me!"
Weakened physically from her travel and emotionally from deep anguish, she sought some solace in the man's arm, but Nicholas stepped aside, avoiding her touch completely. Maggie hugged empty air, almost tumbling to the ground.
Maggie's lips parted in disbelief. It was not until she realized how dirty she was that embarrassment crept onto her face. How disgraceful of her. Of course, Nicholas would be disgusted.
Meanwhile, the cart driver gulped in utter discomfort.
"Lady, you don't have to pay me the two silver coins," he quickly said. "I wish you the best of luck and happiness! May God bless the both of us!"
With those words leaving his lips, he took his cart and rode away from the scene.
Nicholas turned to look at Richard, his face tense.
"You can go now."
Richard shot Maggie one last pitiful look before he performed a bow and left.
"I… I would like to speak to Uncle Lloyd," Maggie cracked a hesitant smile. "Nicholas, can you please…?"
Nicholas stared at her, his facial expression unreadable.
"Nicholas…?"
Maggie reached out, trying to grab Nicholas' arms again, but then another person announced his presence.
"What business do you have with me?" A well-dressed man stepped out from beneath the grand archway of Huntington Hall. His hair, a blend of dark and emerging grey, was meticulously groomed, framing the familiar face of Lloyd Cunningham.
The elder man was leaning heavily on a familiar, intricately carved wooden cane. Having seen it many times in her childhood, Maggie recognized it quickly as the same cane that had rested in her late grandfather's hand in his latter years. His left leg, broken during a shipwreck, never truly healed.
Maggie wanted to ask about the cane, but right now she had more pressing matters to discuss with her uncle.
"Uncle Lloyd, the Crown Office evoked my appointment as Countess of Huntington because of some misunderstandings," she sobbed. "Uncle, please help me explain everything before the Lord Chancellor."
Lloyd Cunningham's expressionless face morphed into a sneer before he ultimately exploded in booming laughter.
"U-uncle?"
"Oh, child," the elder man giggled as if Maggie had just told him the funniest jest of the year. "I was the one who contested your appointment. What misunderstandings are you talking about?"
Maggie's lower lips trembled in shock and bewilderment. Did she mishear something? And then, the Marquess of Canterbury's words echoed in her ears, loud and clear.
"The person who gathered all these eyewitnesses to challenge your claim to Huntington was none other than Lloyd Cunningham."
Maggie clawed at her cheeks.
"No," she whispered, denial was written all over her face despite her seeing the cruel smirk on her uncle's face. "No… it can't be… Uncle Lloyd, why? I trusted you!"
"Why?" Lloyd growled at her, his face but a mask of terror. "Why not? The Blanchard family has kicked me and my mother out, forcing me to relinquish the Blanchard surname and take on my mother's maiden name instead. I am not going to let a wench like you step all over me yet again!"
Maggie shook her head again and again.
"No… Uncle Lloyd, no…"
Lloyd raised a hand to his mouth, a shrill whistle echoing through the manicured grounds. A moment later, a rumble echoed from within. Then, with a ground-shaking thud, a pack of Bullmastiffs emerged, their massive forms dwarfing the gravel pathway. Their powerful legs pounded the earth, a rhythmic counterpoint to Maggie's ragged breathing.
"Get her," Lloyd mercilessly snarled. "Rip the fake heiress into pieces."
Maggie broke into another run, not without shooting Nicholas one last desperate glance. But the man she loved, the man who allegedly loved her, merely looked away in indifference.
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Author's note :
Hello, readers!
I am delighted to return with another work in the historical genre. This time, this author shall take you through a tale full of intrigue and secrets, whispered within the walls of the noble houses. This work is a submission to Cupid's Quill in June 2024, thus I will be updating diligently in the hope of winning, hehehe.
Please kindly support the story with power stones, Golden Tickets, and privilege chapter unlocks. Every little bit of help matters. I hope that you will accompany me along this journey, one chapter after another.